There still is much to learn about St. Louis Rams rookie head coach Steve Spagnuolo. Here are a few things we’ve gleaned so far, regarding his interviews:

1. They’re short.

2. He’s already pretty adept at tap-dancing around tough questions.

3. He’s cautious about heaping praise on his players.

Considering No. 3, it was a bit of a surprise, then, when asked to evaluate running back/fullback Samkon Gado, who is fighting for a roster spot, Spagnuolo replied:

“He’s a smart football player. Guys that have the ability to play two positions are really, really valuable in this league. So we’ll keep cranking him. And I watch Sam, too, in every special-teams period taking a lot of reps. He’s a warrior out there. I have a lot of respect for Sam.”

The 5-10, 227-pound Gado, a fourth-year pro, has had an impressive camp. He’s probably third on the depth chart at running back, has been getting in a lot of work at fullback with Mike Karney hobbled, and also is among those returning kicks.

The highlight of Gado’s career came on Nov. 13, 2005, when he earned a trifecta of honors: NFL player of the week, NFL rookie of the week, and NFC offensive player of the week. They came after Gado, then with the Packers, rushed for 103 yards and scored three touchdowns in a 33-25 victory over the Falcons.

He finished with 582 yards on the ground that year, but he hasn’t produced more than 210 in a season since then. He joined the Rams last November as a free agent and played in one game. He subsequently was released, then re-signed in January.

Notes & quotes:

*The players were in shells for Monday afternoon’s practice, which ran just 55 minutes.

*Officials from Conference USA worked both practices.

*DE Leonard Little, who sat out the morning practice with a minor neck strain, was back on the field in the afternoon.

*FB Mike Karney got into team drills for the first time since spraining his ankle about 10 days ago.

*S Craig Dahl (hamstring) did some running on the side.

*LB Chris Draft missed a few plays after taking a blow to the neck.

*Rookie S Mark Rubin, re-signed Monday nearly six weeks after the Rams released him, had an interception on a deflected pass in the late workout.

*Mike Sando of ESPN.com is in town for a look-see at Rams camp.

*DT Shaun Smith, who visited Rams Park on Sunday, has agreed to a one-year, $1 million deal with the Lions, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Browns released Smith on Saturday.

All for now . . .