The McKenzie Tigers' 2007 football campaign got underway Monday as the Tigers put on the helmets and pads, practicing in the spring heat for more than two hours.

McKenzie head coach Miles Brown said he was pleased with the effort and enthusiasm of his squad and he hopes the Tigers can keep it up for two more weeks.

&#8220I thought the first day didn't go that bad,” Brown said. &#8220All the leadership we have helped us out.”

&#8220We did a lot of talking and teaching and that is really what spring is all about,” he added.

The Tigers practiced drills and fundamentals during the first practice, but Brown said he hopes to really focus in on the defense during this spring.

&#8220The first thing we're going to work on, focus on, is defense,” Brown said.

Another aspect that pleased Brown during the first workout was how the younger guys responded to the older guys.

&#8220Some of our younger kids stepped up (Monday) against the older guys and that shocked me a bit,” Brown said. &#8220They basically stepped up and said to the older guys, ‘I don't mind hitting you.'”

One of the biggest differences between the start of spring practice this year and the start of spring practice last year has been the size and number of kids playing.

Brown credited both of those increases to the excitement surrounding Tiger football and to the group of in-coming freshmen, but the main reason Brown said his team has grown has been the weight room.

&#8220It's made a tremendous difference,” Brown said of the weight room. &#8220It could be the difference of last year being 3-7 and 7-3.”

&#8220It's the best investment we've made,” Brown said.

The Tigers will continue practice this week and hold a scrimmage during Friday's practice.

McKenzie will play a Blue-White intrasquad game May 11 at 1:30 p.m., and then take on New Brocton in the spring jamboree game May 18.