SPRUCE GROVE – They weren't there to see Mike Reilly, Adarius Bowman or even the self-proclaimed Mayor of Commonwealth, himself, Odell Willis.

No, the biggest group of fans in attendance at Fuhr Sports Park to watch the Edmonton Eskimos kick off Day 1 of training camp was there to see rookie offensive lineman David Beard.

Call it his unofficial fan club – thought it could have looked every bit as much like a U of A Golden Bears coaches meeting – that turned out to see the second-round draft pick (16th overall) put through the paces of his first pro camp.

“I knew I'd have a little bit of family, but I had no expectation of all my old coaches showing up, so it was a real treat being able to catch up with them and get their feedback,” said Beard, who is wearing fellow Golden Bears alumni and former Eskimos offensive lineamn Gord Hinse's No. 57.

Beard has become a bit of a golden child for this current coaching regime of the Bears, as their first product to get picked up by a CFL squad.

“Right, I suppose the first-born,” Beard laughed. “Both coach (Chris) Morris and (Tim) Prinsen have tons of experience at this level and I'm one of the guys they've invested in.

“I'm extremely grateful for that, they've been a huge part of getting me here today.”

Morris and Prinsen were keeping an eye on Beard Sunday, along with fellow Bears coaches Rick Walters and Brent Korte.

“He's very young playing O-line with only two years under his belt, but if he keeps progressing like he did with us, I think he's got a good chance to play here for a while,” said Prinsen, who has both played on and coached the Eskimos O-line in the past. “It's just neat to see how he competes here, how he fits in.”

You could already see the smile begin to creep over Prinsen's face.

“Hopefully he doesn't do too well so we get him back.”

NEW FACES

The Edmonton Eskimos opened training camp by announcing the remainder of the signings they've made over the off-season.

Added to the mix were WR/KR Denarius Appling, DB Deion Belue, DE D.J. Bryant, WR Skye Dawson, OL David Griffin, LB Dawud Lane adn DB Harold Mutobola.

If any one of the group stood out at first glance, it was Griffin. If not for ability, then certainly for his bright pink cancer-awareness cleats.

“They better stand out, they better do things the right way and they better be a good person, those are the things we're looking for,” said Eskimos head coach Chris Jones. “We're not looking for guys to come in and be comedians or anything, just to come fit in with our group.

“We've got a tremendous group, football matters to these guys and it's fun to watch how hard they prepare and play. If they don't bring those things, they won't be here.”

All told, Jones said he was pleased with how the returning players kept up with the pace of his practice.

At first, at least.

“It was a good Day 1, especially the first practice when we had the pads on them, it was really fast,” Jones said. “When they took the pads off, it slowed down. The guys have to protect themselves, but at the same time, their concentration could have been better during the second practice.”

The players, meanwhile, were happy to finally get back to business.

“It was great to be back on the field, it's been a long time since November, that's for sure,” said Eskimos starting quarterback Mike Reilly. “Day 1 is always fun because everyone's super excited, there's a ton of energy out there, but what's a little different this year is there weren't as many mistakes.

“I think that comes with having the same playbook, same coaching staff and the veteran guys being able to lead by example.”

The Eskimos are down one of those veterans from last year, announcing the retirement of Canadian offensive lineman Steve Myddelton on Sunday, marking an end to a six-year CFL career that began by getting drafted in the fourth round (30th overall) by the Calgary Stampeders.

He spent 2014 with the Eskimos after coming over in a trade with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for fourth-round pick in the 2016 draft.

“I've known Steve for a long time, we drafted him years ago in Calgary,” said Jones, the former Stampeders defensive co-ordinator. “He's a good guy and we certainly wish him the very best and thank him for the contributions he gave us last year.”

STICKER 'EM UP: The Eskimos at least looked like a team that's game ready on Day 1, thanks to their helmets already having full decals in Sunday's practice sessions – something not normally seen until right around the day before their first preseason game.

HURT PARADE: The Eskimos started training camp with a handful of players on the sidelines, including: CB Alonzo Lawrence, WR Shamawd Chambers (knee), RB Aaron Milton, OL Simeon Rottier (knee) and WR Devon Bailey. Also absent for personal reasons were CB Patrick Watkins and OL D'Anthony Batiste, who have been put on the team's suspended list.

BE OUR GUEST: The Eskimos guest coaches in training camp this year are Hoover high school secondary coach Merritt Bowden; University of Virginia at Wise defensive co-ordinator Dino Kaklis; Simon Fraser special-teams coach Jaime Hill; and Burlington junior Braves head coach Brad Anderson.