Today was the last day of mini camp for the Carolina Panthers and it was open to the fans… so I decided to leave my house at 5:00 am and drive 300 miles to see it.  It was worth it!!

There were four players that impressed me over the two hour practice; Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly, Mike Tolbert, and surprisingly Lamont Bryant.

Starting with Lamont Bryant, you may ask who is he?  Well he is a receiver that was just signed earlier this week and already impressing fans.  Backup Quarterback Derek Anderson threw a deep ball to the corner of the end zone the Bryant came down with.  To my surprise he came up with the ball.  One way to earn one of the last spots on the team is to impress the fans.

Next was Mike Tolbert, you is a lot faster than I thought he would be.  I won’t say too much on how the Panthers used him but I will tell you that he can make a nice cutback and extra burst of speed out of nowhere.

Luke Kuechly, the Panthers first round pick this year, had a pick six on backup Quarterback Jimmy Clausen.  Jokingly Cam Newton chased him down from the sideline to prevent a touchdown, or try.  Also he was making really good reads, he was fast off the ball and met the ball at the line of scrimmage.  Even Jon Beason looked to be back to his normal self again, which is great news.

Finally we have Cam Newton, who was phenomenal.  He was looking excellent and very accurate on all of his throws, yes all of them!  He has built great timing with all of the receivers and only had one incomplete pass due to a dropped pass.  Of course, no matter how big of a throw it was, the fans didn’t nearly appreciate it as much as the 10 yard pass to Steve Smith.

Next up is training camp for the Panthers in Spartensburg, SC and I suggest that everyone should try to go.  It is a great atmosphere to be in and I can tell you first hand it is fun, especially after I got my Cam Newton jersey signed by none other than Newton himself.

It was nice to get to see what to expect this year and Panther fans should be rooting hard this year because I believe they are going to go a long way.

July 31, 2011; Spartanburg, SC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) signs autographs during training camp at Gibbs Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-US PRESSWIRE

With only one day left until rookie training camp starts for the Carolina Panthers, it is hard to know exactly how good the Panthers did in the draft until those players step out onto the practice field.

Obviously the players that will be looked to do the most are the players that got drafted.  I look for Luke Kuechly to impress the coaching staff immediately.  As if he hasn’t impressed them enough already, Kuechly said that he can’t wait to get going on the training camps and to show how good he is.

DE Frank Alexander and CB Josh Norman are going to be looked at heavily during the rookie training camp because they were sleepers in the draft that can be a great steal for the Panthers.  They showed great things in college and look to try and earn a starting job.

The one thing I will be looking forward to is the undrafted rookies.  Don’t get me wrong, I defiantly want to see our draftees also, but I haven’t seen game film on the undrafted rookies as I have the ones that were drafted.

There were twelve undrafted rookies signed after the draft last week, and you can look for all of them to compete for a job on the roster.  Carolina picked up three running backs, four wide receivers, two offensive linemen, one tight end, and two defensive linemen.

Head coach Ron Rivera stated that this year is going to be much harder than last year, in terms of practice.  “It’s got to be tough, it’s time to say we have come a long way since last year and even a long way since two years ago and develop a personality that is tough”.  He also mentioned that he and his coaching staff will be looking at what they can do and how well they retained their knowledge coming in.

The schedule for all rookie training camps and OTA’s are as follows:

Rookie Training Camp (May 11- May 13, June 12- June 14)

OTA’s (May 22- May 24, May 30-June 1, June4- June 7)

Steve Smith has been rumored to want out of Carolina, so many fans believed he wouldn’t take the leadership position. Cam Newton isn’t familiar with the team, so he probably wouldn’t lead the workouts. And, just when it seemed as though the Panthers would skip on informal workouts, Jordan Gross stepped in and set up a workout at a private school in South Carolina.

Gross has long been viewed as a leader for the Panthers, and he proved that with the organization of the workouts. He wanted his workouts to closely simulate the offseason workouts the coaches would hold. He found the venue and over 50 of the Panthers players showed to the workout.

Gross barred all reporters from the workout, going as far as hiring police to rid the workout of any media. Cam Newton and Jimmy Clausen are thought to have been at the workouts together.

The Carolina Panthers are taking a step in the right direction now. If the Panthers want any chance of Cam Newton starting on day one, they need to convene and practice as a team. Newton will need direction on the playbook and associating himself with the team.

Honestly, if the lockout persists into July, when training camps are scheduled to begin, the Panthers may be required to start Jimmy Clausen at quarterback. Newton needs time to develop into a starting quarterback, albeit one offseason should provide plenty of preparation. Newton has the ability to be the “saving grace” for the Panthers, they just need to stick with the workouts.

If the lockout should persist into July and August, look for Gross to plan informal training camps to ready his team for the season. Gross is the leader we needed, and he is doing all he can to prepare for any season the NFL may have.

So Panthers fans, thank Jordan Gross. Without him, we may be stuck with starting Jimmy Clausen for a majority of the coming season.