Assistant coach Ross Watson is nearing the end of not only his first spring camp at NIU but also his first stint at coaching linebackers.

Watson has spent his coaching career in the secondary, serving as the cornerbacks coach at his alma mater, the Mount Union Purple Raiders, in 2006 and 2007. He spent 2008-2011 on the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ defensive staff before serving as the defensive backs coach with the Florida Atlantic Owls in 2012 and 2013.

Watson worked as the director of football operations at Youngstown State in 2014. He was elevated to assistant coach in the offseason by new head coach Bo Pelini, who was the head coach at Nebraska during Watson’s time there, but he opted to leave that job to coach linebackers at NIU.

Q: What’s the transition been like from coaching in the secondary to coaching linebackers?

A: Going through my experiences, any new job has a learning curve to it. Whether you’re at a position you’re used to or a new position, there’s some inherent learning that’s got to go on there. That was to be expected. It’s been going good.

There’s a great group of older leadership in there that can help out. I always tell the guys, ‘We’ll be great when there’s more than one linebackers coach on the field.’ So, when those guys are coaching each other and helping out — regardless of if I’ve been here 10 years or 10 weeks — those guys need to be coaches on the field, too.

It’s been a good transition, and they’ve done a good job of taking ownership in that room, too.

Q: What are some of the big differences you’ve noticed from coaching in the secondary and coaching linebackers?

A: Actually, the first thing that I’ve noticed is the similarities. When you put corners in the mix that may be a little bit of a different boat, but when you’re talking safeties and linebackers there’s a lot of ‘same as.’

I try — whatever I’m coaching — to use that ‘same as’ verbiage and talk to those guys in that language because with safeties and linebackers you’re talking fits and you’re talking coverage. So, they do parallel [each other] a lot.

Q: What’s been the most challenging part of the transition to a new program?

A: Anytime you come into a new environment you got to learn the culture. That’s a big part of it. That’s something that I hold in high importance is understanding the culture. Look at the dog here [in the north end zone at Huskie Stadium] with the guys coming off and touching it; I want to learn the stories of what’s behind that and understand it.

More than the X’s and O’s to me is understanding what makes this place so great, and there’s a lot of things that make it great and I’m learning every day what those are.

Q: Having coached in the secondary in your previous jobs what made you want to take the job here as a linebackers coach?

A: I think No. 1 is [head] coach [Rod] Carey and his drive; that’s something that really attracted me.

When you go through that interview process you’re looking at people. It’s the same when we talk to those guys recruiting-wise. Anybody can come in and see how beautiful this place is, but when you get down to the nitty-gritty you’re talking about people.

I was very impressed with the people around here; coaches, support staff [and] administration — everyone I met was just phenomenal. That was a big attractor to me: those people’s dedication to succeeding on the field and off the field.

Q: What do you feel is the potential of the linebackers group this season?

A: That’s why this spring is so great … because [Thursday] we had some guys playing out of position a little bit — maybe playing field backer instead of boundary, something they weren’t used to. Spring ball affords you those opportunities to do that and see who fits into certain packages.

Top to bottom, one thing that I really like is the age spacing as far as there’s a good group of seniors and it transitions down into the young guys. There’s some competition and there’s some young guys that are hungry to get on the field. That’s going to push those older guys, too.

Q: With NIU’s recent success in the MAC do you feel any extra pressure as the only new guy on the staff to come in and make an impact right away?

A: Actually, one of the nice things about being new is every day’s pressure for me. With a veteran group of those linebacker guys if I’m not on my game and know what I’m talking about that particular day then they’re going to be on me, which is a good thing. That down-the-road pressure I don’t feel as much because every day that I come in I got to be on it and be on point with those guys. It’s a good thing.