LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Eager to begin preparing for the 2009 season, the Bears convened at Halas Hall for the start of minicamp Monday, the first day that NFL teams are permitted to conduct offseason workouts.

Lovie Smith and the Bears will kick off minicamp Monday at Halas Hall.

“We’re full speed the first day,” said coach Lovie Smith. “There’s no easing into it. It’s the first time we get a chance to do something about starting the season off right. The first time we have an opportunity to get better, we’re doing that as a team.”

Bears players will take physicals Monday before participating in non-contact afternoon practices Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The minicamp is typically held a few weeks after the draft, but it was moved up to mid-March to set a tone for the upcoming season, give new defensive assistants Rod Marinelli and Jon Hoke a chance to work with their players and provide a final glimpse at the roster before the draft.

The focus of the minicamp will also be different.

“This will be a fundamental camp,” Smith said. “Normally we have two periods of individual [drills], but in this camp we’ll have five periods. This is a time for individual instruction for our players. There won’t be as much of an emphasis on the team stuff. We’ll get more into the team emphasis a little bit later on with our OTAs.”

The Bears coach will pay particular attention to the defensive backs and wide receivers during this week’s practices. In the secondary, cornerbacks Charles Tillman and Trumaine McBride and safety Kevin Payne will not participate in the minicamp while they recover from injuries.

“We know what Charles can do,” Smith said. “The other two players, you would like to have them. But at the same time this will give us a look at some of the new guys.”

Bowman moving to free safety
One of those players is 2008 fifth-round pick Zackary Bowman, who is being moved from cornerback to free safety, a position he played at New Mexico Military Institute before transferring to Nebraska.

The 6-1, 193-pounder possesses speed and athleticism, but has struggled to remain healthy. He suffered knee injuries in each of his final two seasons in college and then sustained a season-ending biceps injury while making his NFL debut last Oct. 19 against the Minnesota Vikings.

In that game, Bowman scored a touchdown by recovering a muffed punt in the end zone and then later preserved a 48-41 victory by intercepting a Gus Frerotte pass with :40 remaining in the game.

A main reason the Bears are moving Bowman is that they have far more depth at cornerback with Tillman, McBride, Corey Graham and Nate Vasher than they do at safety.

“We just feel like there’s an opportunity now to see if that’s [Bowman’s] best spot to compete,” Smith said.

With Payne unable to practice, 2008 fourth-round pick Craig Steltz will line up at strong safety and recent free-agent acquisition Josh Bullocks will work at free safety with the No. 1 defense during minicamp.

Steltz will also see action at the free safety position this week in practice.

“He has great instincts playing the ball,” Smith said. “Just look at the interception that he had [last season against the Lions]. There’s not a big difference between the two. We want two guys with similar talents to be able to drop down into the box. With Steltz entering his second season, we’re still figuring out exactly where his best spot is.”

Bennett in the spotlight
At wide receiver, 2008 third-round pick Earl Bennett will be given every opportunity to win a starting job opposite Devin Hester. Bennett played sparingly last year as a rookie and did not catch a pass, though he did show marked improvement in practice over the final six weeks of the season.

“We’re going to let Earl have a shot to see exactly what he can do,” Smith said. “He finished strong last year. He works hard. He’s a good player. Now it’s time for us to really see what type of player he is.”

Omiyale will work at left guard
While free-agent acquisition Frank Omiyale can play multiple positions along the offensive line, Smith said that the 6-4, 310-pounder will work exclusively at left guard in minicamp.

“If a guy is versatile, you [move him around] later,” Smith said. “Initially, we want to lock all of our guys into one spot, and we’re going to start Frank off at left guard first and go from there.”

While John St. Clair remains unsigned, the Bears still hope to retain the veteran offensive tackle.

“John is one of our guys,” Smith said. “It’s been the same message throughout about John. We like John. He had a heck of a year this past year. Once you become one of the guys, we want you around.”

Young gun
Another player Smith is eager to watch this week in practice is quarterback Caleb Hanie. The second-year pro is a promising prospect who will compete for the No. 2 job behind Kyle Orton.

“Caleb Hanie, I’m anxious to see him,” Smith said. “I think he’s an underrated player with a lot of talent who’s going to surprise some people.”

Briefly
Linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer and defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek also will sit out minicamp while recovering from injuries. Hillenmeyer is currently in Hawaii attending NFL Players Association meetings. ... Linebacker Nick Roach, an exclusive rights free agent, signed his one-year contract tender with the Bears Monday.