It wasn’t a great day for the Patriots’ rookie class.

While every one of the rookies were present and accounted for on the first day, a report later in the afternoon indicated five rookies had failed their conditioning test, a group that included seventh-round pick Jeremy Ebert, as well as undrafted players Justin Francis, Matt Roark, Jeremiah Warren and Markus Zusevics.

With the understanding that things can only get better for them -- as well as the rest of the rookies -- here are four questions about this rookie class that could be answered this camp.

Who will make the greatest impact in 2012? Right now, the smart money is on Dont’a Hightower, the linebacker out of Alabama who was the 25th player taken in the draft. Hightower’s positional versatility, knowledge of the system and his clear football IQ (talk to him for 10 minutes and it’s clear he understands the game on a different level) should all play into him seeing the field sooner rather than later. One quote of note worth passing along about Hightower comes from Andre Carter, who told Sirius/XM on Wednesday (H/T Mike Reiss): “I didn’t realize how big Hightower was. That boy is a beast. He is big and solid and he can run like the wind, especially for a man his size (6-foot-2, 270). I think for him, on the back end, he can do it all -- whether it’s a 3-4 or 4-3, I’ll be interested to see what he does.”

(This is not to say Chandler Jones won’t play serious minutes this year. In fact, I think that Jones could ultimately have a greater impact than Hightower. At that elephant position -- where he has to set the edge, rush the passer and drop into coverage -- the Patriots will put a lot on Jones’ plate, especially as a rookie. I’m not saying he won’t eventually be a quality starter in the league -- it just might take him more time than some other guys.)

How will the legend of Nate Ebner translate to the NFL? The former college walk-on, teenage rugby star and viral video sensation became such an integral part of the Ohio State special teams unit that he was occasionally held out of practice during the week because OSU coaches were worried he wouldn’t be able to play on Sunday. That was great for the Big Ten, but how competitive can he be on an NFL level as a rookie. For what it’s worth, throughout the spring practices Ebner looked competitive but didn’t stand out, either in a good way or a bad way. While he faces an uphill battle for playing time with the regular defensive unit, he will almost certainly get an opportunity on special teams to join key contributors Matthew Slater and Tracy White. (His playing time -- both on special teams and on defense -- could be tied to safety Sergio Brown, who fell out of favor on defense last season but maintained a presence on special teams late in the year and into the postseason.)

What exactly do the Patriots have in Alfonzo Dennard? Dennard is a fascinating case: As a collegian, he showed moments of real brilliance as a corner at Nebraska (check out the library of clips on YouTube), certainly enough to have him projected as a mid- to early-round pick. But there’s also enough baggage there -- including that infamous incident with a police officer outside a Nebraska bar that likely caused his stock to drop even more, and an ejection from the Capital One Bowl -- that you can understand why teams shied away from him. There are some shifting parts in the New England secondary, and while he won’t be asked to be an every-down contributor as a rookie, he will have a chance to play if he does well in camp and in the preseason. After a tumultuous offseason, it’s about all he could hope for at this point.

Which UDFA will become this year’s Dane Fletcher? Every year, there’s one undrafted free agent who beats the odds and manages to make the final 53-man roster. A couple of years ago, that was Fletcher, who emerged from the relative obscurity of Montana State in 2010 to become a part of New England’s regular rotation at linebacker, even starting five games last season. Based on what we saw this spring, it appears that defensive lineman Justin Francis and offensive lineman Jeremiah Warren have the best shot, even after they were part of a group that failed their physicals on Thursday. In spring camps, Francis showed good burst and did not appear overwhelmed. As for Warren, we always judge how well a young offensive lineman is doing by how often he gets yelled at by offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia, and while he was occasionally put on blast by the veteran coach, he managed to hold his own.