First in a series. 
 
DeKALB, Ill. – Twenty minutes after the conclusion of NIU Football's two-hour practice at Huskie Stadium Saturday, cornerback Albert Smalls was still on the field.  This time, the redshirt junior from Miramar, Fla. wasn't doing extra drills or catching footballs, he was coaching, showing his younger and less experienced teammates "the ropes," just as he was mentored as a young player.
 
"I'm an older guy now, people taught me the ropes and I'm trying to give back and teach them," Smalls said of his role.  "You've got JP [Jonathan Parker], he's never played corner so I was teaching him how to do simple stuff, get out of his break faster, how to use his hands and what not.  We've got some young guys, and I want to help keep them focused."
 
While young players like Dillon Thomas (Kansas City, Mo./Park Hill South HS) – who had the lone interception of practice late in the day during team drills featuring the "young guys" – are the future, Smalls, fellow redshirt junior Jalen Embry (Detroit, Mich./M.L. King/Iowa Central CC) and seniors Shawun Lurry (W. Palm Beach, Fla./W.T. Dwyer) and Mayomi Olootu, Jr. (Allen, Texas/Allen) are the present. 
 
After playing in the 2016 season opener versus Wyoming, Smalls missed the remainder of the season due to injury.  The tallest of the returnees at cornerback at 6-1, he has played in 28 career games with three interceptions, 14 pass break-ups and 58 career tackles.  On the other side, Lurry begins his senior season with 12 career interceptions and 27 pass break-ups. He spent much of the 2016 season battling injuries as well, completely missing two games and missing portions of several more.  Olootu started seven games a year ago and had his most productive season with 29 tackles, three interceptions and seven pass breakups.  Sophomore Daniel Isom (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis University), who was forced into the line-up as a true freshman in 2016 due in part to injuries, continues to rehab from a knee injury suffered during the spring.   
 
Having veterans at cornerback is a luxury, says assistant coach Melvin Rice, who was a four-year letterwinner at the position for the Huskies from 2005-08 and begins his second year coaching the position at NIU.  
 
"When you have a group of veterans, it makes your job coaching a little bit easier," Rice said. "They know what we expect from them in our defense, they know what to expect from you as a coach.  With the veterans you want to see a progression each year, going from the basics to the big picture. It's a joy to work with those guys, they push each other, there's a lot of competition in the room and when there's a lot of competition the cream is going to rise to the top."
 
Among the players pushing for more playing time are Embry, who sat out last season after transferring from Iowa Central Community College, and Parker (St. Louis, Mo./Christian Brothers/Iowa). The two played with the second team during Saturday's practice.
 
"Jalen comes out ready to practice every day and gets the guys going.  He's the sparkplug," Rice said. "He loves football and he's a joy to coach.  With Parker, it's his first time playing corner, and five practices in you see flashes that you like.  We're working with him day-to-day on the fundamentals. One thing he brings to our defense is a lot of speed.  He is a blazer on the field."
 
With talent and experience in seemingly plentiful supply at cornerback, both NIU Head Coach Rod Carey and Rice responded the same way when asked what the key to the success of the unit will be this year.  
 
"Let's stay healthy, let's do that first and I think they have good skill and good seasoning, and the rest will take care of itself if we stay available," Carey said.
 
"First and foremost we've got to stay healthy, taking care of our body and doing the right things to keep us on the field," Rice echoed.  "That's the most important thing.  Being ready to go each game, each play.  The biggest thing I want to see from our group is the resilience, having that swagger out there and getting better each day."
 
Smalls, though, has bigger goals in mind for the cornerbacks.
 
"We want to be the best unit in the MAC," he said.  "To do that, you've got to come out every day and strive to be great. You've got to have next play mentality, you get beat on a play, come back and don't think about what just happened. You've got to get better at the little things."  
 
PRACTICE NOTES:  NIU went through its longest practice of camp so far, working for two hours on Brigham Field Saturday afternoon in 70-degree temperatures… the Huskies put on full pads for the first time on Sunday with practice scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Huskie Stadium… In shorts, shoulder pads and helmets for the second straight practice, the Huskies spent more time on the running game with Jordan Huff, Marcus, Jones, Tre Harbison, Tommy Mister and freshman Jordan Nettles all getting carries… A few plays after the defense celebrated Thomas' interception, it was the offense running downfield after freshman receiver Dennis Robinson hauled in a long pass for a touchdown.
 
CAREY ON SATURDAY'S PRACTICE:  "The last two [practices] have been really good with energy, we have a lot to clean up, we're not there yet, but when you've got the effort like we do right now, those things will get cleaned up so I've been really happy with that part of it.  The defense is a little ahead of the offense right now and I don't think that's uncommon this time of year.
 
"[Sunday] will be a good day to get full pads on, we'll do a little bit of tackling and go live a little bit.  We've seen a lot [Saturday] from the guys. Pad levels have to get down on both sides of the ball but tomorrow will be a good test to kind of get that next step going."
 
Season tickets, Family Packs, three-game Mini-Plans, and single game tickets, are on sale for all 2017 NIU Football home games. Purchase tickets online at NIUHuskies.com, by calling 815-753-PACK (7225) or in person at the NIU Athletics Ticket Office in the Convocation Center Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.  
 
Single game tickets for the season opener versus Boston College on Friday, Sept. 1 at Huskie Stadium, are priced at $30 (reserved West Side) and $20 (general admission East Side). The game kicks off at 8:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network and NIU wants all fans to wear black to the game, fill the stands and help #BlackOutBC. 
 
Follow NIU Football throughout the 2017 Training Camp at Training Camp Central on NIUHuskies.com for daily updates, news and information, video and more. 
 
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