Chase Daniel wasn’t running around in his green No. 10 jersey at practice Friday.

But Tiger fans don’t need to worry.

Daniel was attending a family member’s funeral service in the Dallas area, coach Gary Pinkel said, and he would be back in Columbia on Friday night.

Daniel missed out on the first practice in full pads. Some younger players were overeager during drills, hitting too hard when they were only supposed to wrap up momentarily.

“There was a lot of energy out there. For the freshmen, for the first time at this level, it was like Big 12 football,” Pinkel said.

In Daniel’s absence, Chase Patton worked with the starters, and Blaine Gabbert led the backups in 11-on-11 drills. Patton was especially impressive in one sequence. “That stunk,” defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus told the defense after the series.

Pinkel was complimentary of Daniel’s understudies after practice.

“Chase (Patton) did a real good job today, and anytime somebody’s not there, it’s an opportunity for somebody else,” Pinkel said. “I felt that without question (Patton) did some good things, and I thought Blaine did some good things.”

Coaches are getting a chance to look at the young players and determine whether they can contribute this season. But it’s too early to make decisions, Pinkel said, bringing up two current fixtures on offense as evidence - Danario Alexander and Chase Coffman.

During his first week practicing as a freshman two years ago, Alexander “just kind of looked OK,” Pinkel said, but he didn’t think the receiver could contribute immediately.

But then Alexander made his case, excelling during the second week of camp. Coffman took the same path to an extent, Pinkel said.

Players will get more chances to impress coaches when two-a-days start tomorrow. The Tigers will close out their first week of camp Sunday with a morning practice followed by Football Fan Day at 3:45 p.m. at Faurot Field.