ENGLEWOOD, Colo. --After three days of hard work on the practice field, Head Coach John Fox gathered the rookies and first-year players to let them know it was a job well done.
"Really I just complimented them on their effort," Fox said. "They all did good mentally and physically. Hopefully they can keep that going."
Seventh-round pick Zac Dysert said the main message he received from Fox was that this weekend was a good foundation -- but there's still a lot of work to be done.
Tomorrow, the veterans rejoin the fray as the team continues its offseason conditioning program.
"The biggest thing is, like I told myself, I'm here for good now," first-round pick Sylvester Williams said. "It's no vacation for me. I'm here to work for the rest of this summer. I'm going to get in there with (Strength and Conditioning) Coach Luke (Richesson) and give it everything I've got. I'm going to get as much extra in as I can to get myself in shape because I want to help this program this fall as much as I can."
With the exception of three players -- running backs Montee Ball and C.J. Anderson and cornerback Aaron Hester, whose classes haven't graduated yet -- the rookies will be back to work with the rest of the club Monday morning.
Anderson and Hester are essentially gone until training camp, as Cal and UCLA, respectively, use the quarter system and their classes don't graduate until June. Ball, however, will be back in a week -- just in time for OTAs.
"This time off, I'll make sure that every day I'm studying the playbook, conditioning and hitting the weights," Ball said. "I'll make sure I'm on top of everything."
With the rookie minicamp now over, Williams said that while it provided a taste of what life in the NFL will bring, it didn't bring many surprises.
"Most of all I expected it to be football," he said. "And that's what it was."
GIBBS REJOINS BRONCOS
Alex Gibbs, who first entered the NFL in 1984 with the Broncos, is now back with the franchise in a consulting capacity.
He'll work with the offensive line under Offensive Line Coach Dave Magazu.
Gibbs, who spent a combined 13 seasons in Denver in two previous stints earlier in his career, won two Super Bowl rings with the club.
From 1995 to 2000, Gibbs' Broncos offensive lines did not allow more than 35 sacks in a season, and center Tom Nalen went to four consecutive Pro Bowls during that stretch. When the Broncos won their second consecutive Super Bowl in 1998, three offensive linemen were voted to the Pro Bowl as NFL MVP Terrell Davis rushed for more than 2,000 yards.
In his new consultant role, Gibbs will work closely with the younger players on the line to aid in their development.
