ORLANDO, Fla. – Northern Illinois University football head coach Thomas Hammock announced the signing of 12 freshmen and the addition of four transfers to the NIU roster for 2022 Wednesday during the December signing day. Hammock made the announcement from Orlando, Florida, where the 2021 Mid-American Conference Champion Huskies are preparing to face Coastal Carolina in Friday's Tailgreeter Cure Bowl.
"We are certainly excited about the class," Hammock said. "We needed to be very strategic with how we put our class together, knowing that we have a lot of guys coming back with multiple years of eligibility. So, we were looking for guys that we can develop, as well as looking for some instant impact guys from the transfer portal, guys that we felt we can plug in and play or add competition at spots where needed to make sure we enhance."
The largest position group represented in the newest group of Huskies was at wide receiver where NIU added four freshmen and a pair of transfers. Defensively, NIU added four freshmen defensive backs and three linebackers, including one transfer. The rest of the group included an offensive lineman, defensive lineman and quarterback.
"There were some areas that we want to make sure we focused on, wide receiver being one, that we want to make sure we added the right type of talent in that room where we can make it more competitive and try to be become a much more explosive offense," Hammock said. "We want to give [QB] Rocky [Lombardi] a lot of options and weapons for next season, and so we really wanted to hone in on that position. Defensively, we were looking for guys that can take the ball away, make plays on the ball, be dynamic and disruptive. Those were really the two areas that we wanted to focus on in this particular class to continue to build our team the right way."
While continuing to add players who will make an impact – whether in 2022 or beyond – Hammock noted that the most important "recruiting" continues to be developing the student-athletes currently on the roster.
"How we look at recruiting is we have to constantly recruit our own team," Hammock said. "That's the most important thing I talk to my staff about. Don't worry about somebody that's not here, recruit the kids in our program, make sure they have a positive experience, make sure they're having a great time on the field and off the field. If we can continue to do that, we can continue to be able to stack good seasons. The players in our program right now are the most important recruits that we have."
Also critical to Hammock is the Huskies' walk-on program. At least five players who walked on to the program were awarded scholarships during the fall semester, and Hammock said the benefits of rewarding players already on the roster is the knowledge and information the coaches see in working with them every day.
"A big part of the recruiting process for us is our walk-on program," Hammock said. "What people don't realize is sometimes you take a walk-on and award a scholarship and that means you take a scholarship from the next class. For example, Mason Blakemore is a young man that walked on and got a scholarship, as a result, we didn't sign a back – yet. We have more information about the young men already in our program, than kids in high school or at other schools. So if we think someone has a chance, we will reward that young man with a scholarship because we have the most information about him."