In the Big Sky Conference, nearly every team passes the ball on a consistent basis. Most do it pretty well, too.

Six of the conference's 10 teams placed among the top 20 passing offenses in the Football Championship Subdivision in 2009.

This spring, NAU is tinkering with its defensive scheme, hoping to slow down those opposing passing attacks.

Last year, Daivon Dumas and Taelor Worrell both started more than their fair share of games in their first year at NAU after transferring from different junior colleges. Both had their ups and downs throughout the season and neither registered an interception.

Dumas and Worrell both said the physical level of the Big Sky was one of the biggest adjustments for them as junior college transfers. The speed of the game was about the same, but the players were certainly bigger and dished out bigger hits.

"I got hit by this wide receiver at Eastern Washington and I (spun around in mid-air). It's one of the instances you'll never forget," Worrell said.

Neither player had much of an idea of what to expect coming into their first Big Sky season last year and a lot of things took them by surprise.

That won't be the case this year.

Both put on some weight and got stronger to adjust to the new scheme and the receivers.

"Now having been here a whole year, I want them to refine the finer points of the position," cornerbacks coach Andy LaRussa said.

There's also much less confusion on their part.

Both know the terminology and defensive schemes by heart. Last spring, Dumas said he had a hard time keeping up with the play-calling and was often lost by the time the play began.

"This year, I see the call and I already know it," he said.

NAU's cornerbacks will also have more help from the safeties with covering receivers, which comes as some relief to the seniors.

"It's definitely a system that works a lot better for us," Worrell said.

With the way the Lumberjacks' defensive scheme worked last year, both cornerbacks were put on one-on-one coverage throughout most of the games. More often than not, they were the only person covering a single receiver and didn't always have the opportunity to position themselves for an interception.

That's changed this spring.

Each has made a couple interceptions in practice and their play has caught the eye of La Russa.

"Hopefully that continues," he said.

While both seniors have improved in just about every area since last year , there's still things NAU coaches want to see from them.

They want their corners to be more physical with receivers by having them do more press coverage, meaning Dumas and Worrell will try to jam receivers within the allotted five-yard mark from the line of scrimmage. It's something all the cornerbacks have been doing this spring.

"That's going to be a big part of what we do this year," Dumas said.

With a year under their belt, both are coming into the season with more confidence. Still, they're having to fight for their starting position, something LaRussa stressed with all the other cornerbacks vying for playing time

"There's more competition than I expected," Worrell said. "You've got to be on top of your game every day."

Jacob May can be reached at 556-2257 or jmay@azdailysun.com