Yesterday, mandatory verteran minicamps began.  Players took the field for an hour and forty minutes for practice.

ESPN’s Kieran Darcy noted some highlights from the day:

1.  Veterans attended practice, but some did not fully participate.  One in particular was Osi Umenyiora.  He spent most of the afternoon on the sideline, but did take the field during the walk-off portion.

CB Corey Webster and S Kenny Phillips also sat out.  Webster is still healing a hamstring injury and the team is being careful with Phillips.

DT Chris Canty will sit out of minicamp while he recovers from knee surgery.

WR Hakeem Nicks, who broke his right foot a few weeks ago, was riding an exercise bike on the sideline.

2.  Newly signed Rocky Bernard played on the defensive line with Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul.  Michael Boley, Chase Blackburn, and Mathias Kiwanuka were the first string linebackers.

3.  On Eli Manning’s first pass of the day he was picked off by Boley on a pass that was intended for Victor Cruz.

Backup QB’s David Carr and Ryan Perrilloux were able to locate rookie receiver Rueben Randle.

Head coach Tom Coughlin spoke to the media about what the players should expect in minicamps and holes to fill in the lineup:

“We’re gonna throw a lot at them,” said Coughlin. “We’ll install, and then we’ll jog through, we’ll install again, and then practice. So in other words they’re getting two days of installation, and we’re trying to get as much information to them as we possibly can, and we’ll go through our corrections in the evening.”

The Giants will return the nucleus from their Super Bowl-winning team of a year ago. But they still have some holes to fill. For instance, they will be looking for a No. 2 running back to pair with Ahmad Bradshaw, now that Brandon Jacobs is with the 49ers. And they are looking for a No. 3 wide receiver, with Mario Manningham also jumping to San Francisco.

“We’re gonna get some people lined up [this week],” Coughlin said. “We have formulated some opinions, but it’ll take training camp and some preseason games before we start to be able to do some further thoughts with some of the young kids.”

More news from minicamp was posted on social media sites.  Art Stapleton of The Record notes some impressive coverage on Victor Cruz by rookie Jayron Hosley during 7-on-7 drills.

And the team’s Twitter page (@Giants) reveals Justin Tuck’s new facemask:

Notes from Day 2 will come later today.