[ NFL HAWAII ]
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Getting instruction from coaches and pointers from veterans such as Rod Smith, Denver Broncos wide receiver Ashley Lelie began the sometimes-brutal learning curve of an NFL rookie yesterday. Lelie ‘impressive’ in first camp
Star-Bulletin wire services
During the first of five practices at the Broncos' May minicamp, the Radford and Hawaii alumnus showed some of the speed and receiving skills that made him the Broncos' No. 1 draft pick two weeks ago.
"He was pretty impressive out here today, as a young receiver just coming out," coach Mike Shanahan said. "He showed some good speed, he caught the ball quite well. We were pleased with his effort."
Lelie possesses a combination of size (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) and speed (4.3) that made him irresistible to the Broncos. His productivity didn't hurt, either. Lelie caught 84 passes for 1,713 yards and 19 touchdowns at Hawaii last season, finishing his college career with two straight 200-yard games.
At the two workouts yesterday, however, Lelie was mostly trying to come to grips with learning the Broncos' offense.
He appeared comfortable in taking his game to another level, saying, "It's just blocking and catching the football and running the right routes. The hard part for me is learning the offense right now."
Asked if he had seen the Broncos playbook, Lelie said, "I've only seen part of it. The part we have is like Day One, and that's already big enough. We have to swallow it all as we go."
Lelie benefits from having played in a pro-style passing attack under former NFL coach June Jones at Hawaii.
"This offense isn't much different from what we ran at Hawaii," he said. "It's just different plays, basically. The language and all the terms are about the same."
Shanahan took Lelie aside a couple of times during the morning practice.
"He was telling me to finish the route and run past him," Lelie said. "That's their philosophy here."
He also huddled with Smith, who led the NFL with a franchise-record 113 receptions last year but who was on the sidelines yesterday recovering from a stress fracture in his lower left leg.
"Rod was telling me how to set up DBs (defensive backs) and all the finer points of receiving that I really didn't learn too much at Hawaii," Lelie said. "He was helping me out."
Lelie admits he was awed by the talent around him, but said he got over it quickly.
"After you get into practice, you see they're just players too, just regular people out there giving their all. So I'm going to try to imitate them."
He struggled somewhat with Denver's thin air but said his hamstring injuries, which prevented him from running at full speed for NFL scouts in pre-draft workouts, were almost fully healed.
"They started to tighten up a little bit toward the end, but they're about 100 percent," he said. "They told me to be careful, but I'm still going out there giving it 100 percent."
Lelie rated his first practice as "so-so. I know so little of the offense, so I was a little rusty. I can do a lot better."
With Smith and Ed McCaffrey expected to recover from injuries and reclaim their starting jobs, Lelie realistically is competing for the Broncos' No. 3 receiver position. Shanahan doesn't expect him to make an immediate contribution.
"To come in as a wide receiver, there's some growth involved," Shanahan said. "Ed McCaffrey didn't do much his first year, and it took Rod Smith a long time, and they're proven players now. He's not going to do it in his first year, but he can still contribute to this team.
"He's a big receiver with great speed. Hopefully, if he's not one of our top two receivers, he can work in our three-receiver set or our four-receiver set and be a guy who can make some big plays."
The Broncos' other UH alum, place-kicker Jason Elam, is also at the minicamp -- despite not having a contract -- after receiving a guaranteed injury waiver.
Designated the team's franchise player in February, Elam hasn't signed the $1.465 million offer that accompanies the franchise status. Elam also balked at the Broncos' first offer during his rookie season.
"I think that he wanted to demonstrate the utmost good faith," Elam's agent, Jack Reale, told the Rocky Mountain News on Thursday. "And he indicated he still felt part of the team and didn't want to isolate himself from the club in beginning to prepare for next year."
Elam was seeking a long-term deal that placed him among the league's highest-paid kickers when talks broke off with the Broncos in February. Because of rules regarding the franchise designation, negotiations on a multiyear contract won't resume until at least July 15.
49ers' Owens debuts in USBL: Terrell Owens' pro basketball debut wasn't as spectacular as one of his touchdown catches.
The San Francisco 49ers receiver scored seven points on 3-of-6 shooting in 7:39 of action for the Adirondack Wildcats last night in the U.S. Basketball League, his first competitive basketball since he played for Tennessee-Chattanooga in college.
He hit a 3-pointer from the left wing with 5 seconds left in the Wildcats' 123-106 victory over Brooklyn, bringing roars from the crowd of 2,951, which had urged him to shoot every time he touched the ball.
Owens finished with two steals, one assist and a turnover.
Receiver Boston apologizes: In his first meeting with reporters since his arrest on drug charges, David Boston acknowledged that he embarrassed the Arizona Cardinals.
"I want to apologize for bringing this kind of circumstances to the organization," Boston said yesterday after the first day of minicamp. "I've been told by my lawyer not to discuss any details of the matter, but I'm glad to be back out here playing."
Cardinals sign Lassiter: The Arizona Cardinals signed free-agent safety Kwamie Lassiter to a one-year, $3.34 million guaranteed contract, the team said.
Lassiter, 32, led National Football League free safeties last season with nine interceptions. He also led the team with a career- high 169 tackles.