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SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Training camp began Saturday morning for the Carolina Panthers with Jake Delhomme at quarterback.

And not Brett Favre.

Delhomme chased his offense out of the huddle for the first practice play from scrimmage and looked out across the field at Wofford College, the ruler of all he surveyed. He saw a rookie right tackle and a new right guard. He glanced back at a rookie running back then looked to his left and saw Muhsin Muhammad.

On the hill above the practice field, 5,000 people came to their feet. After standing in rain for hours, they drew nervously quiet. Delhomme broke the silence, took the snap and turned his back to the defense.

What happened next isn't important. Delhomme, confident and in control of the Panthers once again, appeared to have a smile on his face.

There's an air of assurance on the first day of training camp every season, and this one was no different. But there was certainly something changed Saturday morning as clouds moved into the Upstate and lowered temperatures into the 60s in the early hours.

Delhomme, coming off elbow surgery and a truncated season, said he was thankful for the unexpected weather. John Fox, the coach now two years removed from his last winning season, said the players were praying for an easy day.

"Their prayers were answered," he said. "The only thing better than this would've been lightning.

He'd have practiced them anyway. Fox knows his job is on the line this season, and he was more than happy to see Delhomme back and a revamped offense around him. The quarterback later suggested anything less than a winning season would mean basically everyone getting fired.

The rookies were oblivious to such pressure. Jeff Otah, the first-round tackle out of Pittsburgh, signed a contract for less than he wanted Friday just to make sure he was in the huddle before the first snap. His five-year deal was for $8.9 million. Carolina's top pick, running back Jonathan Stewart out of Oregon, went to sleep Friday night in a motel because he had no money.

"It was a Motel 6," he said only hours after himself signing a five-year deal for $20 million, $10.8 million of it guaranteed.

He dropped a pass from Delhomme on one play and was blown up by linebacker Thomas Davis on another. Asked what he told the rookie, Davis smiled.

"Welcome to the NFL," he said.

Delhomme welcomed back Muhammad, who is credited with turning Steve Smith into one of the best receivers in the game before signing with Chicago four years ago. The quarterback introduced himself to the rookies and traded barbs with the defense across the line of scrimmage.

He saw Davis and Julius Peppers moved to the right side of the defense, saw veterans Chris Harris, Terrence Holt and Ken Lucas in the secondary and realized he was up against a pretty good unit.

"I like the new faces we have," he said. "When you go 8-8 and 7-9, that's average. You're looking to get replaced. If we have one of those seasons this year, you're looking at a lot of new faces next year. That's just the way it is."

Delhomme said he liked the energy he saw on the first day, liked the noise of the hits from the defense, liked the enthusiasm of a deep receiver corps and the size of the new offensive line.

"We got better by addition," he said. "I think we got better by subtraction also."

Read what you will into that.

Getting the rookies signed eliminated the final distraction before camp. All talk of Favre and the possibility of him signing here, too, disappeared when No. 17 came loping down the long hill from the Richardson building to the field below, walking past a long line of fans waiting for him, past a golf cart with owner Jerry Richardson himself driving it, smiling as his franchise player trotted past.

This is a new year for the Panthers in more ways than one. After two botched seasons and the most active offseason since the expansion days, Carolina is poised for something big this year. Of course, that could mean anything with this franchise.

The first big thing was Delhomme coming down the hill in full pads. The second was watching him wind up the big right arm and fire a pass downfield to Smith, who caught it in stride and spiked it in the vicinity of a defender. The crowd roared as the Panthers ran simulated plays and worked through a light morning practice before the real hitting began.

With a mist falling and anticipation rising, a horn blew and Carolina went into huddles for the first live action of the season. Delhomme barked out a signal. The ball was snapped an instant before an explosion of pads and helmets and cleats and tape and uniforms and men all collided in perfectly choreographed violence.

Delhomme was indeed smiling as he dropped back to pass.

Contact Ed Hardin at 373-7069 or ed.hardin@news-record.com