• Check outThursday's practice video:

LINCOLN — If what you hear out of Nebraska football camp is accurate, Niles Paul has enjoyed a genuine breakout month of practice.

If you're more the seeing-is-believing type, find a way to get close to Paul and look.

The junior wide receiver from Omaha North has packed 218 pounds onto his 6-foot-1 frame. Paul, by even his own extreme standards, has taken physical readiness to a new level.

“I feel like I'm one of the top dogs out there,” he said. “Among the receivers, everything kind of feeds off my tempo. If I go in and make a big play or a big block, everybody gets hyped up. It gets contagious.”

The former Parade All-American ranks as a leader at Nebraska for the first time in his collegiate career. A big season seems on the horizon.

But Paul wants to make something clear about his new status: He's no diva.

Many of the best receivers in football get tagged as attention hogs. Attitude is often a prerequisite to play the position.

Not for Paul, who said he fell into that trap in high school.

“I let it all get to me,” he said. “A wide receiver is supposed to have attitude on the field that he can't be stopped. When I'm on the field, that's how I feel, but in high school, I kind of let it seep off the field. It's going to be different in college.

“I want to make plays for my team. That's all I want to do.”

His humility pleases those who surround Paul.

Nebraska coaches can't praise him enough these days. Ahman Green, the former NU star and 11-year NFL running back, swells with pride when discussing his 20-year-old nephew.

“That's something I've drilled into his head,” said Green, who talks regularly with Paul. “I just told him, from my experience, you keep your head down. You work hard. Try to keep the outside distractions to a low, and you'll be where you want to be. Right now, he's on that track.”

Larry Martin, Paul's former coach at North, watched Paul attract major attention at age 17. It became a burden.

“The community built him up as this icon,” Martin said. “That honestly was never his personality. He had a hard time fitting that. I can remember going to different high schools where people were asking for his autograph.”

Late in Paul's career at Omaha North, Green visited Paul's Web page on MySpace.com. He had posted photos of Terrell Owens, the eccentric receiver who played at the time for the Dallas Cowboys.

Why the pictures of T.O.?

“He told me (Owens) does this and he does that,” Green said. “He didn't really talk about what he does on the field. That told me something.”

Green, whose time in the NFL has nearly mirrored Owens' career, knows the receiver.

“His work ethic is unbelievable, but his attitude is a little different,” Green said. “I'm not saying it's bad; he's just misunderstood. So I asked Niles, ‘Do you want to be misunderstood or just known as a hard worker?'

“Let your actions speak. That's how I play.”

Paul heard the message, but it didn't hit home until recently. Long noted for his high character, Paul was arrested in April on suspicion of driving under the influence and charged with lesser offenses.

He sat out of the spring game as punishment and refocused after the incident.

“My attitude has been to play every play like it's my last,” he said.

Paul started four games a year ago and caught 23 passes for 214 yards. He said he feels like he's been handed the torch from departed receivers Nate Swift and Todd Peterson.

They led the pack. Now it's Paul's turn.

As for the family torch, Green said he's still got a handle on it. He's training in Green Bay, Wis., and waiting for another shot at the NFL. Green, 32, played a minor role the past two years in Houston after five straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons for the Packers.

Green had a recent workout with the Rams. He said he might get another.

“You could say I'm passing the torch,” Green said.

And Paul is flattered at the thought.

“Hopefully,” he said with a laugh. “But (Green) just wants me to stay humble and focused.”

Contact the writer:

402-473-9587, mitch.sherman@owh.com

• Check out The World-Herald's video review of the Huskers' third week of practice:

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