GREEN BAY, Wis. – If it were up to Mike Daniels, he wouldn’t have waited until the fourth play of the first full-contract drill of training camp to start a scuffle.

“Hey, that was my first snap,” Daniels said later.

Nobody was surprised that on the first day the Green Bay Packers put on pads, their fiery defensive lineman was right in the middle of the first fracas. He got into a shoving match after a one-on-one pass-rushing rep against backup guard Don Barclay.

“We were talking yesterday, just wondering how long it was going to take for guys to get riled up,” Packers safety Morgan Burnett said after Thursday’s practice. “I doesn’t surprise me. When I heard all the ruckus, I was pretty sure Mike Daniels was in the middle of it. That’s Mike. That’s his identity.”

And coach Mike McCarthy seems to like it.

It’s the next logical progression for Daniels on his way to becoming a well-known defensive lineman. Daniels, who signed a four-year, $41 million contract in December, has no trouble taking over a leadership role on defense, especially after the departure of B.J. Raji.

Mike Daniels was in the middle of a fight on a spirited first day of practice for the Packers. AP Photo/Rick Scuteri

It might ring hollow if Daniels didn’t have the play on the field to back it up. But last year might have been his best. He ranked third on the team in quarterback hits and second in quarterback pressures -- stats kept by the coaches -- and was an alternate for the Pro Bowl.

“Mike’s letting his personality not only be known, but felt in the locker room,” McCarthy said. “I think it’s something that really we’ve been talking about for a couple years. Mike has always had natural leadership ability, and I think leadership grows for people and particularly in Mike’s case, performance is a big part of it. It gives you the platform to grow and pull others with you.

“He’s always been an excellent teammate and I’ve talked about the things outside of the locker room, being involved in his teammates’ lives and I think you’re seeing that resonate more and more each year and frankly make no bones about it. Players get paid to play football in Green Bay, frankly to win football games in Green Bay. But it’s not only how they play on Sundays but it’s also what they do Monday through Saturday. And Mike Daniels is an excellent example of that.”

Later in practice, Daniels could be seen -- and heard -- trying to fire up his teammates on the sideline.

“That’s his mentality -- to pick everybody up,” outside linebacker Nick Perry said. “No slouches around here. He definitely brings that to the table.”