CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas put up a solid first day of Fall Camp on Thursday, according to seventh-year head coach Nathan Brown.

The Bears worked for two hours on Day 1 of camp after reporting on Wednesday, a month out from their 2024 season opener at Arkansas State on Aug. 31 in Jonesboro. 

"Really good," said Brown. "I thought we moved around well, our players practiced with a purpose, which I anticipated happening. I really wasn't expecting anything other than that. We have a good veteran group, a lot of guys who have been here for awhile and I thought they set the tempo and tone. And that was good to see.

"Obviously, there are some assignments that we've got to clean up, but we're further advanced than we've been in Day 1 in some years past because of the ability you have to practice in the summer and some of the things we're able to do with these guys over June and July."

Brown said his No. 1 takeaway was the overall effort of his squad, which was picked No. 1 in the preseason United Athletic Conference (UAC) coaches' poll after finishing 7-4 overall a year ago.

"I was proud. We didn't have to coach effort, the guys practiced the right way," said Brown. "You know, it's warm and I thought we handled that well. And that's not going to change. But I was excited about us getting back out here and competing and putting the helmet on. Football is officially back here in Conway, the helmets are back on."

The early practices of fall camp are all about getting better, Brown said. 

"It's about growing," he said. "And when I say growth, it's about growth mentally as much as it is physically. There's going to be a mistake everybody makes, whether that's an assignment mistake or a technical mistake with their technique. But we've got a ton of meeting time. And that's part of the fun about camp, you're in football mode for about 2 1/2 or three weeks of August.

"So we'll get time to adjust with the guys. My goal with those guys is don't make the same mistake tomorrow.  If it's corrected in the media room and the film room, let's make sure we take that out here (to practice) tomorrow morning and correct that mistake. Look, you'll probably make another one, that's part of football, part of sports. But we'll work on that one as well.

"So it's really about growth, not only with us as a team but with individual effort. And if we get growth individually, it's going to make our team better."

The Bears will continue to work in helmets on Friday, adding shoulder pads on Saturday and full pads next Tuesday (Aug. 6). UCA's first partial scrimmage is set for Saturday, Aug. 10.