For three days, RB Bryce Brown was king of a very small hill. He received the majority of reps, was getting plenty of attention from coaches and was having fun.
That all ends now because, as Brown put it on Wednesday, “the big kids are back in school.’’
In this case, the big kids are the Eagles' veterans who reported to training camp at Lehigh University on Wednesday.
But for three days, Brown and the rest of the rookies had camp -- and the coaches’ attention -- all to themselves.
“It was great because we got a chance to review all the stuff from [the spring minicamps] and get a jump on things mentally,’’ Brown said. “That’s the biggest thing, the mental part of it. It’s already second nature to [the veterans], but we’re still feeling our way through this.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen down the road,’’ Brown added, “but I know these last three days have made me feel a lot better about things. I’m ready to compete.”
That’s the idea. Coach Andy Reid started the rookies-only portion of camp several years ago and said it gives the first-year players a fighting chance when the veterans report and the intensity of practice heats up.
“It will help them going into the hitting part of it, when they start getting physically tired,’’ Reid said. “They don’t have to think as much and can go play.”
Stay dialed in on the Philadelphia Eagles throughout the season on Twitter @CBSSPortsNFLPHI for on-site updates from Birds RapidReports correspondent Kevin Noonan.
