01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, May 14, 2006

BY TOM E. CURRAN
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO -- Nervous apprehension was evident on the faces of the rookies in the Patriots' locker room yesterday. Who could blame them. It was their first full day at their post-college jobs and most of them are going to wind up getting fired before too long.

Strolling through the squirreliness was a veteran Patriot who doesn't sweat those details but was doing some sweating yesterday anyway. Center Dan Koppen was in the complex to rehab the shoulder he dislocated against the Dolphins last November.

That pain has dulled by now. The frustration of a lost season doesn't seem to have vanished, though. Koppen had started 46 games before getting hurt. The Pats' record in those games was 40-6. Suddenly, he was a spectator.

"That was the first time I went through anything that put me out of a game and made me have to watch from the sideline," said Koppen. "Guys had to come and say, 'It's not the end of the world.' "

Still, for the former fifth-round pick, it sure felt like it.

"That first game to watch someone else go and play for you when you know you should be out there, it's tough to deal with. But you learn how to accept it and the focus has to go on to getting better for next year. But it was very difficult to go through after having never been hurt or missing game time."

Koppen was in midseason form when discussing the particulars of his injury. He said he's got some work still to do to regain all his strength and mobility but that he's been told he can expect a full recovery from the injury.

Russ Hochstein filled in for Koppen last season and did a solid job, but Hochstein's main value is his ability to back up several offensive line spots. The job will return to Koppen when he's ready.

Meanwhile, this is the final season of Koppen's rookie contract so he'll be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.

He's on the move

Freddie Roach hustled through the locker room, grabbed his blue three-ring binder from his temporary metal locker and apologized for having to run off. The former Alabama linebacker needed to get to a meeting before practice and he didn't want to be late.

Asked how it felt to be in an NFL locker room (though the Crimson Tide's is probably just as nice), Roach said, "I'm very excited to get in here and work hard and see what happens."

Roach, 6-foot-1, 257 pounds, went undrafted but dismissed the disappointment of that occurrence. "That's over now," he said, smiling. "I've put that all behind me."

Asked about Roach (66 tackles as a Tide senior) Bill Belichick said, "Freddie has been a very productive player. I think he physically has skills that we feel like will be competitive in our scheme as an inside linebacker. He's been a productive player at a high level of competition collegiately."

Trying to catch on

Among the 15 undrafted free agents on the field yesterday was Erik Davis, a wide receiver from Vanderbilt who had 46 catches in eight games for the Commodores, where he played with Denver rookie Jay Cutler, the 10th overall pick.

The 6-2, 190-pound Davis could be a sleeper during training camp. He caught 124 passes before coming out as a junior. He showed an ability to pick it clean while running routes yesterday. And even though Belichick stressed that this minicamp is more for learning than evaluating, Davis wasn't buying that entirely.

"It's all about being productive and we're going to face the consequences if we don't produce," he said. "That's something that's been ingrained in me my whole life. My father always told me that anything I want to do I need to take it seriously. That's the way I approach this game. I'm happy where I'm at and I'll take whatever's given to me."

Asked to name his strengths as a receiver, Davis smiled and said, "I'm the one that's getting evaluated so I'll let them tell me that."

Squib kicks

Belichick said the preponderance of Florida Gator imports is a coincidence and not part of a grand design. There are five Gators at minicamp -- wide receiver Chad Jackson, lineman Randy Hand, defensive backs Vernell Brown and Jarvis Herring and outside linebacker Jeremy Mincey. . . . With the Pats in need of a punt-return specialist, seventh-rounder Willie Andrews may fit the bill. He's concerned with making a good impression. "I have to work on my fundamentals," he said. "I have to work on my footwork and show I can catch the ball well, not catch it on my pads. The little techniques and things that people watching the game wouldn't look for but as a coach, he knows." . . . The Patriots have another round of practices today.

tcurran@projo.com / (401) 277-7340