They’ve become each other’s shadows, even on the days they don’t have to be.
Before spring ball, Niles Paul and Prince Amukamara would meet on those silent Saturdays when 80,000 people weren’t watching. Nothing mandatory. Just two guys with big goals and competitive appetites to match.
You’d know who won each competition by who chattered the most when it was over.
“One of my best friends,” Paul said of Amukamara earlier this spring. “But we talk a lot of trash.”
It’s a rivalry built on respect. The senior wide receiver figures if he can win his fair share against Amukamara, an all-conference cornerback last year, he can make plays against most anybody.
“He, in my opinion, is the best DB on the team, so I just love competing against him,” Paul said.
The feeling is mutual. Amukamara normally lines up at left corner, but during Saturday’s Red-White game he changed scenery just so he could cover Paul.
“I told Niles I was going to shadow him wherever he goes,” Amukamara said. “If he was going on the right side, I was going on the right side.”
They were on the right side in the second quarter when Cody Green let it fly. The coverage was pretty cozy, but Paul won the battle in the air.
That play went for 48 yards. Paul later caught a 31-yard jump ball over Amukamara on a trick play (the Bouncerooskie).
Paul’s offseason progress has been well-publicized, but Saturday’s five catches for 103 yards while working against a corner of Amukamara’s caliber allowed Husker fans to see for themselves.
Of perhaps greater importance, it allowed him the last word of the spring.
“Prince came up to me after the game and was like, ‘You may have won the battle, but you didn’t win the war,’” Paul said. “I told him that was the war for spring ball, so the battle’s over.”
Paul had 40 catches for 796 yards in 2009, averaging an impressive 19.9 yards a reception. It was good enough to rank fifth in Husker history for receiving yards in a season. (Johnny Rodgers still ranks first with 942 receiving yards from the 1972 season.)
Paul had moments of dominant play — the fourth quarter against Missouri and the first half against Kansas come to mind.
But he’s the first to say there was inconsistency, the unforced fumble against Iowa State, too many drops.
So he didn’t mind at all when Husker football strength coach James Dobson instituted a new rule during winter conditioning’s 7-on-7 drills.
If a receiver or defensive back dropped a pass, they had to do 20 Turkish Get-Ups, which is slightly less fun than standing in the line over the noon hour at the DMV. (Turkish Get-Up: A player begins on his back, holding a 45-pound plate. He has to rock himself up and then rise to his feet, pressing the plate above his head. Once a player gets to 15 or so, he knows he doesn’t want to do it again soon.)
Paul met the challenge.
Spring is just spring, but Paul hasn’t dropped many in 2010. Near the end of spring ball, Ted Gilmore and Paul were debating whether the receiver had one or two drops all camp. Some guys have been known to drop that many in one drill.
If Paul’s hands are becoming more reliable, Amukamara says the receiver is also now about as explosive as anyone he has covered in the Big 12.
“Niles is night and day from his freshman year to this year,” Amukamara said. “I’m not a scout, but I definitely think he’s underrated. And it is fun going against each other. He learns from me and I learn from him.”
As for Paul winning Saturday’s battle? Amukamara wasn’t sulking.
Why would he? They’ll meet again soon enough.
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