"I've been waiting for this day to come around," linebacker Stanford Keglar said. "You just break it in on the first day of pads. (Saturday) will be our first two-a-day, so it will be a long day but there will be a lot of hitting going and a lot of intensity."

Eleventh-year coach Joe Tiller said he can really start evaluating players once the pads come, and he was pleased with what he saw today.

"We got after it pretty good out there," he said. "We did a Boiler Drill, which is good for us and we will do more of it. Just from a tempo point of view, that's very good. Overall we got through it pretty good."

Tiller also was able to get a good look at his linebacking corps, where several positions are up for the taking.

Anthony Heygood has made a smooth transition to linebacker after switching from running back midway through last season.

Tiller said he was able to move Heygood around and get a good look at him at both the inside and the outside.

Also practicing was Dan Bick and Jason Werner, who were both held out of the majority of spring ball with neck and back injuries, respectively. Keglar said both players played well and didn't report any problems during practice.

Tiller specifically praised Werner following today's practice for making some big plays in limited action.

"(The trainers) are limiting his reps, which is good," Tiller said. "He broke on the ball, made a good interception and had a couple knockdowns. Touch wood, I hope he stays healthy because he certainly brings some athleticism and some range to the position that we don't really have in another backer."

Despite the continual rotation of linebackers, Keglar said he's noticed marked improvement from the group and more practice will definitely help the progression of the linebacking corps.

"We're looking good," Keglar said. "They got to get more sound in their assignments. Once you do that, you become more confident in your playing abilities and just let loose instead of thinking about your assignments so much. As a linebacking corps together, I think we are all doing really well."