Cameron Artis-Payne

Carolina Panthers running back Cameron Artis-Payne carries the ball during practice at the team's rookie minicamp in Charlotte, N.C., on Friday, May 8, 2015.

(AP Photo)

Former Auburn running back Cameron Artis-Payne had a busy first day as a pro - position meeting, on-the-field practice, NFL contract signing, special-teams meeting - with the Carolina Panthers on Friday.

"After all the pre-draft stuff, it's good to get back to this," Artis-Payne told the Panthers' team web site after the first practice of Carolina's three-day rookie minicamp. "It's definitely real. It just hit me coming out here that it's time for the NFL. You dream about this as a kid, and now this is really it."

After practice on Friday, Artis-Payne showered and signed a four-year, $2,446,254 contract that contained a signing bonus of $166,254 before he had to go to his next meeting as he gets a crash course on Carolina Panthers' football.

To receive that money - other than the signing bonus, which is guaranteed - Artis-Payne has to make the team. NFL salaries are paid in 17 installments during the season, and Artis-Payne would be due $25,588 a week for the 2015 season.

As the SEC's leading rusher last year with 1,608 yards, earning a spot in the NFL wouldn't seem to be a problem. But Artis-Payne joined the Panthers as a fifth-round draft choice last week. Sixteen running backs were selected ahead of Artis-Payne in the 2015 NFL Draft, including four from the SEC.

"I've always got a chip on my shoulder, just from me being who I am and how I worked to get here," Artis-Payne told the Charlotte Observer. "I really don't feel like there are many people that have the drive or the desire that I do to be great and to get to this point. At the end of the day, whether I was a first-round draft pick or whether I was the 15th overall running back, I was going to come in there with a chip on my shoulder."

The other running backs on the Panthers' roster are Jonathan Stewart, Fozzy Whitaker, former UAB star Darrin Reaves and Mike Tolbert, who were with Carolina last season, and Jordan Todman, who was signed as a free agent in March. Stewart is the leading returning rusher with 809 yards in 13 games last season.

"You watch him go inside the piles and really move people," Carolina coach Ron Rivera said about Artis-Payne. "He is low to the ground, he has great leverage. He'll fit right in with our short running backs. He's built a lot like them."

DeAngelo Williams, Carolina's all-time rushing leader, was released in the offseason after playing only six games in 2014 because of injuries. Artis-Payne, who wore No. 44 at Auburn, now has Williams' jersey number - 34 - although Carolina originally announced he would wear 45.

The Panthers had only five draft picks, which would make for a slim rookie minicamp except Carolina also signed 10 undrafted rookies and invited 35 players to try out during the workouts. The tryout players include former Auburn cornerback Ryan White. Four players who spent last season on Carolina's practice squad also were eligible to participate.

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The Panthers' other draft picks were Washington linebacker Shaq Thompson in the first round, Michigan wide receiver Devin Funchess in the second, Oklahoma guard Daryl Williams in the fourth and Texas State linebacker David Mayo in the fifth.

"There's a lot of positive to be gained from the five we brought in," Rivera said. "There's a lot of adjustment that each of these guys will go through because of the types of players they are going to face. They have to adapt to the quickness and speed."

The first day of practice didn't go as well for Carolina's top two picks as it went for Artis-Payne. Funchess left practice with leg cramps and ended up getting an IV. Thompson left because of a strained hamstring.