It's been well over a year since Mark Herzlich last practiced in pads. 87 weeks or 612 days, to be exact. Herz took a big step in his recovery yesterday as he practiced in pads and participated in contact drills for the first time since BC's 2008 Music City Bowl loss to Vanderbilt.

"It was awesome," Herzlich said. "It was weird because I was a little jittery. I had some butterflies and, obviously with my foot and my leg, you never really know what’s going to happen. But it felt good out there and I didn’t have to focus on that. After a couple of drills and a couple of periods, it was just back to football."

Herzlich is listed as the starting strongside linebacker on the depth chart for Saturday's opener. Herzlich is listed alongside fellow senior Mike Morrissey at the SLB spot. Whether Herzlich starts remains to be seen, but now it appears to be a question of when he gets his first snap on Saturday; not if he gets snaps.