GREEN BAY – Brandon Cisse stays in the moment.
If the Packers' top draft pick is asked about excitement for his first Family Night (with a newborn daughter no less), or the upcoming preseason games, or Week 1 of his rookie year, the answer doesn't really change.
"Let's get to tomorrow first," Cisse says. "One day at a time. I need to be great at practice tomorrow."
He's doing a decent job of that so far. If great is a bit much after just a handful of practices, the rookie has been pretty darn good.
Cisse, drafted in the second round at No. 52 overall out of South Carolina, has been running with the first-team defense while fellow cornerback Carrington Valentine is sidelined with a hamstring injury.
But even before Valentine got hurt, the 6-foot, 189-pound Cisse was rotating with the ones as the Packers are trying to sort out their pecking order at outside corner amongst Keisean Nixon, Valentine, Cisse and Benjamin St-Juste.
"What a great situation for us to have him in going against our best, going against Jordan (Love) and the other receivers out there," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said. "So he'll just get more and more reps."
It hasn't been flawless out there by any stretch, but the Packers' top weapons are no picnic to defend. Matthew Golden might catch a pass against him on a comeback route, or Christian Watson might get a step on a shallow cross, but that's part of the game, as well as part of the process.
Cisse noted the coaches are pushing him constantly, with the idea in practice to put him in "uncomfortable" situations to see how he responds and speed up his learning curve. Cisse also pushes himself through any tiredness that sets in, knowing fatigue can never be an excuse.
He noted no one is tougher on him than cornerbacks coach Daniel Bullocks, but he loves the teacher-pupil dynamic developing between them.
"That's someone I'm glad to have in my corner," Cisse said. "He's an unbelievable coach. I couldn't ask for anyone better for my development as a player or a person. He's going to be coaching me super hard, but his expectations are super high. It makes you look forward to going to work every day.
"You want to be coached really hard, because … Pressure makes diamonds, that's what I like to say."
There's no more difficult spot for a corner in a training camp practice than one-on-ones against receivers. With no one else on the field, the drill is slanted heavily in the offense's favor, and pass defenders are often fighting to survive.
In the first round of one-on-ones this camp, Cisse won three straight reps against second-year receiver Savion Williams. Sticky coverage forced a pair of off-target throws, and he broke up another.
That will probably earn him one-on-one reps against Golden or Watson soon enough, and he'll simply bear down and battle. He also takes well to coaching, which can come from Bullocks or secondary mates Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams, among others.
Cisse's primary focus is to be in the right place at the right time carrying out his assignment. That's how his teammates will come to trust him.
"As a rookie, it's not up to you," he said. "Your time will come. It's about sitting back and learning and seeing what the other guys in front of you do, and that's what I try to take on.
"I'm not speaking too much. Those guys have played a lot of football, and I'll learn from those guys first. Over time, respect is earned, so my job is to try to earn their respect."
He's doing that, according to McKinney, "with the mindset willing to learn and ready to learn," while connecting in random ways, too. Cisse told McKinney he remembered seeing him as a kid when he went to a Clemson game and McKinney was on his official recruiting visit.
"He was like, 'Damn, I'm getting old,'" Cisse said of relaying the memory to the two-time All-Pro. "Nah, he's not getting old. I'm just super young."
Cisse just turned 21 last month, so he's the first to say he's got a long way to go and hasn't proven anything as an NFL player yet, no matter how much praise is showered for his impressive start.
The real proving ground arrives next month, but Cisse isn't thinking about that. Only tomorrow.
"I just love what he's all about," LaFleur said. "He is a A-plus human and he loves football. Every time he goes out there, there's a lot of good things and then there's a lot of teachable moments. But I think he's a guy that the sky's the limit for him."
