DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University Huskies closed out their 10th of 15 spring practice sessions Saturday with a 90-minute scrimmage at Huskie Stadium. Both the offense and defense had their moments during the full contact session which featured multiple situations including third-and-short and third-and-long, goal-line, red zone and more. The scrimmage included punting and place-kicks, but no kickoffs.
Following the scrimmage, NIU Head Coach Rod Carey said . . .
Following the scrimmage, NIU Head Coach Rod Carey said . . .
. . . it was a positive that both the offense and defense had positive moments during the practice.
“I was pleased with the back and forth of today’s scrimmage,” Carey said. “It wasn’t just the defense getting after the offense or the offense getting after the D. Both sides had their moments. Some of the individual execution still needs work but I saw some good things from a lot of people. We’re making progress.”
Carey was especially pleased with the mental focus the team displayed in dealing with the different situations during the scrimmage.
“I was pleased with the back and forth of today’s scrimmage,” Carey said. “It wasn’t just the defense getting after the offense or the offense getting after the D. Both sides had their moments. Some of the individual execution still needs work but I saw some good things from a lot of people. We’re making progress.”
Carey was especially pleased with the mental focus the team displayed in dealing with the different situations during the scrimmage.
“We put them in a lot of situations today for the first time in an extended scrimmage, and they were really pretty sharp,” he said. “We have a lot of young guys and I’m really happy with how they responded. It was probably one of the best situational practices we’ve had at this point in spring since I’ve been here. Some of the execution still has to pick-up and there is a lot of improve there.”
For the Huskie offense, wide receivers Chad Beebe, who returns for his senior season after sitting out last year with a knee injury, and Christian Blake both had long touchdown catches. Beebe snared a ball and escaped two tacklers en route to the end zone, while Blake caught a pass just in front of a defender and made two nice moves for a 75-yard catch and run.
Carey said he has liked what he has seen from the Huskie wide receivers throughout the first 10 practices, led by senior Ezra Saffold.
For the Huskie offense, wide receivers Chad Beebe, who returns for his senior season after sitting out last year with a knee injury, and Christian Blake both had long touchdown catches. Beebe snared a ball and escaped two tacklers en route to the end zone, while Blake caught a pass just in front of a defender and made two nice moves for a 75-yard catch and run.
Carey said he has liked what he has seen from the Huskie wide receivers throughout the first 10 practices, led by senior Ezra Saffold.
“If we’re talking about someone who has stood out so far, I really like the way senior Ezra Saffold has played this spring."
“The wideouts overall are playing well this spring,” Carey said of the position that lost its two leading receivers from a year ago. “I like the way they are attacking and buying in to what we’re doing. They know they have to do it as a group and they are getting better.
“If we’re talking about someone who has stood out so far, I really like the way senior Ezra Saffold has played this spring. I can’t say enough about him and what he is bringing. He is playing consistently well every day and that’s what we need.”
Tailbacks Marcus Jones, Tre Harbison, and Tommy Mister all scored via the run during Saturday’s scrimmage, with Harbison and Mister’s TDs coming in goal-line situations from three yards out.
Also scoring on the ground was true freshman quarterback Rodney Hall as he showed his potential with a nifty 40-yard scamper. Hall and fellow freshman Anthony Thompson saw action late in the scrimmage, while sophomore Daniel Santacaterina, junior Ryan Graham and redshirt freshman Marcus Childers took all of the snaps with the first and second team offense.
Carey said quarterback remains the biggest question for the team as NIU enters the final five practices of the spring.
“If we’re talking about someone who has stood out so far, I really like the way senior Ezra Saffold has played this spring. I can’t say enough about him and what he is bringing. He is playing consistently well every day and that’s what we need.”
Tailbacks Marcus Jones, Tre Harbison, and Tommy Mister all scored via the run during Saturday’s scrimmage, with Harbison and Mister’s TDs coming in goal-line situations from three yards out.
Also scoring on the ground was true freshman quarterback Rodney Hall as he showed his potential with a nifty 40-yard scamper. Hall and fellow freshman Anthony Thompson saw action late in the scrimmage, while sophomore Daniel Santacaterina, junior Ryan Graham and redshirt freshman Marcus Childers took all of the snaps with the first and second team offense.
Carey said quarterback remains the biggest question for the team as NIU enters the final five practices of the spring.
"The biggest question ... is at quarterback."
“The biggest question everyone has, and the biggest question for us as a staff is at quarterback,” Carey said. “We’ve got the two guys who have started games for us in the past in Graham and Santa [Santacaterina] who are really locked in a battle right now. Both have a good grasp of the offense and what we want to do. Then we’ve got Marcus Childers who is trying to get in that battle and has made vast improvement since the start of spring. The young guys - Anthony Thompson and Rodney Hall - are learning right now more than anything. It’s the first spring, really the first time for them seeing or knowing our offense.”
On Saturday, senior defensive end Joe Sanders continued his good play this spring by causing a fumble in the backfield with a great hit early in the scrimmage, while Ben LeRoy had a fumble recovery. Sanders was in the offensive backfield on multiple occasions throughout the day. Late in the scrimmage, safety Mycial Allen went up to grab an interception and returned it 50-plus yards for a touchdown.
With the graduation of a pair of the Huskies’ starting linebackers from a year ago, Carey noted the progress and play of sophomores Antonio Jones-Davis and Kyle Pugh in those positions.
“I love the way Antonio Jones-Davis and Kyle Pugh have played,” he said. “We expected [good play] out of [returning starter] Juwuan Johnson, but those two young guys have been really, really good. Up front, Joe Sanders is working hard and making a lot of plays. He is a senior and this is his time.
“The corners are playing well. It’s good to have [transfer] Jalen Embry out there. I’m really happy with the entire back end of the defense – the linebackers, safeties and corners. They are making a lot of plays.”
Spring practice continues for the next two weeks and culminates with the Huskie Bowl on Saturday, April 22 at 2 p.m.
(Courtesy of NIU Athletics)
On Saturday, senior defensive end Joe Sanders continued his good play this spring by causing a fumble in the backfield with a great hit early in the scrimmage, while Ben LeRoy had a fumble recovery. Sanders was in the offensive backfield on multiple occasions throughout the day. Late in the scrimmage, safety Mycial Allen went up to grab an interception and returned it 50-plus yards for a touchdown.
With the graduation of a pair of the Huskies’ starting linebackers from a year ago, Carey noted the progress and play of sophomores Antonio Jones-Davis and Kyle Pugh in those positions.
“I love the way Antonio Jones-Davis and Kyle Pugh have played,” he said. “We expected [good play] out of [returning starter] Juwuan Johnson, but those two young guys have been really, really good. Up front, Joe Sanders is working hard and making a lot of plays. He is a senior and this is his time.
“The corners are playing well. It’s good to have [transfer] Jalen Embry out there. I’m really happy with the entire back end of the defense – the linebackers, safeties and corners. They are making a lot of plays.”
Spring practice continues for the next two weeks and culminates with the Huskie Bowl on Saturday, April 22 at 2 p.m.
(Courtesy of NIU Athletics)
RSS Feed