Cam Newton is the big man on campus. The Panthers defense is looking for the ball and Brandon LaFell will get a shot at starting opposite Steve Smith. 
  • It may be Wofford College, but QB Cam Newton is the undisputed big man on campus. “We haven't had a guy who gets as much attention in the media ever since I've been on the team,” OT Jordan Gross told Eric Boynton of the Spartanburg Herald Journal.
  • It’s no accident that the Panthers' defense has been producing turnovers early in camp. The coaching staff wants defenders hunting the ball. “We’ll continue to work on that, improve on that. We’ll do that every opportunity we get,” coach Ron Rivera told Panthers.com’s Max Henson.
  • WR Brandon LaFell will get the chance to start opposite Steve Smith. He’ll need to be a threat in order to prevent the offense from stagnating. “Now he has to step up a little more because he has to take that pressure off Steve,” Rivera told the Associated Press’ Steve Reed.
  • At 325 pounds, DT Ron Edwards should have no problem filling holes in the middle of the Panthers’ line. The Charlotte Observer’s Ron Green Jr. said Edwards, “makes a refrigerator look flimsy.”
  • There have been plenty of stories already this summer about LBs Jon Beason and Thomas Davis rehabbing together after suffering early-season injuries in 2011. The pair would compete so fiercely during rehab workouts Rivera had to tell them to calm down. USA Today’s Jarrett Bell profiled the twin comebacks. 

For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Carolina Panthers from blogger Shawn Krest, follow @CBSSportsNFLCAR.