April 15, 2002

HUSKIE FOOTBALL

ANNUAL SPRING INTRA-SQUAD GAME
DATE: Friday, April 19, 2002
KICKOFF TIME: 7 p.m. (CDT)
SITE: Huskie Stadium, DeKalb, IL
ADMISSION / PARKING / TAILGATING CHARGE: Free

PROBABLE TWO-DEEP LINE-UPS

	Offense (White Jerseys)	I-Formation
SE	81 Mike Archie (6-2, 195, Jr.)-##	7 David McDermott (6-2, 175, So.)
LT	73 Tim Vincent (6-6, 289, Sr.)-###	76 Shea Fitzgerald (6-8, 268, Fr.)
LG	69 Graham Sleight (6-3, 310, Jr.)-#	79 Ben Lueck (6-3, 304, So.)
C	63 Todd Ghilani (6-3, 288, Jr.)-##	65 Brian Van Acker (6-3, 266, Fr.)
RG	64 Shaun Schroeder (6-2, 288, Jr.)-#	60 Joel Ellis (6-5, 308, Jr.)-#
RT	77 Mark Orszula (6-7, 302, Jr.)-#	70 Andrew DuFrenne (6-5, 260, Fr.)
TE	87 Aaron Anderson (6-4, 228, So.)-#	92 Ben Blonn (6-2, 220, Fr.)
QB	10 Josh Haldi (6-2, 194, So.)	16 Kyle Padia (6-3, 211, Jr.)
FB	33 James Hohnson (5-10, 240, Sr.)-###	34 Mike Scaramella (5-11, 220, Jr.)-#
TB	28 Thomas Hammock (5-8,2 14, Sr.)-###	32 Michael Turner (5-10, 217, Jr.)-##
FLK	5 Dan Sheldon (5-9, 163, So.)-#	14 Levi Adams (6-0, 185, Jr.)
PK	Steve Azar (5-8, 192, Jr.)-##	4 Jimmy Erwin (6-0, 223, Sr.)-##

 

	Defense (Cardinal Jerseys)	Attack Four-Three
LE	56 Travis Moore (6-1, 232, So.)-#	25 Curtis Crossley (6-2, 211, So.)
DT	95 Charles Johnson (6-2, 293, Fr.)	61 Leonard Cooksey (6-0, 280, Jr.)
NT	94 Anthony Falbo (6-3, 263, Sr.)-###	93 Jason Banks (6-1, 273, Sr.)-#
RE	99 Jason Frank (6-6, 246, Jr.)-##	55 Vinson Reynolds (6-1, 229,Jr.)-##
SLB	38 Brian Atkinson (6-2, 218, So.)-#	22 Jason Hawkins (6-2, 237, So.)-#
MLB	45 Nick Duffy (6-2, 232, Jr.)-##	50 Kursten Strothman (6-2, 215, So.)-#
WLB	26 Larry Wiulliams (6-0, 231, Sr.)-###	47 Javan Lee (6-3, 204, Fr.)
LCB	18 Randee Drew (5-9, 179, Jr.)-##	27 Rob Lee (6-0, 189, So.)-#
SS	37 Justin Dole (6-0, 190, Sr.)-###	48 Ray Smith (6-2, 174, Fr.)
FS	9 Lionel Hickenbottom (5-11, 187, Jr.)-#	23 Devron Francis (5-8, 175, So.)-#
RCB	17 Vince Thompson (5-10, 178, Sr.)-###	15 Gerard Taylor (5-8, 183, Jr.)-##
P	4 Jimmy Erwin (6-0, 223, Sr.)-##	11 Jason Hogrefe (6-4, 208, Sr.)

# -- indicates number of varsity letters won.
Year in school based on athletic eligibility for Fall, 2002, semester

Head Coach: Joe Novak (Miami, OH, 1967 / Seventh Year)
Offense Assistants: Dan Roushar (Offensive Coordinator, Offensive Line Interior / Northern Illinois, 1984 / Sixth Year), Matt Canada (Quarterbacks / Indiana, 1993 / Fifth Year), Frank Kurth (Tight Ends / Ball State, 1984 / Second Year). George McDonald (Wide Receivers / Illinois, 1999 / Second Year), DeAndre Smith (Runningbacks / Southwest Missouri State, 1992 / Second Year), Mike Uremovich (Graduate Assistant / Purdue, 2000 / Second Year).
Defense Assistants: Scott Shafer (Defensive Coordinator, Secondary / Baldwin-Wallace, 1990 / Seventh Year), Greg Bower (Defensive Interior / Loras, 1993 / Third Year), Pat Narduzzi (Linebackers / Rhode Island, 1990 / Third Year), Mike Sabock (Defensive Ends, Recruiting Coordinator / Baldwin-Wallace, 1977 / 19th Year), Kurt Johansen (Graduate Assistant / Northern Illinois, 2001 / Second Year).

THE NOVAK RULES
Seventh-year Northern Illinois head football coach Joe Novak and his staff conclude the 15-session spring practice with a final scrimmage Friday (April 19) at 7 p.m. in Huskie Stadium. The game features
the (1) No. 1 Offense vs. the No. 1 Defense and the No. 2 Offense vs. the No. 2 Defense, (2) 12-minute quarters, (3) punts and fair catches, (4) placement kicks (field goals and PATs), and (5) a unique "defen-
sive" scoring system (seven points on a fumble recovery or interception touchdown, four points for a turnover, three points for a blocked field goal, two points for a three-down and out series, and one point for stopping a drive without a score).

SPRING M*A*S*H REPORT
Current Northern Illinois football injury list, according to head athletics trainer Phil Voorhis Monday (April 15) includes: junior WR Kandras Bledsoe (Freeport), lower back strain, out; senior FB Al Chaires (Chicago / Collins), left elbow dislocation, out; senior NT Eric Didesch (East Dubuque / Dubuque, IA, Wahlert), right knee anterior cruciate reconstruction, out; senior TE Matt Dunker (Marengo), right shoulder reconstruction, out; senior WR P. J. Fleck (Sugar Grove / Maple Park Kaneland), left shoulder rotator strain, questionable; junior SS Akil Grant (Kankakee), left ankle sprain, out; soph WR Andy Lothson (DeKalb), right knee medial collateral ligament sprain, out; soph OG Matt McGhghy (Keokuk, IA), left shoulder arthroscopic surgery (April 11), out; frosh DT Justin McIntyre (Shreveport, LA / Evangelical Christian), right knee anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, out; frosh TE Matt Ohmen (Sun Prairie, WI), right ankle fracture, out; junior WR Keith Perry (Maywood / Westchester St. Joseph), left knee meniscus tear, out; junior WR Turner Pugh (Elgin / Larkin), right knee anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, out; frosh QB Joe Stamm (Metamora), right shoulder rotator cuff MRI, out; and soph OT Jake VerStraete (Atkinson / Geneseo J. D. Darnall), left knee medial collateral sprain, out.

WHO'S AT QB?
Even Abbott and Costello don't know. With the graduation of four-year QB regular Chris Finlen, this was the major question for Northern Illinois football during (1) pre-spring, (2) spring, and (3) pre-Wake Forest (August 29). The top current QB candidates include soph Josh Haldi (Madison, OH), junior Ryan Gilbert (El Segundo, CA), and junior Kyle Padia (San Jose, CA / Leigh). Red-shirt frosh Joe Stamm
(Metamora) will be sidelined with shoulder rehab until August when true frosh QB Phil Horvath (Naperville / Central) reports to camp. In two spring scrimmages to date, Haldi has completed 17-of-35 passes for 186 yards. Padia has hit 15-of-29 for 129 yards and Gilbert went 11-of-33 for 154 yards. Haldi, a 6-foot-2, 194-pounder, ranks as the veteran of the group with 20 snaps and 4-of-7 completions for 60 yards in three 2001 appearances. Padia red-shirted last fall after transferring from West Valley (CA) College and Gilbert joined the program this January from El Camino (CA) College.

HUSKIE QB DERBY:
Northern Illinois head coach Joe Novak can offer little insight into the Huskie QB derby at this point. "No one has really separated themselves from the others," Novak said. "I'm pleased with the work ethic and effort, but at this rate, we may not know who our QB is until August 28." One problem could be battery-mates or the lack thereof. "It's difficult for the quarterbacks from a timing standpoint with our receiver corps so banged up," Novak added, referring to departed FLK Darrell Hill to the National Football League draft this weekend, plus injured senior SE P. J. Fleck, senior TE Matt Dunker, junior WR Keith Perry, junior WR Turner Pugh, and junior WR Kandras Bledsoe---which represents 135 of NIU's 171 receptions in 2001. Junior Mike Archie (Chicago / Brother Rice) ranks among the healthy WRs and caught seven passes for 107 yards in last Saturday's scrimmage.

THOMPSON ON WATCH LIST:
With 10 pass interceptions and 16 deflections over the past two years, Northern Illinois senior CB Vince Thompson (Chicago / St. Rita) has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. The 5-10, 178-pounder did it again by becoming one of 64 major-college players to make the preseason watch list for the prestigious Bronko Nagurski Trophy, an award presented annually since 1993 to the nation's top defensive player. A First-Team All-MAC pick in 2001, Thompson tied for fifth in the Mid-Am Defensive Player of the Year Award last fall, plus finished No. 13 in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1-A interceptions (0.50 per game) and No. 19 in 1-A "passes defended" (17).

DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE:
How good will Northern Illinois be on defense in 2002? With nine regulars back from a big play Attack Four-Three, why not? Junior LB Nick Duffy (Wheaton / Warrenville South) scored on a 45-yard interception return and junior Leonard Cooksey (Harvey / Thornton) tallied on a 60-yard fumble recovery last week. In two scrimmages to date this spring, the Huskies have picked off seven passes. New names to watch on "D"? Try soph DE Curtis Crossley (Kankakee / Bishop McNamara), red-shirt frosh DE Quince Holman (Woodridge / Downers Grove South), junior LB-turned DE Vinson Reynolds (Detroit, MI / St. Martin dePorres), plus soph FS Devron Francis (Jacksonville, FL / Raines).

(For further information, please contact Mike Korcek) -30-