Well, Auburn chose the hottest day so far for its first practice in pads this morning, the first two-a-days of the season. There wasn't much hitting during the session we saw, just the normal stretching regimen we normally see and some positional drills.

Nevertheless, here are a few observations (which you can be informed about immediately if you follow me on Twitter here) ...

• Just to re-iterate, it was HOT out there today.

• Gene Chizk was decked out in all orange today -- shorts, long-sleeve shirt and visor. He has no shortage of Under Armour gear. He had a very hands-on approach today during the special teams session. It was the most instruction I've seen him do out there on the field yet.
  

• All but three of the coaches were in long sleeves. I guess that's supposed to keep you cool when things get hot, but it seems counter-intuitive, especially on a day that steamy.

• Morgan Hull went 6-for-8 in the live kicking drill that Wes Byrum was perfect in yesterday. Hull's last two kicks were ugly. The last, a 47-yarder with players yelling in his ears, was short, left and wobbly. It barely made the end zone.

• Special teams coordinator Jay Boulware had the line of the day, stopping a punting drill to demand more physical play: "This ain't a frickin' pillow fight out here."

• Of the punters, Clinton Durst appeared to be booting the ball well., with plenty of distance and hang time. He had a couple that backed up the returners quite a bit.

• Today's non-participants: WR Tim Hawthorne, QB Barrett Trotter, S Mike McNeil, LB Spencer Pybus, DE Dee Ford, LB Harris Gaston, S T'Sharvan Bell, OL Bart Eddins, LB Adam Herring, DT Mike Blanc (who had a brace on his left knee) and DL Antoine Carter (who had a brace on his right knee). Almost all of them did bench press exercises on the side.

• Hawthorne wasn't completely inactive. He caught balls from the JUGS machine early on. Later, he had two pads on his hands like boxing gloves, hitting the rest of the receivers as they got off the line of scrimmage during a drill.

• The quarterbacks did an interesting drill. Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn pulled on a rubber band tethered to the football that the quarterbacks held in their hands as they moved back and forth in the pocket. I guess this is to make sure they secure the ball at all times.

• We'll have more after we interview players late this morning, plus more this evening after the second practice of the day.