NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. - The Wildcats got the opening day of camp rolling on Thursday, and if you didn't know the team had made a temporary home 15 miles from campus, you would have never been able to tell from the action on the field.

The Bethune-Cookman football operation didn't miss a beat, despite moving to the New Smyrna Beach Sports Complex during upgrades to the home practice facility. The late-afternoon Florida sun still beat down, the gnats that accompany a football practice still swirled, and the Wildcats still got after it for two and half hours, regardless of the bus ride down or the frequent outgoing flights from the New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport just next door; business as usual.

“Routine,” said Head Coach Brian Jenkins. “It's just routine for us, just at a different place; no big changes for us.”

Practicing in just helmets for day one of the 2012 B-CU football camp, the full load of Wildcats went to work, both new and old, getting quickly acclimated to how Jenkins runs the program, with positive results out of the gate.

“The guys' focus has been good, and that's a plus, but it's day one,” Jenkins said. “You can't judge the success of a football team off of day one.”

Under Jenkins the past two years, the Wildcats have gone 18-5 creating a resurgence in the program that boils down to the detail-oriented practice style and fundamental focus of not only the coaches, but in the attitude instilled in the players from day one.

“It's not about scheme, it's not about talent, it's about being fundamentally sound,” Jenkins said. “And right now, we've got a lot of work to do in that area.”

One focal point Coach Jenkins did identify coming out of the evening practice was physical camp readiness, with the team showing no physical issues from the intense day's work. However, the hardest work is yet to come for the 2012 Wildcats.

“Our strength staff has done a very good job , but we're in shape for where we're at now,” Jenkins said.

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