On Friday, the real heavy-lifting began.

It's back to work for the Thundering Herd, as they hit the turf at Joan C. Edwards Stadium for the first round of Fall practices.

Mark Snyder entering his fifth season as the Herd's head coach.

The former Marshall defensive standout liked what he saw on day number one.

"We are farther head than we've ever been," Snyder said following practice.

Talk about a great sign, the group that impressed Snyder the most? The wide receivers.

While Snyder admitted they still had plenty of work ahead of them, he said he was very pleasantly surprised with their skill level.

Especially from the newcomers and Junior College transfers.

Following the graduation of Darius Passmore and Emmanuel Spann, the wide receiving corps was seen as a major question mark entering this season.

Now, Snyder believes he may have enough depth to shift Bryant Milligan over to the defensive side of the ball when needed.

Coach encourages Green and White fans to come check out the 2009 Thundering Herd twice in the next few days.

Practice will be open to the public on both Sunday and Tuesday.

Tuesday's session will include the fan-favorite "Hoot-and-holler" drill.

Both sessions are set to begin around 3 p.m.

Fans are reminded that no recording devices or cameras of any kind are permitted at practices.