Updated: 1:45 p.m.
It took Bengals cornerback Leon Hall just 254 days to reach his goal.
He underwent surgery for a torn Achilles on Nov. 16 and is ready to take the field for Friday's first training camp practice. And it's as much a victory for the club's director of rehab, Nick Cosgray, as it is for Hall.
"I'm pretty much full go," said Hall before practice. "I wanted to go as early as I could to knock the rust off and get a feel. The goal, that's what I wanted. I'm not surprised at all. When I set the goal, I was a little skeptical about it."
Hall indicated he won't be taking a lot of snaps right away and he'll be monitored. But for the first time since he tore the Achilles against the Steelers he'll be covering receivers on Friday.
Hall's advice to rookie cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick is pretty simple.
"Listen to Nick," he said.
Kirkpatrick said he's been listening and watching how Hall does it since they've been rehabbing together. In his first comments about his leg injury, Kirkpatrick wouldn't say when he'll return but he did say it's not a broken bone and that it's "a bump-and-bruise."
That fits in with indications that it's a bone spur related to growth issues in his leg. It's believed he'll be out another month at most, but he feels good even though he's been told to do only the minimum work.
"They think I'm hurt, but I'm not," he said. "Just mentally."
STILL REACTS: Second-round pick Devon Still is about to take his first NFL camp snap at defensive tackle and he's already had one of the most impressive first days by a Bengals rookie.
Still, the Penn State football team's spokesman when the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal broke last season, patiently and well answered all the questions thrown at him about the Freeh Report and the NCAA's devastating sanctions Friday in the Bengals locker room.
"It was pretty strict. I felt like the football team didn't have anything to do with what went on. I felt it was a civil matter and not an NCAA matter," Still said. "They hired the right head coach to get the program back."
Still said watching the statue of head coach Joe Paterno removed was "heartbreaking," but he said he understood why because of Penn State's desire to move past the attention focused on Paterno.
"It didn't change my perspective of him as a coach," Still said of the report. "He was the leader of our team because he definitely instilled values in us that you can't get at other colleges. But it definitely opened my eyes to some things that happened at Penn State and I think those things have to be taken care of."
Still said he'd let his own son go to Penn State.
"I didn't go there as the most mature young man. It definitely helped me grow into the man I am today," Still said. "I would definitely send my son there."
FIVE PLAYERS SHELVED:We already knew that Kirkpatrick and cornerback Nate Clements (abdomen) weren't going to start camp because of injury, but the Bengals announced before Friday's practice that wide receiver Jordan Shipley is joining that list with his rehabbing ACL, as well as kicker Mike Nugent and defensive tackle Pat Sims with unknown ailments.
Sims missed the last six games last season with ankle injuries. Officially, Kirkpatrick goes on the active non-football injury list because the injury came in a non-team activity. The other four are on active/physically unable to perform. All five can come back to camp at any time once deemed healthy.
Shipley is on the list even though he said he felt ready to go after Thursday morning's workout.
The Bengals also put rookie outisde linebacker Brandon Joiner on the reserve/did not report list while he serves time in Texas. If he wants to play this season, he'll have to petition the NFL office to get off the list.
SLANTS AND SCREENS
» Still said the back issues that flared up on him in the spring and knocked him out of OTAs are no longer there.
» Running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis politely declined comment Friday, but promised to talk after he'd done something: "We haven't even practiced yet so I really don't have anything to say."
» Hall said that it was 2010 third-round pick Brandon Ghee that had the best spring of all the cornerbacks that included five first-round corners.
