Our daily look at what was said and what happened at Rutgers training camp:

Opening Remarks
"It's great to be back on the field. As coaches, this is a day that we always wait for. There are so many times a year we're not allowed to work with them, so to get a chance to be back in training camp and teach football without distractions — it's one of our favorite times of the year. Great energy out here today."

On Brandon Coleman
"Of the limited things Brandon did -- we sent him in about halfway through, to make sure we continue to do what's right, to make sure he's ready to go for the first game."

On who stood out
"I think without the pads on, it's tough for the defensive players to stand out, but for No. 23 to make a nice interception in the endzone to continue his progression of what he did in the spring. I thought No. 4, No. 13 and No. 7 in the receivers — Leonte, Carlton and Quron — I thought they had good days. I saw consistent catching of the ball, especially in some difficult body positions by Leonte. He really had some nice grabs. And both of our punters at times hit it well and I hope they're a little more consistent as we go through training camp. But for the first day — new teammates, new surroundings for both of them — I thought they did a good job and that's something that we could build on as we go through training camp."

On what he looks to get out of the first day
"I think you get a pretty good feel for how you are conditioning-wise, when you start talking about the weights of the players who come back. I think this team is in very good shape -- all the reports told us that. But the first day is a tempo-setter. You want to see at how high a tempo can you perform through the practice. At our first practice last spring, it was a little disappointing when we looked back at it, in terms of how well we moved on the field and transitioned from drill to drill. The tempo was not what I wanted it to be. And I thought we were well ahead of that today. I was pleased. I think you're always going to have the freshman who are finding their way a little bit, but I thought the returning players really moved around the field as if we had been out here a while, so that was good."

On if he's confident starting Ian Thomas at CB
"I am. I'm very confident. Ian's a very talented football player -- as long as he continues to learn the position. There had to be some growth between the spring and now. And it looks like it did. Like any other player who hasn't done it before, the greatest challenge is not making a play, but being consistent. And that's what we'll have to judge as we go through."

On if he senses a change in urgency with camp starting
"I really do. There's no doubt. I thought the first offensive unit was much more impressive than practice 13 or 14 last spring. It's really tough to judge the defense, just because there's no tackling and no contact — unless there's an interception and the only one I saw was by No. 23. Unless you see, it's tough to really judge."

On what the role for Teejay Johnson is
"Teejay is going to do a lot of things for us. He's already a very established player on the special teams and that makes a difference in games on special teams. And then we'll have to see where he fits in with the depth. He's fighting for a starting job -- it could be at corner, it could be at safety. He could be a player at either position. It could be on the second or third level in some of our sub packages. He's a smart football player, so there's a lot of places where he can fit in and help."

On why safety is preferred for Teejay Johnson over CB
"Just the ability to get a better athlete on the field. I think you see that all the time. Just look at what Bill Belichick has done with Devin McCourty. You take a person who's recruited or drafted with that kind of skill set. And if they have the ability to play safety -- which Teejay does for us -- you have maybe a little bit better cover player at that position. But again, those are things that he's going to have to prove to us on the field, in practice, in scrimmages all the time. To figure out what his place is going to be."

On if Rutgers could go to a freshman on punt returns
"I could. Absolutely. If a player proves to me that he will catch the ball on a consistent basis -- and I've seen him do it in high school -- I think you saw that today with No. 1, back there catching the ball. I would not have any problem with a freshman. The nice thing today was not only did we punt the ball better, but we caught the ball better than we did in the spring. I felt it was better on both sides. Quron caught them well. I thought Miles caught them well. I thought Janarion Grant, No. 1, caught them well. So it was fun to watch. It was a good part of practice today."

NOTEWORTHY
After practice, Flood said that backup tight end Tyler Kroft -- a third-year sophomore -- will likely be held out of action until at least the first scrimmage of camp on August 10. Kroft is suffering from a high ankle sprain, which was worse than initially believed to be.

Brandon Coleman only participated in some light early position workouts before moving to the stationary bike on the sidelines. Once the practice moved into the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 portion, Coleman went inside to receive treatment. He is still recovering from knee surgery performed during the offseason.

PRACTICE CUTSFive things that stood out during practice

Ian Thomas' interception on a Gary Nova pass in the corner of the endzone. Nova had intended for the pass to go to Quron Pratt, but Thomas had terrific positioning on the ball and picked it cleanly. Even in spite of a push-off by Pratt.

Speaking of Pratt, the fifth-year senior wide receiver at one point dropped four passes in a two (the first two from Nova, the second two from Chas Dodd) and eventually five out of six, during the 7-on-7 drills.

As expected, Gareef Glashen started camp at the No. 1 right CB, while Thomas started as the No. 1 on the left side.

True sophomore wide receiver Leonte Carroo had a couple of nice catches during 7-on-7 drills. The best though? A tight catch along the right sideline on a throw from Nova, where Carroo went up and over Jevon Tyree and Teejay Johnson to get it.

With Brandon Coleman not working the team drills, the No. 1 wideouts were Carroo and Pratt. Carlton Agudosi and Miles Shuler worked the second team with Chas Dodd.