Jul 24, 2007 By Mike Ciarochi 3 min read

LATROBE – The Steelers hit the ground running, literally, when they reported to training camp at St. Vincent College Monday. New coach Mike Tomlin put his troops through a run test Monday afternoon, hours after they reported. All 86 players reported as expected, with first-round draft pick Lawrence Timmons, a linebacker, the last of the team’s eight draft picks to sign a contract and report. Fifth-round pick William Gay, a cornerback, agreed to terms earlier in the day.

The biggest news of the day was safety Troy Polamalu’s $33 million contract extension that will keep him with the team through the 2011 season.

Tomlin’s run test differed from that of predecessor Bill Cowher, who made his players run 14 40-yard dashes. Tomlin’s test consisted of 16 110-yard jogs, but that was shortened by two Monday.

“We were scheduled to do 16, but the guys were doing so well that we stopped at 14,” Tomlin said. “The guys were in such good shape that we could tell the last two weren’t going to affect anyone, so we cut it short.”

Only 35 of the 86 players had to participate in the run test, which left the field strewn with 51 more spectators.

“The guys who didn’t have to run competed in and completed a certain percentage of off-season workouts,” Tomlin said. “I slipped it to them along the way, but it was too late for them to be able to work their way out of the run test.”

Also Monday, the team announced that defensive line coach John Mitchell had been promoted to assistant head coach, a position held the last couple of seasons by Russ Grimm. Mitchell is in his 14th season with the Steelers and is the longest tenured member of Tomlin’s staff.

“Mitch is a very respected coach in this league by his peers,” Tomlin said. “I could tell right from the beginning that he and I would work well together, that we had a lot of things in common. I felt like it was the right thing to do.”

The new coach steps up training camp on Tuesday with the first of 15 scheduled two-a-day practices. Only the 2:55 p.m. afternoon session is open to the public.

“We got off to a great start today,” Tomlin said. “I was glad to see all of the guys came in such great shape.”

Tomlin said three players would not participate in practices the first few days. Wide receiver Santonio Holmes, last year’s first round draft pick who had what Tomlin called “a non-football related procedure” done recently, will sit out, as will running back Verron Haynes and linebacker Derek Rehage. Both Haynes and Rehage, who played in NFL Europe, are recovering from injuries.

With this being his first training camp as a head coach, Tomlin was asked if players would be surprised by what transpires Tuesday.

“I’d be surprised if anyone is surprised,” was his answer. “Football is football and camp is camp.”

As for what he expects to achieve from training camp, Tomlin indicated that the players, not the coaches, would establish the depth chart.

“Guys have to stack themselves,” Tomlin said. “It’s about who reveals character under duress. Those are the types of things we’ll find out up here.”

That stacking officially begins at 9 a.m. with the first workout.