Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 14, 1995                   TAG: 9507140113
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ED HARDIN LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: ROCK HILL, S.C.                                LENGTH: Medium

HEAT IS ON FOR PANTHERS' 1ST TRAINING CAMP

Dom Capers gets up every morning and runs five miles, just to check the weather.

That's the kind of man who is in charge of the Carolina Panthers' first training camp this weekend in Spartanburg, S.C. And that's the kind of camp it's going to be.

Capers, the head coach of the Carolinas' NFL expansion team, is likely to push his team to the edge in the next month of practice. But he won't ask any more of his players than he asks of himself.

``Sometimes I run at about 3 in the afternoon,'' he said Tuesday, with a gleam in his eye.

On Sunday morning, at 9:15, up to 90 players will hit the field at Wofford College. By 7:15 p.m. Sunday, it's doubtful all 90 will still be standing.

In fact, unless there is some serious activity between now and then, several key players might not be there at all. The Panthers' top four draft picks - quarterback Kerry Collins, defensive back Tyrone Poole, offensive lineman Blake Brockermeyer and defensive end Shawn King - are unsigned. NFL rules prohibit unsigned players from participating in training camp.

``Hopefully, they'll sign by the time we report,'' Capers said. ``We're optimistic. We're going to work with whoever reports. We'll go with who's there.''

Another player not expected to be at Wofford tonight, when the players are required to report for the first meeting, is Patrick Scott, an outside linebacker who was injured in a freak accident on July 4. The Durham, N.C., native was struck by a car while he was pushing a girl out of the automobile's path. Scott injured a knee and will undergo surgery.

``He'll be out for a couple of weeks, at least,'' Capers said. ``We don't expect him to be ready for the Jacksonville game.''

The Hall of Fame Game against Jacksonville on July 29 will come and go during the training camp, and for now Capers is not concerned with winning or losing the team's inaugural contest.

``We practice 11 times the first week and seven the second'' before playing Jacksonville, Capers said. ``If we spend seven practices on Jacksonville we lose sight of the big picture.''

The big picture, quarterback Frank Reich said Monday, is winning starting jobs first and games later.

``Everybody assumes that I'll be the starter,'' Reich said. ``I don't assume that. I never assume anything in this business. I want to be the starter from Game 1 to Game 16. That's my goal. I'm sure that's Jack [Trudeau's] goal, too.''

And that will be the goal of every player on the field Sunday morning, the first of a slew of two-a-day sessions in oven-like Spartanburg.

The practices are sure to take their toll on rookies, who never have been to anything resembling an NFL training camp.

``The heat will make it interesting,'' Reich said. ``I remember preseason when I was in Maryland in college. It was like this up there, very warm and humid. It's going to be like that here, and I'm not 22 years old anymore.''

Several players who did not make it through the June minicamp are expected to be ready for training camp, including running Derrick Lassic, safety Bubba McDowell, linebacker Frank Stams and defensive tackle Steve Strahan.

All are recovering from knee injuries and have spent the past three weeks in rehabilitation.

Keywords:
FOOTBALL