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DAVIE (CBSMiami) – The Miami Dolphins returned to the practice field on Thursday following the team's first day off since the beginning of training camp last week.

The Dolphins are just over a week away from playing the first of their four preseason games.

There are several rookies on Miami's roster competing for a coveted roster spot, hoping that it will be the beginning of a long career in the NFL.

Professional Training camp can be quite the grind and the rookies are making the proper adjustments.

Battling through the hot South Florida weather during practices is just one thing that the youngsters must acclimate themselves to doing in order to be ready to prove themselves during preseason games.

Some players, like first round pick Laremy Tunsil, have a roster spot secured.

For others that were drafted in the later rounds, or not at all, it's all about impressing the coaches and battling to earn a job on the team.

Running back Kenyan Drake, selected in the third round, is one of the guys battling for a roster spot.

Drake is fighting for the third spot in Miami's backfield along with Damien Williams and Daniel Thomas.

So far, head coach Adam Gase has liked what he has seen from the rookie.

"I see a guy that, he's what we thought he was as far as the guy that can obviously… the speed is impressive and his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and run routes and split them out and do some things like that," Gase said of Drake. "Really, it's just how much can he handle in his first year? Where does he kind of fit in with that group? What does he do on special teams? I mean there's a lot of things going on for a rookie. It's going to be about how he handles all this."

Veteran Arian Foster and second year back Jay Ajayi are expected to lead the Dolphins in carries and be the face of Miami's running game, but Drake's ability to provide speed and catch passes out of the backfield may give him a leg up on his competition.

Rookie tight end Thomas Duarte is another guy hoping to use a strong training camp as a springboard onto Miami's roster.

"It's going well I think, it's going well," Duarte said following Thursday's practice. "Getting acclimated to the weather is one thing but learning the offense and the speed of the game is another. I have great teammates around me and great coaches so I'm learning.

Duarte was selected in the seventh round of this year's draft but couldn't participate in Miami's rookie minicamps or OTAs because he had not yet completed a pair of classes at his alma mater UCLA.

NFL rules do not allow rookies to participate in team activities until classes are out and since UCLA works on a quarter system, Duarte did not finish at the same time as most college students.

Like Duarte, another pass-catching rookie hoping to turn heads at Dolphins camp is wide receiver Leonte Carroo.

A standout at Rutgers during his time in college, Carroo was taken in the third round by Miami.

He can provide depth at receiver and also return kicks, so there is a decent chance that Carroo makes his way onto the roster with a solid showing this month.

"I feel like I'm still getting it," Carroo said. "Still learning from Jarvis [Landry], still learning from Kenny [Stills] and DeVante [Parker]. Still taking coaching and just going out there and doing the best of my ability to make plays. I feel like I'm going to be able to help tremendously this year."

Wide receiver is probably the Dolphins deepest position on the roster.

Carroo is battling with six other guys for what is likely to be just two roster spots, unless Miami decides to keep six receivers.