Warriors in the Pros: Mouton, Bess, Ulbrich

Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean writes that Ryan Mouton appears to be recovering from his hamstring injury.

The Titans continue to work without veteran center Kevin Mawae (elbow) and defensive end Jevon Kearse (knee), although rookies such as cornerback Ryan Mouton (hamstring) and defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks (hamstring) have shown improvement from nagging injuries.

Brian Biggane of The Palm Beach Post profiles Davone Bess.

A free-agent rookie from Hawaii, Bess finished sixth in the AFC and 10th overall in punt returns with an 11-yard average. He proved a significant upgrade over fellow receiver Ted Ginn Jr., who averaged just 7.8 yards on seven returns.

"And we haven't seen his best yet," special teams coach John Bonamego said of Bess. "He's improved and he'll continue to improve."

A solidly built 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, Bess, 23, brings similar attributes to the job as Reggie Bush, whom Bonamego had in his last coaching stop at New Orleans before coming to Miami last season.

"Davone's a guy who's built low to the ground, who's got very good initial quickness, and he's strong," Bonamego said after one of the Dolphins' final practices before their summer break. "For a guy who's not really big, he's built more like a running back. He's not easy to knock off his feet."

Nice.

And Jeff Ulbrich talks about the purpose of running up and down a hill that 49ers coach Mike Singletary had built.

From a distance, "the hill" doesn't look that imposing, but as you get closer, it's a bit intimidating. Coach Singletary had it built for conditioning purposes.

"I think they'll see a difference once the season gets underway," says Coach Singletary.

"Yeah, he's definitely utilized it and I feel it out there. I feel stronger, more powerful, faster, " says 49er linebacker Jeff Ulbrich.

The concept of the hill is to build football muscle mass by running up and down hill, putting a different strain on the thighs and hamstrings. It's also an alternative to running on level ground and of course misery loves company, especially when working out.

"The most neglected muscle that we train is the mind sometimes. It's tough to run that thing. We run it non-stop for 20-30 minutes straight sometimes, so it definitely tests you upstairs," says Ulbrich.