Observations from Charlotte 49ers' first football practice

Observations from the 49ers' first day of football practice Thursday:



-- Practice began precisely at 7 a.m. under gray skies. The weather stayed relatively un-hot until the practice ended at 8:45 a.m., when the team's true freshmen left to attend an orientation session. The upperclassmen stayed behind for several minutes to finish working on other drills.

-- Most of the practice -- which was without pads -- focused on conditioning and fundamentals. There was a five-on-five passing drill midway through the session. Best catch of the day probably was by Austin Duke, who went up high over the middle to snag a pass from Matt Johnson.

-- From appearances, the most intense group appeared to be the offensive linemen, who received plenty of loud encouragement (and constructive criticism) from coach Phil Ratliff.

-- Two of the team's most recent additions were there: junior college transfer tight end Dmarjai Devine and returner/receiver Emmitt Afam.

-- A few quotes from coach Brad Lambert:

"I really liked the energy and the effort. We looked good. I liked seeing the new guys come in, that makes it kind of a fun day for us, like Dmarjai, (defensive end) Devon (Johnson), (linebacker) Mark  Hogan, getting them involved. Seeing (freshman) Justin Bridges-Thompson running around."

"We see the light at the end of the tunnel now. We're getting ready for something. The guys know it and they're focused."

"I've said all along, since the calendar turned to '13, we're on a normal schedule. But it's nice to have August practice. Now it's for real. We're like everybody else."

"We're way ahead (of schedule). We're in good shape. (Strength coach Jim) Durning did a good job with them this summer in the weight room preparing them."

"The big issue for us is what's enough and what's too much. We've got to get them to the 31st, so our focus is keeping guys healthy. That's what I worry about most."

--The last guys to leave were  Duke, who had did some extra conditioning with position coach Joe Tereshinski, and backup quarterback Patrick O'Brien, who threw to receivers Darius Smalls and E.J. Rhinehart. Ratliff also ran a few laps around the practice field.

-- Not only are the 49ers using a JUGS football passing machine, but they also have one that whips tennis balls at them, which is excellent for hand-eye coordination and all that goes with that. The football team is sharing the machine with the tennis teams.

-- There were a surprisingly few number of fans at the practice, which was open to the public. That might have had something to do with the early start time. The 49ers practice again at 7 a.m. Friday (also open to the public) and at 9 a.m. Saturday (closed).