FOXBORO — When he met with the local media for the first time yesterday, LaMont Jordan couldn’t seem to wipe the smile off his face.

After what he’d been through with Oakland — what was once a good relationship soured quickly, with Jordan asking for his release last November, the Raiders drafting his replacement, the team locking him out of mini-camp and trying to keep him out of training camp — being wanted again put him in a great frame of mind.

“It’s just a great feeling, it’s a great feeling,” Jordan said. “I definitely know what I’m stepping into. I’m coming into a winning organization and I just want to get here, make the team and do my part and ultimately put this team back to the top, where it should be.”

Admittedly, he didn’t always hold New England in that regard. As the Jets’ second-round pick in 2001, Jordan was on the losing end of most of the team’s games with the Patriots.

But when he took the emotion out of it, he began to appreciate the organization.

“It took me a while,” Jordan said with a laugh. “I couldn’t stand the Patriots…. But when I really stepped back and looked at the body of work that the organization has done, you can’t help but accept the fact that there’s just some great players that have come through here and worn this uniform.”

Signed on Saturday less than 24 hours after being released by the Raiders, Jordan took part in his first full-pads training-camp session with New England yesterday morning wearing jersey No. 32, and looked to be every part the battering ram.

While his abilities as a ball carrier and pass catcher make him a good option to back up both Laurence Maroney and Kevin Faulk, Jordan spoke yesterday as though nothing has been guaranteed to him. More than once he said “if I make the ball club…” instead of expressing it as a certainty that he’d be on the 53-man roster.

That sort of humility, as well as his versatility, will serve him well with New England, where for but a small number of players, being able to play several roles is virtually a necessity.

“He’s a big kid, he can run inside, run outside and he can catch the ball,” Bill Belichick said when asked about the team’s newest signing. “He is a good pass receiver in terms of route running. He’s instinctive and he’s returned kicks. We will see how all that manifests itself going forward.”

Belichick continued that Jordan’s top concern right now was learning the offense and his assignments, but said the eighth-year back had gotten off to a good start and hadn’t missed much in the way of play installation. Jordan was spotted spending extra time talking with running backs coach Ivan Fears during Saturday evening’s walkthrough as well as yesterday’s practices.

Listed at 5-foot-10, 230 pounds, Jordan arrived in Foxboro with a bald head but thick sideburns — a homage to his high school days, when he sported the same look around the halls of Suitland High, in Maryland.

Jordan knows that New England already has a pretty strong running-back crew, with Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk and Heath Evans. He knows, though, that just giving his best effort is all he can do.

“I know the backfield is stacked, but that’s what training camp is for: everybody’s out here trying to make the ball club,” he said. “I know what I’m capable of doing once I get my legs up underneath me. It’s up to the coaches to decide what players they’re keeping.”

Though he hasn’t really played football since Dec. 9, the last game he played with Oakland, Jordan isn’t worried about his conditioning, pointing out that he passed the Pats’ conditioning test Saturday.

He sees opportunity here, not just for team success but also to put some life back in his own career — he mentioned former Raiders teammate Randy Moss, whom many believed was on the downside of his career but came to New England last season and set a league record with 23 receiving touchdowns to go with 1,493 yards.

“It’s funny because when I heard that the Patriots were interested, I said, ‘Well, Randy left Oakland and came here and had a big year, so hopefully I can do the same thing.’ I’m excited,” he said.

Jordan may be intent on making the team right now, but he already has the right idea if he sticks around:

“I remember Tom Brady had a number 32 (Antowain Smith) behind him in one of the Super Bowls and I’m hoping that I can make the team and that can be the case again.”Today’s camp schedule

single session: 2:30-4:30 p.m.

smanza@projo.com