“We’re really excited about . . .
Wide receivers and defensive linemen make up the majority of the Huskie signing class as NIU signed six wide receivers, five defensive linemen, three defensive backs and two offensive linemen. The Huskies signed one quarterback, a tight end and one player designated as an athlete.
“With the receivers, we lost two senior receivers this year and are going to be young at that position again next year,” Carey said. “I really like what these six guys bring, and they will have a chance to make an impact. With the defensive line, just like the offensive line, you want to get them here at least a year ahead of when you really need them and let them cook in the oven a little bit, so to speak. This will enable us to work with and develop them on the field and in the weight room.”
The Huskies did not stray from their Midwest roots, nor from their home state, with this year’s class. Of NIU’s 11 Illinois signees, 10 are from Chicagoland. The Huskies added three players from Wisconsin and one each from Indiana and Michigan.
“From our perspective, we have the best class in the state of Illinois,” Carey said. “We are always going to take care of our backyard first and also reach into areas where we have strong relationships like Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, as well as Missouri and Florida. We feel great about how strong of a class this is from the Chicagoland area and feel that out of all the schools in the state, we have the best group.”
Michigan native Mariano Valenti, the only quarterback in this year’s class, moved to Florida for his final season of high school after previously leading the offense at Brother Rice High School in Michigan.
Wide receiver Tyrice Richie, who originally signed with the Huskies out of Homewood-Flossmoor High School, re-inked with NIU after two seasons at Dodge City [Kansas] Community College. He is one of five signees expected to join the Huskies in January for the spring semester.
The Huskies won the 2018 Mid-American Conference Championship with a 30-29 win over Buffalo on November 30 after playing in the league title game for an unprecedented seventh time in the past nine seasons. The victory gave NIU its fifth league title all-time and fourth in the past eight seasons.
NIU is one of just two teams from a non-autonomous league to play in 10 bowl games in the last 11 seasons after playing in the Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl to close out the 2018 campaign.
(Courtesy of NIU Athletics)