FOXBORO — Patrick Chung and the other Patriot rookies taking part in this weekend's minicamp aren't wearing pads or even shells, as the practice sessions are more about instruction than impressing with hitting prowess.

But that doesn't mean Chung wouldn't like to dole out a few tackles.

"You can say that for everybody," New England's top draft pick said after Saturday's late-morning practice. "Everybody wants to hit. Especially rookies, because we haven't played in a while."

Chung hasn't been in pads since Oregon beat Oklahoma State on New Year's Eve in the Holiday Bowl.

Midway through his first taste of life in the NFL and with the Patriots, Chung has embraced everything that's been thrown at him so far.

"It started the first day; it started Thursday," he said. "This is a process. We have to get ready every day because these (veteran players) have been going for years. I expected hard work, and that's what we're getting."

Asked for his impressions of New England's playbook, Chung said simply, "It's big."

But fortunately for him, there are similarities between the Pats' and Ducks' schemes, though learning the new nomenclature will be paramount.

When Chung leaves Foxboro at the end of the weekend, he'll head back to the Oregon campus to continue physical preparations like weight lifting and running, as well as mental prep in the video room.

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Third-round draft pick Tyrone McKenzie suffered an injury to his right knee about two-thirds of the way through Saturday morning's practice.

McKenzie was working in a skeleton drill in coverage on an unnamed tryout running back when the two got tangled up and fell to the grass. McKenzie grabbed his right knee and crawled toward the sideline before being attended to by members of the training staff.

While he did walk gingerly off the field, he did not return to practice. The running back did, but was visibly struggling.

Coach Bill Belichick held his press conference for the day as he was walking off the field and had no update on McKenzie.

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Belichick likes to see improvement from young players, and seemed pleased with the steps this rookie bunch had taken over the first couple of days of camp.

"I can see a change from practice one to practice two," Belichick said. "I think that was probably the biggest jump we'll make. Just everybody having a better idea after they saw the film and after they got corrected. Then they went out (Friday) afternoon; we made a lot of improvement and then we've added some new things and we'll correct those. These guys are working hard."

Before the players depart Gillette Stadium on Sunday, each will be given a specific list of things to work on over the next two weeks; they'll be back with the team later this month for offseason team activities.

"Generally speaking, they need to get into good condition, learn the material we've given them and take care of any bumps and bruises or any physical or personal issues that are outstanding," Belichick said. "Get ready to go for when they come back here in the middle of May."

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A former special teams coordinator himself, Belichick was asked about Frank Gansz, who died last week in Dallas. Gansz spent a year as head coach the Chiefs in 1988, but he was known as one of the best special teams coaches in the NFL during his days on the sidelines.

Gansz had coached with Steve Belichick at the Naval Academy, so Bill Belichick knew him well.

"Frank was a very upbeat kind of coach both on and off the field, and he got an opportunity to be a head coach at Kansas City. …That was probably the first time I could really remember a special teams coach going to be a head coach," Belichick said. "Now there's been coaches like myself or (Dick) Vermeil who were special-teams coaches early in their career, but Frank was a special-teams coach who became a head coach. That was a little bit unique."

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With Brian Hoyer the only quarterback in camp, others have thrown a few passes to give Hoyer a rest. Most often it is Nick Caserio, the team's player personnel director, who was the signal caller at John Carroll during his college days.

Caserio can still put some zip on the ball, and Belichick joked yesterday that he could compete for the Pats' number-three quarterback job.

smanza@projo.com