Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh, quarterback Justin Herbert and safety Derwin James, Jr. took the podium at The Bolt on Day 1 of Chargers Training Camp.
Below are three takeaways from their media availability Wednesday:
High energy on Day 1
There was no shortage of excitement in El Segundo on Wednesday morning.
With a buzz on the field and in the crowd, the Bolts kicked off Day 1 of training camp practices under Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh.
It's safe to say he was among those who were fired up to get going.
"Great to start. Great to have the start," Harbaugh said. "I was thinking it was first day of school, homecoming, like Christmas Day all wrapped into one day."
Harbaugh, as only he can, also compared the opening of camp to New Year's Day and a newborn baby coming out of the womb.
The players were just as excited about getting things rolling as well, as their journey to build towards to the regular season opener has begun.
"Good to get back out there and throw the ball around," quarterback Justin Herbert said about Day 1. "And good to see all the faces in the locker room. We put in a lot of good work this offseason so it's good to finally attack it now."
Herbert later added: "It's not waiting for anything to happen, it's making it happen."
Even though it was the first practice, it was one filled with excitement and back and forth between the offense and defense, highlighted by a jumping interception by rookie Cam Hart.
The energy was high from start during Day 1 — and it's clear the players were very amped up.
"Yeah, I'm still coming down now," James said. "We were just bringing the energy today. It was a lot of fun."
Harbaugh noticed the energy in practice, mentioning that he spoke with the team at the conclusion about some "tempo violations" and keeping everyone safe during the early portion of camp — or what he calls, the "glide time."
Harbaugh said he sees it as a good thing, likening Day 1 of practice with no pads to an airplane taking off from the runway.
"You see me going like this [calm motion], take that as a compliment," Harbaugh said. "That's somebody pulling you back not somebody going, 'Come on, get going'. That was one of the main things I talked to them about."
Harbaugh later added: "Take it as a compliment. If we had to talk guys into wanting to practice, it's the difference between some guys you have to pull back, some guys you got to talk in to. Definitely we're striving for being pulled back."
A long road remains between now and Week 1, but Harbaugh and the Bolts are excited to see how they can continue to grow as they get closer.
"Just want to keep building," Harbaugh said. "The idea of see if we can be better today than we were yesterday, better tomorrow than we were today.
"Just that so simple that it just might work approach," Harbaugh said. "Keeping the guys healthy and continuing to build and get strong."
The Bolt's big debut
The opening day of training camp was made even more special Wednesday morning.
The team held a ceremonial ribbon cutting to commemorate the first practice at The Bolt before the day was up and running.
The new state-of the-art, 150,000-square-feet training facility the Chargers call home has wowed players in the first couple days.
And Herbert couldn't be more thrilled to call The Bolt the team's new home, mentioning it as "one of the best facilities in the nation."
"It's really awesome. They've done such a great job putting it together that, as players, we're fortunate to be able to have a front office that cares so much about us," Herbert said. "The way we respect it, clean up after ourselves, I know we're going to do a great job taking care of it."
"Everything about it is top notch," Herbert later added. "As players, we have to do a great job taking care of it."
Aside from the number of features and amenities offered for coaches and players, the big thing for Harbaugh is how great it has been for everyone on the team.
The Chargers Head Coach praised the layout and proximity of meeting rooms, the locker room and other crucial parts of the building that makes everything feel connected.
It is perfectly made for football.
"Just amazing. Everybody's first impression is just it's incredible, amazing," Harbaugh said. "Things are going to jump out at you. How beautiful it is, how aesthetically, the grass is as good as any grass anywhere. It's designed for safety, three fields of it.
"But then inside, I mean it's all football," Harbaugh added. "This was designed by football people who knew exactly what they were doing."
And the players are making sure they look for ways to get the most of the new facility to help improve on and off the practice fields.
"Just coming in and not just enjoying the facility but actually using it to our advantage and doing it to get better every day," James said.
Johnston-Herbert flash rapport
Wide receiver Quentin Johnston made sure to get involved during Day 1 of Camp.
The second-year receiver and Herbert connected multiple times during the team portion of Wednesday's practice, both near the sideline and the middle of the field.
Heading into Year 2, the receiver spoke last month about improving in different areas and building on his rookie season.
And Herbert believes he's done just that so far in his sophomore campaign.
"Q has done such a great job this year," Herbert said about Johnston. "He did a great job last year but it's tough being a rookie in this league but I thought he handled it really well.
"He's come back this year with a great effort, great attitude," Herbert added. "He's a great guy to be around, great locker room guy. We're expecting big things from him this year."
Harbaugh also mentioned strength as one of the aspects of his game he's seen the biggest jump from him, as the work he's put in during the offseason continues to show.
"I see a big, fast, strong, getting stronger. I think that's a piece that's really been addressed in the offseason, Coach [Ben] Herbert and Quentin," Harbaugh said. "Just getting stronger, at that speed, his agility, his ability to catch the ball, he plucks it out of the air. He's as good as anybody doing it.
"Combining that speed and agility, getting that strength component to go along with it," Harbaugh added. "He's going to be a problem for people. I've been nothing but happy with Quentin Johnston… Everything I've seen in the offseason, in practice, the way he trains, he's one of our top guys right now."
Johnston will have ample opportunities throughout training camp to continue to build that connection with Herbert through the air.
And with the work the receiver is putting in each day, Harbaugh has a good feeling about his second year.
"Whether it's the training environment, meeting environment, the field environment, attacking everything we put in front of him and attacking it with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind from what I've seen," Harbaugh said. "We're seeing the results on the field.
"I got good feelings how it's going to work out for Quentin on our team," Harbaugh added.
