NIU ready for scrimmage Tuesday

DEKALB - Because he once allowed a younger co-worker to live with him below ground, Northern Illinois quarterbacks coach Pat Poore now boasts a football friend in high places.

While serving as offensive coordinator at Fort Hays State in Kansas 20 years ago, Poore and his wife, Gwen, invited the team's new linebackers coach to live in their basement for free.

That coach grew up to become - Green Bay Packers boss Mike McCarthy.

"He was getting his MBA then," Poore said. "You could tell he was going to be a really good football coach. He's got great moral ethics, great work ethic."

Accordingly, Poore hasn't bothered to bill McCarthy, in today's dollars, the amount of back rent he might be owed.

But he did call McCarthy a few weeks back and wangle an invitation to watch the Packers practice and to sit in on the coaches' meetings.

Poore, offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover, receivers coach P.J. Fleck and running backs coach Rob Reeves made the caravan to Green Bay.

"He took us in and treated us really well," Poore said. "They're a big zone team. We do that. We like their scheme. We were just technically watching routes and quarterbacks and drill work."

While Northern Illinois doesn't run Green Bay's offense per se, there are lots of pro-style pointers the Huskies coaches are passing along to their players.

Sunday's "light" practice, for example, focused heavily on teaching.

Poore spent extensive time teaching his quarterbacks - particularly senior incumbent Dan Nicholson, redshirt freshman Chandler Harnish and junior Ryan Morris - on their read progressions depending on the defense.

With Nicholson, who threw 14 interceptions in nine games last year, it's all about reminding him he need not use his rocket arm to throw into tight coverage when an easier target can be found.

"The system tells you to do this, so do it," Poore said. "Don't make that bad decision. Now, can you learn all that, process all that, so it fits together? Then, all of a sudden, it's like seeing a math problem: 'Oh, I know the answer.'"

Head coach Jerry Kill says, since Nicholson is the incumbent, someone will have to beat him out in order to start Aug. 30 at Minnesota.

"All I can do is go by the six practices I've worked with him, but he's been very sharp," Kill said. "He's made three or four mistakes that we don't want him to make, but any quarterback would in the first five or six practices.

"As long as he doesn't do it again, we'll be in good shape."

Kill says Nicholson, as the incumbent, must be beaten out for the job.

Any NIU fans that want to gauge the team's progress can head to Huskie Stadium for a big scrimmage at 10 a.m. Tuesday.