FLORENCE, Ala. -- A lightning delay pushed back the University of North Alabama's first day of fall practice by an hour but the rain did little to dampen the spirits of the Lions under first-year head coach Chris Willis.

When the Lions were finally able to get on the field for a fast-paced two hour session, Willis said the heat and humidity helped with the team's conditioning.

"It was a typical first day," said Willis. "We had to start from the ground up and do a lot of teaching, even how to lineup and get on and off the field. With 63 new guys you can't get deep into the playbook for a while but we started from scratch and are making progress. We didn't work a lot on conditioning today but we wanted to work fast and keep people moving."

The Lions return more than 30 lettermen from 2016 but a lot of the first day focus was on the newcomers.

"We as coaches have to get to know the players and the players have to get to know the coaches," Willis said. "Right now we're not worried about the depth chart but we want to see who can do what, and who knows what to do. Just picking up the simple stuff is important."

Willis spent much of his first day on the practice field actively involved in drills.

"I think it's important to be involved," he said. "I let the coaches do their jobs but I don't want to just sit back and watch. I mainly wanted to watch the offense  today and see the quarterbacks."

Willis said sophomore returnee Blake Hawkins threw the ball well but said he is also expecting junior transfer Rico Bruton to compete.

"Nobody stood out over anybody else today at quarterback but we are going to make it a competition," Willis said. "We need Blake to be pushed and we need to have two guys ready to go."

The Lions return to the practice field Thursday at 3:30. The team's first scrimmage will likely come on Sunday.