NIU's Grady working hard to be ready

Well after Northern Illinois' other quarterbacks had either walked or hobbled off the Huskie Stadium turf Wednesday afternoon, DeMarcus Grady stayed behind for more schooling.

The redshirt freshman from Grand Rapids, Mich., needs to cram extra learning into his days because he needs to play sooner than expected.

Grady began the fall as NIU's No. 3 quarterback, but opening-night starter Chandler Harnish is on crutches indefinitely with a sprained foot while 2007 starter Dan Nicholson still doesn't have a healthy throwing shoulder.

Ergo, Grady might make his first start Saturday when Northern Illinois hosts Indiana State in Saturday's home opener (2 p.m., Comcast SportsNet).

As a quarterback who ran almost as often as he threw for East Grand Rapids High, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Grady still has rough edges to his passing game.

That became clear two weeks ago after Harnish got hurt early at Western Michigan.

Nicholson and Grady split time behind center, but Nicholson threw 29 times while Grady rushed seven times (for 43 yards) and wasn't credited with any passing attempts.

Grady stayed after practice Wednesday to work on the mechanics of his dropbacks and throws.

"Sometimes I tend to catch myself taking a long stride when throwing, something I've always had trouble with," said Grady, who works on his drops in his apartment at night. "(Quarterback) coach (Pat) Poore is taking the time to actually show me how to throw it this way or throw it that way - something I wasn't taught heavily in the past.

"I like this coaching staff because they're actually teaching me how to play the position the right way."

Head coach Jerry Kill said after Wednesday's practice that Grady and Nicholson figure to share the load against Indiana State, while Carol Stream's Ryan Morris "has got to be ready."

So, how has Grady progressed in the 10 days since NIU's last game?

"Great," Kill said. "Great. Great. Doing really good."

One for the thumb: It's going to take a lot more than a broken thumb to knock the Mid-American Conference's reigning MVP out of the lineup.

Senior defensive end Larry English (Marmion) broke his right thumb during the opener at Minnesota on Aug. 30 but didn't miss a series.

He played with the thumb wrapped up at Western Michigan, then underwent surgery during the off-week.

Blessed with a lightweight cast for practice, English will add a protective cover for Saturday's game so neither he nor his opponents suffer a huge blow.

English can get into a stance with his right hand, so he feels virtually 100 percent. As for the rest of his life -

"I can play football," English said. "I can't write. It's harder to eat."

English leads the Huskies with 3 tackles for loss. He has 1 of the team's 2 sacks and 1 of the 3 fumble recoveries.

O-Line ouchies: Northwestern won't have junior right tackle Kurt Mattes for Saturday's home game with Ohio (11 a.m., Big Ten Network).

Mattes' knee will keep him off the field for the second time this year, so right guard Desmond Taylor will move back outside. Senior Joel Belding regains his right guard job.

NU's injury report also showed sophomore cornerback Justan Vaughn, who started the first two games, out for the year with a shoulder injury. The Pearland, Texas, native has already used his redshirt year.