CHARLOTTE — There are things Dave Canales has to hate in his capacity as the head coach.

Even if he secretly loves it.

There were several instances of players getting after it, and maybe pushing just a little too far over the line on Wednesday — but it also has its advantages.

First, there was the narrator of the defense, Jaycee Horn, picking off a Bryce Young pass in team drills and punting it out of exuberance.

Then there was Young evening it up with a touchdown pass to Ja'Tavion Sanders with Horn in coverage. After Horn disputed the legality of the play, Sanders spun the ball at him, before Mike Jackson picked it up and chunked it back at the offense out of spite.

And near the end of practice, Chuba Hubbard pushed through for a short touchdown run, and mockingly punted it back in the direction of Horn and the defense and gestured their way to make sure they knew he loved them best of all.

These guys were on one Wednesday, and there was never a need to encourage them to compete.

"Absolutely; I love it," Canales said with a grin. "Because my thing to them is, guys, you got the green light to show us who you are. I'm giving you permission to make this team be who it is and what it's going to be. And particularly for each individual, show us who you are, bring all of you. And if something's a little bit out of sorts, you know, I'll approach it, I'll talk to guys about it.

"I thought there were two plays today. Jaycee made a beautiful interception today, then he punted the ball. OK, like we can't do that. So then what happens? JT catches a great pass and spins it in front of the defense. These are penalties. We want to be a smart football team. We can't have those things, guys. Let a dominant play be dominant. Let it speak for itself."

Then he grinned.

"So I address those things, but I also kind of like it," he laughed. "I like the edge. I like the back and forth, but we've got to be smart."

The good news for Canales is that some of his most emotional leaders also happen to be his best players.

The message means more when Jaycee Horn says it, and the time on task is implicit when Chuba Hubbard is the one jawing at you. Hubbard's already been in one fight this camp (and has the eggnog to prove it), and it's not likely to be the last

Injury update for Hunter Renfrow, others

Three players were held out Wednesday for what Canales described as relatively minor issues.

Veteran receiver Hunter Renfrow, one of the early stars of camp, was held out because of a hamstring tweak, which they want to be careful about.

"I asked him, I said, shoot, if we had to play Sunday, you think you're playing?" Canales said. "He's like, oh, I'm playing. So, just something that we caught early, wanted to take care of him right here. I knew this was going to be a high day. We'll have a couple of days to get him recovered, and then we'll check in back in a couple of days and see where we're at."

Jackson was sidelined with a sore toe (rookie Corey Thornton worked with the ones in his place), but Canales said the test results they got back didn't indicate a serious problem. And outside linebacker Pat Jones was held out with an illness, some chest congestion that kept him from sleeping well last night.

Canales was complimentary of Thornton, an undrafted rookie from Louisville for his work in Jackson's spot.

"He earned those reps in the spring by being where he's supposed to be, by being clued into our calls, and then making plays on the ball," Canales said. "Bottom line is when the ball goes up, somebody's got to make a play. It's either the receiver or the DB and, he keeps showing up long and heavy at the ball, and so he's doing a great job."

A vocal Chau Smith-Wade making impact

Practice had been going for less than half an hour, much too early for the heat and exhaustion to have gotten to anyone. So, as far as Chau Smith-Wade was concerned, there was no excuse for the energy level amongst the defensive backs—or rather, lack of energy level.

As the group finished one drill and began to walk towards the next, the second year DB hollered for everyone to get together. With veterans like Horn and rookies that are older than the 22-year old Smith-Wade surrounding him, the second year player issued a challenge.

There were a lot of colorful words not fit for print, but they hit their mark with the group. The gist? Step it up. The lack of energy was unacceptable. And if there's one thing Smith-Wade is going to do, it's bring the energy, whether it's dancing between snaps, or breaking up a pass in the end zone during team drills (he did both of those things on Wednesday).

"Chau's stepping up big time on the field and off the field, just trying to pull guys together," second year safety Demani Richardson said after Wednesday's training camp practice.

"That's the thing I like about him. He's always going to do the right thing. He's going to always handle himself first and then try to get guys on board to be on the same page."

Smith-Wade, a fifth-rounder out of Washington State, is coming off a rookie campaign in which he finished the year as the starter at nickel. He's had an equally impressive offseason, with Horn even telling reporters during OTAs that Smith-Wade had been the most impressive player in practices.

It's the kind of play that begets confidence and inspires one of the younger players on the team to take ownership when he sees something that's not right.

"Another really confident kid," Canales said of his corner. "And I think, you know, Chau, his understanding of the schemes, his communication, all those things—now we're seeing the personality and I love this.

"Something I keep coming back to—when I start seeing personality, I know they're comfortable with what we're doing, and I got to give a lot of credit to the coaches working with these guys, but these guys putting in the work and being able to continue to grow in their roles."

Bringing their A game for Fan Fest

Canales said the Panthers would be in full pads for Saturday night's Fan Fest practice.

That's the one practice of camp open to fans because of the construction on the team's indoor facility, and tickets for the event are available at this link.

And among the other entertainments, fans can expect a football show.

"With all the construction and the improvements we're having, we don't have the space to have all of our fans here, but I just want them to know there's something special in the competitive nature, and I can't wait to show off what that looks like at Fan Fest," Canales said. "We'll be full pads and we'll be all live, everything but laying out and tying up guys' legs. We want full tackling, hitting all that thing, but we just kind of ask the guys, take care of each other in those vulnerable spots, but we're going to play football, we need it.

"And it'll be a great opportunity for our group to kind of take the next step together, to have extended, move-the-ball, call-it periods, where we have to operate from the sideline. The guys are out there. They've got to communicate, they've got to talk. So, I'm really excited about that."