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Larry English missed both Charger practices Thursday and has missed four over the last two days with a minor hamstring injury.

At this point, early in preseason camp, the team is wisely taking things cautiously.

The rookie outside linebacker from Aurora and Northern Illinois University downplayed it, however.

"It's no big deal. It's feeling a lot better," he told the Associated Press, adding that he hopes to return to the practice field by the weekend.

San Diego Chargers' first-round draft choice Larry English missed two practices Wednesday and Thursday's morning practice with a slight hamstring strain.

The San Diego Chargers and first-round draft pick Larry English reportedly agreed to terms Friday afternoon on a five-year contract according to a report in the San Diego Union Tribune.
Chargers' rookies had reported to training camp Sunday night. Veterans reported Thursday night and held their first workout Friday morning. According to U-T beat writer Kevin Acee, English was expected at Friday afternoon's practice.
His report said that after the morning practice, "negotiations (with English) got serious and then moved like lightning."

Thschedule firsts keep coming for Larry English.

The first NFL first round draft choice out of Northern Illinois University and Aurora when he was taken by San Diego this spring, English is now experiencing his first contract holdout.

It's not surprising, though. Only four first round draft choices have been signed so far. The number is expected to pick up this week as teams gear up for camps.

Charger rookies were scheduled to report to training camp on Sunday but English was not among them. According to Kevin Acee, Chargers' beat writer for the San Diego Union Tribune, the team has a history of taking its time signing first rounders and was just beginning preliminary talks with English's agent.
The team's veterans aren't scheduled to report until Friday.

Hoping to catch English, live, in action this season without traveling to the west coast?
You'll still have to do some traveling since the Chargers' schedule doesn't bring them too close to the area. The team's preseason road games are Aug. 22 at Phoenix and Aug. 29 at Atlanta.

During the regular season, the team's road schedule includes these dates and locations: Sept. 14 at Oakland; Oct. 4 at Pittsburgh; Oct. 25 at Kansas City; Nov. 8 at New York Giants; Nov. 22 at Denver; Dec. 6 at Cleveland; Dec. 13 at Dallas; Dec. 25 at Tennessee.

And if you were planning a vacation trip to San Diego for a training camp visit, be forewarned: the Chargers have closed their camp to the public this year. In February, a drainage pipe at their facility broke and resulted in a 40-foot deep sinkhole that had a diameter of 30 feet. Since repairs won't commence until later this month, the team is closing camp due to safety concerns. The drain line, apparently runs underneath bleachers used by fans to watch camp practices.

The team does have three night practices at Qualcomm Stadium that are open to the public: Aug. 5th, 8th, and 12th.

"It's a great opportunity. We play Wednesday at Ball State on national television (ESPN-2). It, obviously, brings a little more to the game because more people are watching. I know I watch other teams in our league when they're on.

"Because of the schedule we'll be off tonight for Halloween, but it's still gonna be a big practice day for us so I don't think anyone will be partying. And at our apartment, we don't get trick or treaters. I do remember a couple years ago somebody on the team had a Halloween party and some of the guys tried to wear costumes they had from when they were kids.

"I think (senior running back) Montel Clanton wore his old Spiderman outfit. Somebody else was Superman. Clearly, they didn't fit 'em, that was the funniest thing about it.

"I think my favorite costume as a kid was probably one time when I was a vampire. I was scared of Freddy Krueger from the horror movie as a little kid. I tried to go as him one time. Can't remember who did the makeup, but it didn't work out too well.

"I grew up on the west side around Illinois Avenue and Palace Street. One of the schools (Hill) down the street use to have a party outside that all of us would go to.

"Ball State is 4-0 in the league and we're 4-1. We've put ourselves in real good position to go to the MAC Championship if we can win this one and the next one (at home with Central Michigan, which is 5-0 in the league). But we can't worry about that. We have to just worry about Ball State.

"We play four mid-week games in a row which is something we've never done before. We usually have a couple each season. You still prepare the same, though.

"Their quarterback, Nate Davis, is a good player. He's good outside the pocket so as defensive linemen we've got to do a good job of keeping him in the pocket and making him step up. If he gets outside the pocket, he's got a big gun and can put it down the field."

EDITOR'S NOTE: NIU has won three straight Mid-American Conference games to get back in the West Division race after opening league play with a loss at Western Michigan. The Huskies host MAC East foe Bowling Green at 3 p.m. tomorrow in a crossover game that counts in the league standings for both teams.

"I think we've put ourselves in pretty good position (with wins the last two weeks over Miami and Toledo), but at the same time, I feel like we aren't playing our best football yet. It's important now that we're not getting content. We need to be coming out and striving for perfection. Everyone needs to be really concentrating on coming out and playing to their capabilities each week.

"Things like sacks or individual stats are not something I'm gonna get stressed out over. I know what I'm capable of and sacks are one of those things where a lot has to happen right for you to get a sack. Playing hard with explosiveness and getting my moves down are things I'm focusing on."

EDITOR'S NOTE: After recording 2.5 sacks and forcing a fumble on one of them that led to a Northern Illinois field goal in a 13-9 loss at Tennessee, defensive end Larry English earned Mid-American Conference West Defensive Player of the Week honors.

"People do come up to me and say things like 'You improved your draft stock' today. But in all honesty, and I know it may sound cliché, I'm just concentrating on what we've got going on here. It's really one of those things fro me that I'm finding joy in the journey.

"I'm happy with the season right now and the way things are going and the opportunities that we have. I'm excited about what we can do here. That's really what I want to finish out doing. I'm focused on here. I don't think playing for the future is a good mindset to have."