EVANSTON-Northwestern is running its first fall camp without head coach Pat Fitzgerald in charge since 2005.

But even if Fitzgerald and his raspy yell are no longer there, signs of the school’s all-time winningest coach were still everywhere during Wednesday morning’s practice.

The players practiced on Hutcheson Field and convened before and after drills at the Walter Athletics Center, two expansive, state-of-the-art facilities built on Fitzgerald's watch. Jack Fitzgerald, his oldest son, was on the field and holding pads, still on the roster as a student-assistant coach.

And, most glaringly, several coaches and staffers, including Fitzgerald and offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian, wore T-shirts emblazoned with "Cats Against the World" with Fitzgerald's old jersey number, 51, underneath.

It’s not easy to erase a 17-year tenure. Counting his time as an assistant, these are the program’s first Fitz-less practices since 2000.

The T-shirts drew a lot of attention from journalists and social media on Wednesday. While coaches and players talked to the media after practice about their focus on the future and putting the hazing scandal and Fitzgerald's firing behind them, there it was on the chests of staff and players alike.

It raised enough of an uproar for athletic director Derrick Gragg to issue a statement in response, calling the T-shirts worn by the staff "inappropriate, offensive and tone deaf."

New interim head coach David Braun doesn’t have a problem with his players or coaches wearing the shirt, which seems to run counter to his messaging to put the hazing investigation behind them and look forward to the season. He said that he is there to support his players and staff, and their feelings, including their still-raw emotions about Fitzgerald's exit.

“It’s not my business to censor anyone’s free speech,” he added.

The three Wildcat players who were made available to the media didn’t see the shirts as offensive, either, or as something that could divide a locker room that could easily fall into turmoil. They see it as a symbol of their togetherness.

With all of the hazing stories and lawsuits swirling around the program, it’s not surprising that the players might feel like the world is united against them at times.

“It’s just a reminder, sticking together through this difficult time,” said defensive back Rod Heard II. “Just leaning on each other and we know the only people we need are the people in this facility.”

Braun is trying his best to keep the team focused on the future, saying he would not comment on anything that occurred before he arrived in Evanston on Jan. 16, when he was hired as a defensive coordinator. Now that he’s the head man, that hasn’t changed. It’s his job to get the team ready to play at Rutgers in the season opener on Sept. 3, no matter what happened or didn’t happen in the past.

The players feel the same way. Linebacker Bryce Gallagher several times declined to answer questions by saying that they weren’t there to talk about any hazing allegations, just football.

With all that’s gone on over the last month – the suspension and then firing of Fitzgerald, nine lawsuits filed, five transfers and countless allegations – there is likely no team in America that was more eager to start their fall camp and get back to football than this one.

“Yeah, it's been a breath of fresh air, for sure,” said Gallagher, who’s arms were covered with bruises, signs that football was, indeed, back in season. “Just getting back out on the field together, having fun, playing football. Like you said, that's what we do.”

Braun has brought some changes to Evanston, especially on defense, where the team is installing his new system after a disastrous two-year tenure of previous defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil. Despite his promotion to head coach, he reiterated that he will still be the acting defensive coordinator and will call defenses on Saturdays.

But what the players have appreciated is how much that things have stayed the same under their new boss. There is a lot of carryover from Fitzgerald’s tenure, and that’s by design.

“I honestly think Coach Braun and the whole staff has done a good job keeping it as feeling as normal as it can right now,” said Gallagher. “Because we're creatures of routine when it comes to football.”

“The reason I do what I do is to ensure that the young men in our program have an incredible student-athlete experience,” said Braun. “I’m doing everything I possibly can do ensure that happens.”

This team has two clouds hanging over its head right now. There’s the hazing scandal, which continues to radiate, and has already cost them 11 players -- five transfers and six decommitments; and there's the specter of Fitzgerald, whose influence is still felt throughout the program.

It's a lot for a first-time head coach to handle. But the players said that they have full confidence in the guy now in charge.

“We love Coach Fitz and are devastated that he's not here,” said Gallagher. “But we have full belief in Coach Braun, and he's been unbelievable and has done a great job leading us and has really just shown us like how much he cares about us.”

Braun is trying to focus on the future and put the program's past behind him. But as today's "shirt-gate" flap showed, the Wildcats still have work to do to escape its pull.

As writer William Faulkner once wrote, "The past is never dead. It isn't even past."