Spring practice opens

The Fighting Irish -- with Coach Kelly's focus on restoring the "fighting" (read: "Our roots are the Fighting Irish. I think building that model requires some toughness") part to that -- opened 2010 spring practice.

und.com update page [here] with links to a practice report, a Dayne Crist brief interview, and player comments.

Coach Kelly's press conference transcript [here].

Of note, to me...

* The practice routine, drills, and schedule remain fluid for Kelly. The team will work on whatever they need to.

* Kelly has guarded praise already for Dayne Crist at QB:

"I think the first thing you see an engaging young man, bright eyed, enthusiastic. He's got all those intangibles that immediately people would gravitate towards. ...But it takes more than that to be a championship quarterback. You know, you've got to be able to produce on the field. You've got to be able to get your players around you to obviously make plays. So he's got a lot of work to do. ...It's going to be a competitive situation for Dayne. That's why it's so incumbent upon him to be involved in everything we do through the spring. It's a proving ground for him as well."

* No depth chart. Players work in groupings, in "pods."

* Kelly singled out Chris Stewart, Kapron Lewis-Moore ("Kap Lewis"), and Manti Te'o as early leaders.

* With Golden Tate off to the NFL, Manti Te'o (at inside LB) easily becomes my new favorite player:

"He's a college football player. He's got that excitement, that passion. Those are the guys I want to be around. I'm passionate about what I do. I want to be around guys that love the game, love being around it. So he brings that energy on a day to day basis."

* Michael Floyd is slimmer:

"Michael Floyd has work to do, as well. The volume that we're going to throw at him is something that's going to be new. He's lost a lot of weight. He's down into the 216, 217 range, from 233 when we got here because he just would not have been able to stay on the field with the pace of play. He's made a great commitment."

* Wide receiver and outside linebacker are two of the big position battles this spring.

Press takes on the press conference and practice:

• Keith Arnold, NBC Sports Inside the Irish blog, "Spring Practice: Your A to Z guide."
• Eric Hansen, South Bend Tribune, "At first practice, Kelly unleashes culture shock on Irish."
• Lorenzo Reyes, Irish Sports Daily, "Kelly Not Caught Up In Depth Charts."
• Tom Coyne, Associated Press via Boston Herald, "Kelly wants to return fight to Fighting Irish."