It was just the start of a minicamp for rookies, for whom Canton, Ohio is so far away that they can't see it even with a telescope.
Nonetheless, Friday's practice still had a definite Pro Football Hall of Fame flavor.
The Browns have two tryout players who are the sons of Hall of Famers. There's linebacker Todd DeLamielleure, whose father, Joe DeLamielleure, was a Browns and Buffalo Bills guard from 1973-85, and linebacker Dwight Stephenson, whose father by the same name was a center for the Miami Dolphins from 1980-87.
The younger Stephenson, who played at Notre Dame, looks a lot like his father and is 6-foot-2 and 272 pounds, roughly the same size as dad was when he played (6-2, 255).
"It wasn't a burden at all for me growing up the son of Dwight Stephenson," the rookie said after practice. "Actually, it was an honor. It's not something I ever tried to shy away from, or would want to shy away from. You can't shy away from it. It's out there. Everybody knows it.
"It was a boost of confidence for me to know that those blood lines -- those genes -- of such a great player are in me.
"But at the same time, I'm not him. I can't be him. I'm my own player."
What helps Stephenson to carve out his own niche is the fact he plays on the opposite side of the ball from what his father did. He was an end in Notre Dame's 3-4 defensive alignment and is being looked at by the Browns as an outside linebacker. Not many college teams play the 3-4 employed by the Browns, so having experience in it is a real plus for Stephenson.
"It's exciting for me to be here in this defense," he said. "In a 3-4, the outside linebackers are the ones who make many of the plays, and I think I've got the ideal size for the position."
He said he talked to his father for three hours on Thursday, picking his brain about going up against pro offensive linemen.
"I wanted to find out the psyche that he had," Stephenson said.
Stephenson said his father still resides in Miami and runs a successful construction company. At the same time, his son is trying to build a career with the Browns.
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A CAMP TO REMEMBER -- PART II: There are other reasons why this is the most noteworthy group of tryout players in the history of the Browns. A whopping total of 54 tryout players, believed to be the largest such contingent in club history, were on the field Friday. "We cast a wide net, hoping to find a few keepers," a Browns scout said. Along with the 15 signed undrafted rookies, plus the club's five picks from last weekend's NFL Draft and several young veterans who were invited, there were upwards of 75 players working. That's also believed to be a Browns record for a rookie minicamp. To have them all crammed onto a 70-yard practice field made for tight quarters, but the coaches did a nice job of organizing practice so that no one -- players, coaches or scouts (the entire scouting and personnel staff were in attendance) -- got blindsided.
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WEATHER WATCH: The practice was to have been held outside, but rain for most of the day prevented that. The Browns are hoping for better weather Saturday morning -- at least good enough to get outside -- when practice resumes in the morning, but the forecast calls for even heavier and steadier rain than what fell on Friday.
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ANOTHER FAMILIAR NAME: Along with a DeLamielleure and a Stephenson, there's also a Jamaal Lewis among the tryout players. Not that Jamal Lewis. This one has an extra 'a' in the last syllable of his first name, and he's not a running back from Tennessee but rather a tight end from Arizona State. "The tight ends all seemed to catch the ball well," a Browns scout said.
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SIZING THEM UP: Among the rookies, the tallest player is 6-7 tryout quarterback Tommy Brady from Utah. He's believed to be the tallest quarterback ever to don a Browns uniform in any way, shape or form. Starter Derek Anderson, at 6-6, is the tallest quarterback ever to have been on the team's regular-season roster ... The heaviest rookie is 324-pound Derrick Morse, a tryout offensive lineman from Miami (Fla.). ... Seventh-round draft pick Alex Hall, a linebacker from tiny St. Augustine, reportedly has 11-inch hands. That's like wearing two catcher's mitts.
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THE "OLD" GUYS: We mentioned there were some young veterans in camp. There are three, actually, including defensive ends Melila Purcell and Chase Pittman, and offensive tackle Cliff Louis.
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MANE MAN: The longest hair -- it flows down to the middle of his back -- belongs to tight end Kolomona Kapanui, an undrafted signee from Paloto, Hawaii by way of West Texas A&M. That's the alma mater of Browns 2003 second-round draft choice Chaun Thompson, a Texas native who signed close to home with the Houston Texans in free agency this offseason.
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SYMMETRY: Both wearing No. 42, Mike Phillips (brown jersey) and Mark Bonds (white) are 5-10 tryout defensive backs. They hail from Pittsburgh and Western Michigan, respectively.
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PLAYS OF THE DAY: Tryout wide receiver Nate Hughes from Alcorn State made a nice sliding catch in the end zone. ... Tryout linebacker Xavier Mitchell (Tennessee) showed some real athleticism when he deftly maneuvered around a fullback to break up a pass. ... Defensive back KiAmeer Johnson (Rhode Island) followed the ball nicely to make an interception of a deep pass down the middle.
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QUOTABLES: "I feel like I'm hosting a variety show." -- Browns general manager Phil Savage as he stood before the media in an impromptu press conference as practice was beginning to discuss the announcement that he has signed a three-year contract extension that keeps him with the club at least through 2012.
