HUNTSVILLE — Practice is underway for the Alabama A&M football program.
 
Players were on the practice field Saturday morning as Alabama A&M opened its fall football camp.
 
For Alabama A&M, coach Connell Maynor is heading into his second fall camp with the Bulldogs, so the routine was not new.
 
Alabama A&M returns eight starters on offense, and six on defense.
 
"A lot of these guys were here last year," Maynor said. "So the new guys are following the leadership of the (returning players). When you've got veteran guys coming back, that's huge for the newcomers on the first day."
 
The opening day camp was an exciting moment for the program.
 
And for good reason.
 
Expectations for Alabama A&M football are high.
 
During the offseason, Alabama A&M had five players selected for preseason all-conference honors, and the Bulldogs are expected to be in contention for the Southwestern Athletic Conference title.
 
On the opening day of fall camp, the leadership on the Alabama A&M roster was evident.
 
When the first horn sounded to open practice, players darted to their designated spots on the field with lots of enthusiasm — an energy that was maintained throughout most of the morning.
 
On the opening day of fall camp, Maynor was looking for one primary thing:
 
Effort.
 
"That's always what you're looking for on the first day of camp," Maynor said. "You want to see how the young guys respond. And overall, I thought we had a good first day."
 
With so many returning starters, however, the Alabama A&M coaching staff opted to get a bit more advanced than normal on the opening day of camp.
 
Overall, Maynor was pleased.
 
"With so many veteran guys, and so many who were here this summer, we were able to do some things you normally wouldn't do on Day 1," Maynor said. "The first day of camp is usually kind of vanilla.
 
"But today, we had a lot of good plays in, and there were not a lot o busts — or not as many as you would expect on Day 1. That was a good sign."
 
Maynor said the next few days camp will build on the foundation established on the opening day.
 
"You just build on each and every day," he said. "You want to see the guys play a little more fast than the day before — just looking for guys to make the kind of progress we expect.
 
"Overall, I was pleased with the first day."