Staff Photo by Margaret Fenton Boyd-Buchanan players scrimmage toward the end of practice on Monday, the first day pads have been allowed in high school football practice.

A summer filled with cable reruns of college football games and random talks with area high school coaches finally can be replaced with meaningful preparations as Monday's first day of practice in pads again marked the official countdown to my favorite time of year. And once again, despite a tiring day, the question "Can you overdose on football?" is a resounding "No" for me.

All times Eastern.

Walker Valley (7:22 a.m.): Jared Duke is one of the first Mustangs to show up, and he is every bit of the 6-foot-6, 330 pounds he's listed. He just got back from a camp at Ole Miss, and though he did not receive a scholarship offer, he said two coaches liked him a lot and "It looks good there."

He has attended camps also at Louisville, Auburn and Tennessee, among others, and has an offer from Louisville.

Cleveland (7:56): New Cleveland head coach E.K. Slaughter emerged from the equipment room pushing a shopping cart of Little Debbie lemon muffins, breakfast bars and bananas and announced, "Breakfast is ready."

Slaughter said he is excited about how sophomore quarterback Chad Voytik is grasping the spread offense. The early portion of the week will be spent getting the linemen up to speed on the new offense.

"The skinny kids know what to do," Slaughter said. "Now we've got to get the fat guys to know not only where to go, but what to do when they get there."

Bradley Central (8:19): The Bears are the first team already on the field when I arrive. Three quarterbacks are working on drills with coach Damon Floyd watching. Senior Johnny Davis, junior Chandler Bennett and freshman Bryce Copeland — who's from a family of ex-Bears quarterbacks, including former all-state basketball player Chad Copeland — comprise the trio competing for the top quarterback spot for Bradley Central.

"All three of these guys are battling for the starting spot, and each of them does different things well," Floyd said.

Grace Academy (8:58): The 12-ounce Red Bull I had for breakfast finally has kicked in with the wake-up boost I've needed.

Golden Eagles players are loading their equipment on school vans for the trip to Georgetown, Ky., for a weeklong camp. The Cincinnati Bengals will open their preseason camp at the same site this weekend, and the Grace team plans to watch at least one of the NFL practices. Besides replacing all-state quarterback Josh Blake, numbers are the biggest concern for coach Mark Mowery, who will take 26 players to camp.

Tyner (9:15): For the 10th consecutive year of the tour, the Rams are the first team really getting after it when I arrive. I park at the fieldhouse almost 300 yards from the practice field and can hear the voice of coach Wayne Turner "encouraging" his offensive linemen.

"Use your other arm to push him out of the way!" Turner yells. "This ain't no one-armed rodeo!"

The Rams have a lot of players looking the part in pads. Again.

Boyd-Buchanan (9:36): Morning practice will be two hours of defense, and the Bucs will focus on offense in the afternoon. With 18 of their 22 starters returning, expectations are high.

"I told the kids before we went out, there are 40-something teams in 2A starting practice today, and everyone has the same goal -- getting to Cookeville," Bucs coach Grant Reynolds said. "I reminded them not to look ahead that far, but to pay attention to all the little details we'll work on starting today to get us there."

Brainerd (9:55): The Panthers were to work in the evening on tackling drills, according to coach Marvin Jones, who was getting things ready for the start of practice.

"We have quite a few kids back, and we know what they can do," Jones said. "We have to find out what the younger ones can do so we can build some depth."

Former Howard assistant Stanley Jackson has been added to the Panthers staff as a defensive backs/receivers coach.

Central (10:09): The Purple Pounders are finishing up the first of the day's three practices. They have only six offensive linemen who coach David Barger says are "varsity ready," so a lot of early drills will be spent on developing line depth.

"Our second-team center called me last night and said he was moving to Mississippi," Barger said. "That's not the way you want to start the week."

Hixson (10:32): If Wildcats coach Houston White had not already shaved his head, he probably would have pulled his hair out at the first practice. Hixson lost 22 seniors from last year's team, return just two defensive starters and look to start as many as six sophomores on defense. Fifteen players showed up without having taken a physical -- meaning they had to sit out the drills -- and two others said they needed to leave for personal reasons after the morning session.

"In 15 years as a coach and 12 more as a player, that's the most frustrating practice I've ever been a part of," White said. "We have some talent and I think some kids that want to get us back to the playoffs, but they're going to have to step up and prove they can make that happen."

Soddy-Daisy (11:14): The Trojans are ending their morning session with their eighth and final 40-yard sprint. First-year head coach Kevin Orr assembles the team around him and emphatically instructs them, "Take a knee and all eyes on me."

"We've done enough feeling sorry for ourselves for the last two hours," said Orr, who officially replaced E.K. Slaughter after spring practice. "Everybody says we're going to be down on offense because E.K. is gone and we're going to be down on defense because (Steve) Garland (who left to be defensive coordinator at East Hamilton) is gone, but it's our job to make those people prophets or liars."

Sensing that several first-year players were contemplating whether to come back for the afternoon session, Orr warns them against quitting.

"Every time you quit something it gets easier than the time before," Orr said. "Next thing you know you'll be quitting your family or your wife. If this was easy everybody would get a trophy after the season like in little league."

Red Bank (11:45): The Lions finish a spirited two-and-a-half-hour practice and coach Tim Daniels is pleased.

"You guys were pretty much dead-on all morning," Daniels says. "That's what I expect."

As players disperse for lunch, new defensive back Tyrus Ward holds one player behind for 20 up-downs for cursing during a drill. The Lions will find out just how good they are in a scrimmage against Maryville in two weeks.

Signal Mountain (12:17 p.m.): The morning session had just concluded and head coach Bill Price is mowing the game field. Price said the Eagles worked almost exclusively on defense and did a lot of interior drills in trying to make the linemen more physical. The Eagles will scrimmage with McMinn County, Cookeville and Tyner -- three physical teams -- to help prepare for the transition from jayvee to varsity action.

Baylor (12:44): The Red Raiders have just returned from a 28-team passing camp in Hoover, Ala. Like the camp work, much of this first week will focus on the quarterback battle between sophomore Matthew Oellerich and junior Jacob Huesman -- son of new UTC coach Russ Huesman. Baylor coach Phil Massey also is eager to see offensive lineman Parker Cantelou (6-1, 317), who transferred after David Brainerd closed its doors.

East Hamilton (1:41): About 15 players are standing outside a trailer to collect equipment. The campus is a beehive of activity with workers paving the entrance and others putting the finishing touches around the school building. The Hurricanes won't move into their fieldhouse for several more weeks. Coach Ted Gatewood already has one enviable problem: He has more players than equipment.

Ooltewah (2:21): Rap music is blaring from the locker room stereo system as players get dressed for the 2:45 practice. Former Boyd-Buchanan all-state quarterback Drew Akins is a volunteer assistant with the Owls, working with the receivers. When asked about replacing all-state receiver Sammy Seamster, Akins smiles and says, "We're not worried about depth at receiver. We've got some speed."

The Owls will all-state running back Matthew Polk with a committee of three or four backs.

Silverdale Baptist (2:39): Seahawks coach John Allen is on the phone to finalize plans for a team trip to Orlando during fall break. The Seahawks will play Pine Castle Christian (Fla.) at the ESPN/Disney Sports Complex. They will spend the week in the Orlando area practicing and visiting Disney attractions before facing Pine Castle on Oct. 23.

Silverdale was to practice at night, and it was a pre-emptive step that paid off. Allen is holding a digital heat gauge that reads 104 degrees -- the mark that would force teams to move inside under new TSSAA guidelines.

"That's why we go out at 7 or 7:30," Allen said, "because with the heat this time of year you are going to lose practice time in the afternoons."

Considering Chattanooga is nowhere near the ocean, I'm still a little perplexed why Silverdale's nickname is Seahawks and East Hamilton's is Hurricanes. Wouldn't more geographically appropriate nicknames work better?

Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (3:17): The Warriors just finished their end of summer testing. Georgia teams are not allowed to begin practicing in pads until Aug. 3.

With 20 seniors, LFO head coach Todd Windham says he is pleasantly surprised with the overall strength and speed improvements, and 29 of the 67 players on the roster had perfect attendance for the 24 summer work-out sessions.

East Ridge (3:50): The Pioneers are exiting the fieldhouse and making their way to the practice field. Junior Shannon Brown has used the preseason passing scrimmages to lay early claim to the starting quarterback job. Coach Mike Martin happily reports that a pair of offensive linemen had stepped up during summer workouts.

Juniors Keyonte Bush (6-foot-1, 265 pounds) and Brayton Floyd (6-2, 230) have gone from "immature, timid kids to guys we are counting on to make us pretty good up front," Martin says.

Notre Dame (4:15): The Irish are finishing their second practice of the day with a drill called "perfect plays," with coaches scattered across the field to watch every angle. Any mistake results in the play being rerun. And after one inside handoff play is rerun five times, new coach Josh Sellers commands the entire offense to do 10 push-ups on the spot. On the next snap, the play is run perfectly.

McCallie (4:39): With only three starters back on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, the Blue Tornado have plenty of holes to fill. One position that looks to be settled is quarterback, where senior Keenon Rush's athleticism will make him a dual threat. McCallie's new artificial-turf field should be the envy of any field maintenance worker.

"It's the same turf that NFL teams have," brags McCallie assistant Kenny Sholl.

Howard (5:41): The Hustlin' Tigers never have a shortage of playmakers, but coach Alvin Tarver can't contain his excitement about the 16 linemen he has to work with. Five starters return -- three three-year starters and two two-year starters -- and there are four 300-plus pounders in the entire group.

"Those dogs will bite you," Tarver says as he motions toward the linemen group. "I don't want those type dogs that people aren't afraid of, and we're excited to let this bunch off their leash."

Lookout Valley (6:17): The numbers may be small, but there is plenty of intensity as the sound of pads popping is the loudest of any stop yet, including consecutive hits that rattle the ball loose from the runner. Of the Yellow Jackets' 26 players, 20 are seniors or freshmen, and coach Tony Webb says he expects at least five freshmen to play key roles.

Chattanooga Christian (6:40): It's picture day so practice will be light afterward. Once the Chargers begin a full day's practice schedule on Tuesday, finding depth to prevent a high number of two-way players will be the focus.

Marion County (7:22): It looks like a reunion from the glory days with former Warriors star players Pumpy Tudors, Shane Thomasson, Rodney Rankin, Mikey Castle and Larry Ziegler, as well as former head coach Ken Colquette, all working as assistants.

The Warriors are working on kickoffs after a very physical morning session.

"We started out with an Oklahoma drill first thing this morning and got after each other pretty hard," Marion coach Troy Boeck says. "We'll take it a little easier now."

North Jackson, Ala. (8:07): Alabama schools can't practice in full pads for another week, and the Chiefs are finishing a passing scrimmage with North Sand Mountain and Madison County. Defense has been the program's trademark of success for 20 years, but with only two starters back, it is now the biggest question mark heading into the season.

South Pittsburg (8:31): Proof that the locals are as eager for the season to start as the players, I count 41 cars surrounding the practice field. After the team finishes its three-hour practice with 12 40-yard sprints, Pirates coach Vic Grider tells the kids to look around them.

"I'll be there's not another place in the state that has this many people just to watch a practice," Grider says. "Don't lose sight of that. That's the reason we work this hard. That's what this program you're a part of is all about."