SPARTANBURG After a head-turning, four-interception practice Tuesday, Panthers rookie cornerback Josh Norman’s next feat was picking off a reporter’s question.

Asked about the four interceptions, Norman smiled and said: “It was five. Y’all are cutting me short.”

It was one day in mid-August, but Norman might have cut to the front of the line at the No. 2 corner spot.

After missing most of the first two weeks of training camp with a hamstring injury, Norman burst on to the Wofford practice fields with a performance that energized his defensive teammates and had several of the Panthers’ receivers barking at the cocky, fifth-round pick from Coastal Carolina.

“It felt great, big relief. The hardest thing for me was sitting down on the sideline, riding that (exercise) bike everyday, looking at the guys go hard at practice,” Norman said. “I was like, ‘When I get back, it’s going to be a whirlwind.’ ”

Norman’s day started with an interception of Cam Newton during team passing drills. He was with the first-team defense, with Captain Munnerlyn – the No. 2 corner last year – lined up inside at nickel back.

Norman read the play, left his receiver and jumped in front of tight end Greg Olsen to make the pick along the sideline. He was just getting started.

Norman’s next pick came on a Newton pass that bounced off the hands of Louis Murphy. After he intercepted backup quarterback Derek Anderson, Norman ran up the sideline and spiked the ball.

In a red-zone drill, Norman made a diving interception in the end zone, then got up slowly. He was back in five minutes later, knocking down two more passes.

After his last pass breakup, linebacker Thomas Davis ran over to congratulate Norman, who said: “I don’t know why they keep throwing over here.”

Olsen, among others, yelled that Norman had “fresh legs” because he hadn’t practiced.

“I was like, ‘Well, if that’s the circumstances y’all have against me, I’ll take it.’ Either way, it’s all in good competition. It’s all in good fun,” Norman said. “I know those guys want to get better and I know we want to get better as a defense. We’re always the stepchild to the offense. … I think the stepchild won.”

Norman, like Munnerlyn and many corners, is a good and willing talker. He said after organized team activities and minicamp he had frustrated Pro Bowl wideout Steve Smith with his blanket coverage.

Smith said later: “Once late July, August comes, he’s going to learn very quickly this isn’t Coastal Carolina.”

But defensive end Charles Johnson appreciated Norman’s confidence.

“I love that. We need that type of swag on the team, or persona. He came to play,” Johnson said. “We’re going to see what happens when we get in the game.”

Panthers coach Ron Rivera was judicious with his praise. Rivera likes Norman’s vision and instincts, but said Norman would have been flagged for illegal contact had Tuesday’s practice been a game.

“One of the things he’s got to understand now is you can’t touch guys downfield. It’s the NFL, not college football,” Rivera said. “He made some good plays and did some good things and I don’t want to take anything away from Josh. But Josh has to understand that once we start getting downfield you have to be careful.”

Norman, 24, who grew up in Greenwood, S.C., had 13 interceptions at Coastal and finished with 48 pass breakups, most in Big South Conference history.

He said the two weeks he was sidelined at camp helped him get a better grasp of the Panthers’ defensive concepts and coverage responsibilities.

“When I first got here, it was all just fast and bullets flying. Coach was like, ‘Is this thing too big for you?’ ” Norman said. “At first, at OTAs, it wasn’t. I started to think about it too much. And then I ended up blowing my hamstring a little bit. I sat down and really got back into my (play)book.”

Norman sat out last week’s exhibition loss against Houston, but will figure prominently in Friday’s game against Miami. As he joked with reporters about his four (or five) interceptions, Norman seemed to take it in stride.

“Just gotta do it again tomorrow,” he said.

It will be tough to top Tuesday.