DeKALB, Ill. – On a picture-perfect day for football, the Northern Illinois University Huskies wrapped up what head coach Rod Carey called the “best spring” of his tenure with an 80-minute practice at Huskie Stadium Saturday.
Although Carey scrapped the annual competition between Cardinal and Black teams with some players banged up after 14 spring practices spread out over the last five weeks, the team scrimmaged, without tackling, for nearly an hour as the Huskie Bowl took the form of a “normal” spring practice.
The practice gave players . . .
Although Carey scrapped the annual competition between Cardinal and Black teams with some players banged up after 14 spring practices spread out over the last five weeks, the team scrimmaged, without tackling, for nearly an hour as the Huskie Bowl took the form of a “normal” spring practice.
The practice gave players . . .
. . . one more chance to position themselves on the depth chart heading into summer workouts and August preseason drills.
“[How you play in spring] gives you a good jump start into summer, and I think it kind of makes the competition real for them,” Carey said. “Now, in the summer, you have something to do. If you’re not where you want to be, get it going. If you are, you want to hold on to it. I think, it just makes it real.”
“[How you play in spring] gives you a good jump start into summer, and I think it kind of makes the competition real for them,” Carey said. “Now, in the summer, you have something to do. If you’re not where you want to be, get it going. If you are, you want to hold on to it. I think, it just makes it real.”
Carey said he loved the energy and enthusiasm the Huskies brought to every practice this spring, and Saturday was no different.
“This is by far the best spring I’ve been a part of since I’ve been here, as the head coach or the offensive coordinator,” Carey said. “They were hungry to get on the field [this spring], and that is a powerful thing. They practiced like it for 15 straight practices. We had to pull them back, and that’s a good thing, when you have to pull a team back. We’re a better football team [after spring], I can tell you that.”
He said NIU will also go into August with the most competition for positions it has had since 2012.
“We’ve been through this before in 2012, that spring,” Carey said. “We were looking at the depth charts the other day, and we always keep track of position battles. The number of position battles is almost the same as it was in 2012, and I think that is really healthy for a team.”
“This is by far the best spring I’ve been a part of since I’ve been here, as the head coach or the offensive coordinator,” Carey said. “They were hungry to get on the field [this spring], and that is a powerful thing. They practiced like it for 15 straight practices. We had to pull them back, and that’s a good thing, when you have to pull a team back. We’re a better football team [after spring], I can tell you that.”
He said NIU will also go into August with the most competition for positions it has had since 2012.
“We’ve been through this before in 2012, that spring,” Carey said. “We were looking at the depth charts the other day, and we always keep track of position battles. The number of position battles is almost the same as it was in 2012, and I think that is really healthy for a team.”
Quarterback Ryan Graham has been part of a keen position battle over spring practices. (NIU Photo) One of those battles is certainly at quarterback where quarterbacks Daniel Santacaterina, Ryan Graham and Marcus Childers took the majority of the snaps in the scrimmage with cameos by Anthony Thompson, Rodney Hall and Charlie Rotherham. Childers’ ability to move the offense on Saturday impressed Carey as he led the offense to its lone touchdown of the scrimmage when tailback Tommy Mister scoring on a three-yard run. .
“He moves the chains,” Carey said of the Georgia native. “I think, when you’re talking about a redshirt freshmen who hasn’t played in a game yet, that’s pretty impressive to be running with the ones and to keep the chains moving. I think that’s been a good thing.
The quarterback battle will continue into August with Carey confident about finding one starter.
“You don’t want to play two guys there, three guys [at quarterback]. You want to play one. It’s been good back and forth between the top three guys in Graham, Santacaterina and Childers. It certainly has been a good battle. Today, we saw some good things out of all of them. Marcus probably played the most because he kept the chains alive. It was good to see, but we’re a long ways from deciding that one.”
Other position battles have sorted themselves out, specifically at right tackle, safety and at cornerback, where clear leading candidates have emerged.
“I think we found ourselves an o-lineman in [redshirt sophomore] Ryan Roberts. He’s got himself a spot. I think Mycial Allen has really taken control of that boundary safety position. I think he’s done a nice job there, and I think Jalen Embry has done a nice job at corner. Those are some of the standouts. Now, that doesn’t mean those are set in stone. That just means that it’s a lot clearer now.”
The defense provided multiple big plays during Saturday’s scrimmage with interceptions by cornerback Mayomi Olootu, safety Adam Buirge and linebacker Juwuan Johnson. Up front, Carey has also been encouraged this spring by the emergence by a pair of young defensive linemen in sophomore Ben LeRoy and redshirt freshman Jack Heflin.
“A couple of young players in Ben Leroy and, here’s a name for you, Jack Heflin, have had good springs. Heflin is a kid who’s working with the ones right now as a walk-on d-tackle. I think that guy has a chance, and Ben Leroy took a big step from playing, maybe more because of necessity, than really we wanted him to. He’s taken a big step going forward.”
“He moves the chains,” Carey said of the Georgia native. “I think, when you’re talking about a redshirt freshmen who hasn’t played in a game yet, that’s pretty impressive to be running with the ones and to keep the chains moving. I think that’s been a good thing.
The quarterback battle will continue into August with Carey confident about finding one starter.
“You don’t want to play two guys there, three guys [at quarterback]. You want to play one. It’s been good back and forth between the top three guys in Graham, Santacaterina and Childers. It certainly has been a good battle. Today, we saw some good things out of all of them. Marcus probably played the most because he kept the chains alive. It was good to see, but we’re a long ways from deciding that one.”
Other position battles have sorted themselves out, specifically at right tackle, safety and at cornerback, where clear leading candidates have emerged.
“I think we found ourselves an o-lineman in [redshirt sophomore] Ryan Roberts. He’s got himself a spot. I think Mycial Allen has really taken control of that boundary safety position. I think he’s done a nice job there, and I think Jalen Embry has done a nice job at corner. Those are some of the standouts. Now, that doesn’t mean those are set in stone. That just means that it’s a lot clearer now.”
The defense provided multiple big plays during Saturday’s scrimmage with interceptions by cornerback Mayomi Olootu, safety Adam Buirge and linebacker Juwuan Johnson. Up front, Carey has also been encouraged this spring by the emergence by a pair of young defensive linemen in sophomore Ben LeRoy and redshirt freshman Jack Heflin.
“A couple of young players in Ben Leroy and, here’s a name for you, Jack Heflin, have had good springs. Heflin is a kid who’s working with the ones right now as a walk-on d-tackle. I think that guy has a chance, and Ben Leroy took a big step from playing, maybe more because of necessity, than really we wanted him to. He’s taken a big step going forward.”
RSS Feed