By Pete Pelegrin
Twitter: @PetePelegrin

Training camp for the 16^th season of FIU football opened under overcast, gray skies Saturday morning at FIU. However, the Panthers brought out their own sunshine with a renewed vigor as preparations for the new season commenced.

Some of that new energy could be seen in the return of running back Alex Gardner. FIU's all-time leading rusher missed spring practice with an injured left toe but didn't appear to miss a beat running the ball during team drills.

"It felt great being back on the field for the first time in a long time," said Gardner, who has amassed 2,272 rushing yards in his FIU career. "The intensity, the competition level. Everybody is out there competing hard, grinding hard every play. You see it in the team. There is a new fresh energy out there."

The fresh energy has been instilled by new FIU Coach Butch Davis, who returns to the sideline after achieving numerous successes in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns and in college football stops at Miami and North Carolina.

Davis got the first glimpse at his new team in the spring. During the 15 spring practices Davis laid out the foundation for what he expects from the Panthers and the Panthers learned how Davis and his staff will run the program.

Now being more familiar with their new coach, the Panthers seemed more fluid Saturday.

"The thing I think was significantly different than it was during the spring time was they got a little bit of a foundation," Davis said. "They know what the expectations are. They played fast [today]. We talked to them about not worrying about the mistakes that you make. We want you to lay it out there. Have great effort, great attitude and we'll coach you and get better every day. I loved the way that they practiced today."

It was evident during the first practice how the team leaders took it upon themselves to help out the 38 newcomers – a mix of freshmen and transfers. Whether it was senior quarterback Alex McGough directing the freshmen receivers or senior linebacker Anthony Wint giving tips to some new defensive players, the Panthers have taken to their new leadership.

"In the spring we got used to [coach Butch Davis's] type of coaching," said Wint, who was second on the team with 108 tackles last season. "That helped us a lot because we came out here today with an attitude and coach Davis didn't have to tell us to compete or run fast or work hard. The leaders on this team came out with that tempo."

After not seeing enough competition coming out of spring ball, Davis wants to see more players battle for playing time in camp and eventually for jobs for the regular season.

"There is no doubt about [positions being up for grabs] and the kids know it," Davis said. "One of the things that was my biggest disappointment coming out of spring practice was we didn't have near enough competition for positions . . . I challenged a lot of the backup players and said there are 30 incoming freshmen and some fifth-year transfer guys and these guys are coming in here to get your job. So you have to perform and get better every day or somebody is going to take your reps."

Davis was happy with his team's physical condition heading into camp. FIU football strength coach Chad Smith and his staff helped the Panthers improve their power and speed.

"I think every football player on our team gained five, 10, 15 pounds in just pure muscle strength," Davis said. "The numbers reflect it in the squats, power lifts. In addition to that we got faster. The kids that could run 4.4, 4.5, and 4.6 we got twice as many as we had a year ago."

The cloudy early Saturday morning gave way to plenty of hot sunshine and unrelenting Miami humidity. Yet, the Panthers because of their offseason training got through the conditions with no issues.

"A lot of guys put on weight but not just that they got their bodies better and that's a testament to [FIU football strength coach] Chad Smith," Wint said. "On the first day of camp usually there are guys out of shape, on their knees, especially on a hot day like today, but not today because everyone was upright and running around."