He expects them to be in good physical condition, and he expects them to be prepared to compete for positions.

“Our kids have had a great summer,” Monsen said. “They run a lot, they’ve done weights and a lot of kids did 7-on-7, so they will be reporting in shape. The UIL allows supervised workouts two hours a day, four days a week for six weeks, so they’ve all worked hard.”

Those workouts should be beneficial in the August heat as the Wildcats practice in shorts, T-shirts and helmets from 8-10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday before they get into full pads beginning Friday, using the same schedule.

As for the competition angle, Monsen said no Wildcat player should assume he’s already locked up a starting position - even those who played crucial roles as Temple went 7-4 last year and won the District 13-5A championship at 6-0.

“You have spring training to prove yourself and we evaluate everybody, but then you have fall camp and then you have scrimmages,” said Monsen, whose team’s regular-season opener is Sept. 5 at Cedar Park. “We’re not going to give any spot to anybody until the end of our scrimmages.”

That’s a strong statement considering that Temple has returning standout players such as Baylor-committed senior receiver/kick returner Tevin Reese, all-district senior center Brett Gunn, honorable-mention all-state junior running back Lache Seastrunk and all-district junior linebacker Derrick Davis.

However, Monsen wants it to be known that each Wildcat in camp is a candidate to prove he’s worthy of playing time.

“It’s always important that all kids have an opportunity to play and to excel,” he said. “We want to be 2-deep on both sides, so we’re looking for the top 44 kids plus special teams. We’ll know a lot more after our second scrimmage, but we do have depth.”

Monsen said another major emphasis of preseason workouts is expanding the potential and effectiveness in the passing game.

After struggling in the shotgun-spread offense from 2005-06, the Wildcats switched to their old Wing-T in the spring of ’07 and produced stellar results last fall - 3,543 rushing yards, including Seastrunk’s 1,532 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Temple simply didn’t need to pass very much, though the speedy Reese did make the occasional catch for a big gain.

But with Reese and all-district junior tight end A.J. Coulter returning as top targets for quarterbacks Kevin Lock and Jonathan Bane, Monsen believes the pass needs to emerge as a more consistent weapon for the Wildcats.

“We know going into the preseason that we’re playing some awfully good teams,” Monsen said, “so the focus is not only on our running game but also that we’ve got to see what we can do in the passing game.”

“We’ve had a spring, a fall and another spring (working in the Wing-T), so it’s just been over one year and we’re still learning” he added. “There are always new ways to do it, but do our kids have more confidence this year than last year? Absolutely, and they’re having fun doing it.”

With the energy-sapping heat and humidity a constant factor, Monsen said his program is taking steps to keep the players well-hydrated and healthy.

“We’re very conscious of it,” he said. “We have water breaks built into our practices, and our trainers and managers are chugging water down ’em like you can’t believe.”

NOTES: Temple’s scrimmages are at home against Cedar Park Vista Ridge on Aug. 22 and at Pflugerville Connally on Aug. 28. After the Week 1 opener at Cedar Park, the Wildcats will host Leander on Sept. 12 - a week before state-ranked Plano comes to Wildcat Stadium. Temple’s District 12-5A opener is Sept. 26 at College Station A&M Consolidated, and its first district home game is Oct. 3 against Copperas Cove.

gwille@temple-telegram.com