--Coach John Fox is anxious to have rookie running back Jonathan Stewart back at practice. Stewart isn't allowed around the facility until the University of Oregon finishes its final exams. Oregon is one of the few schools around the country that works on the quarter grading system.
"He's a sharp guy and I like this demeanor and his football character," Fox said of the team's first-round draft pick. "I like what I saw from his college tape. He just has to get healthy."
Fox said he expects Stewart will be ready to go in training camp.
"He's out of his boot and he's one schedule. He will be coming here shortly and being doing rehab with our medical people and they are telling me he will be ready for July 25 (the start of training camp)."
--Fullback Brad Hoover thought long and hard about venturing out of North Carolina this past offseason.
In the end, he didn't.
So Hoover accepted a three-year offer from the Carolina Panthers on the day before the start of the free-agency signing period, returning for a ninth season.
And he's glad he did.
"It's one of those things where I was trying to weigh all of my options," said Hoover, the Panthers' longtime starting fullback. "There were other options out there. It was just trying to see what I wanted to do. Ultimately it just made sense for me to stay."
After growing up in Thomasville, N.C., and playing prep football at Ledford High, Hoover went on to play for Western Carolina and then caught on with the Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2000, so he's never played a "home game" outside the state.
He'd like to keep it that way.
"This is where I've grown up and my family is still here and I've been with organization since day one. So it was important for me to stay here," he said.
Hoover also has a gut feeling the Panthers are ready to turn things around after two non-winning seasons.
--Hoping to appeal to the Spanish-American fan base, the Carolina Panthers have announced a new, one-year partnership with Radio Lider WNOW-AM to broadcast all of their games during the 2008 season in Spanish.
The Panthers will be the 12th team in the NFL to have a Spanish broadcast.
Radio Lider WNOW-AM became the first commercial station in the Carolinas to begin broadcasting in Spanish more than 14 years ago. Their daytime-only signal reaches the seven county Charlotte metro area with an estimated Hispanic population of nearly 200,000 people.
"With the tremendous growth in the Carolinas' Hispanic population, we have been looking for the right partnership to make Panthers football available in Spanish," said Henry Thomas, the Panthers' director of broadcasting and new media. "Radio Lider WNOW-AM has provided that partner, and we are excited about this opportunity."
--Jake Delhomme asked about the changes on offense and he went into great depth describing his reason for being optimistic.
"The offensive line has done an outstanding job. Jordan (Gross) and Travelle (Wharton) work great together. When we put them together in '04 in the middle of the season they really picked it up. (Jeff) Otah has looked the part. I like what I've seen. I like it a lot."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I really like what I've seen so far. We've got some guys that want to work. I think we've filled a big leadership void on this team this offseason. It's real good. So we'll see what happens." -- Panthers QB Jake Delhomme after OTAs.
