By "these moments," Ballage referred for the many opportunities he's been getting in practice, including a lot of time with the first-team offense.

While it's too early to be talking about starting roles, Ballage clearly appears in line for a bigger role in the offense.

He says there's no pressure to prove he's worthy of the additional responsibilities.

"Not at all," he said. "I play in front of 60,000-70,000 people every Sunday or Saturday when it was in college and you just kind of get used to it. This is the game that we chose to play, so you get used to it.

"It's exciting. I just go out there and work and try to make my coach happy, my teammates and do the best that I can. I come out here every day with the same mind-set to progress and be the best player that I can be for my team. I think at the end of the day you put your all, your effort into that and good results will come out of it."

Ballage rushed for 191 yards and a 5.3 average in 12 games last season and had nine receptions for 56 yards. The highlight of his season, of course, was the 75-yard touchdown run in the game at Minnesota in December.