March 10, 2005

Ex-Northern Illinois TB Thomas Hammock Returns Home As Huskies’ New Runningbacks Coach

DeKALB, IL --- Just as he did in recording back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons, Northern Illinois University tailback-turned-coach Thomas Hammock has personally taken care of the notion that you can’t go back home.

The 23-year-old Hammock---one of early program stalwarts who laid the foundation for head coach Joe Novak’s current string of five consecutive winning seasons----returned to his college alma mater as the Huskies’ new runningbacks coach, replacing DeAndre Smith who joined the Miami (OH) University staff as running game coordinator in January.

“Thomas will make a great young coach,” Novak said Thursday (March 10). “He’s intelligent, knows the game of football, wants to teach and share that knowledge with our student-athletes, and has a tremendous work ethic. Best of all, Thomas is one of our own.”

Hammock joined the Northern Illinois staff earlier this month after two seasons as an adminstrative aide and graduate assistant at the University of Wisconsin under head coach Barry Alvarez.

“It’s great to be back,” Hammock said. “For me, personally, I don’t think you could write a better script. Having played tailback here and then coming back as an assistant coach, it’s a great opportunity for a young coach. I’m glad to be back. Coming from Wisconsin, I can tell you that there’s great respect for coach Novak and this program in the Big Ten.”

So, yes, “old” No. 28 is back in “The Doghouse”---better known as Huskie Stadium---and featured in this new role. Since 1999, the Northern Illinois program has proudly boasted 1,000-yard runners for six consecutive seasons by tailbacks William Andrews (1,127 yards in 1999), Hammock (1,083 in 2000 and 1,096 in 2001), Michael “The Burner” Turner (1,915 in 2002 and 1,648 in 2003), and Garrett Wolfe (1,656 in 2004).

Wolfe (Chicago / River Grove Holy Cross)---the nation’s No. 3 major-college scorer (126 points) and No. 5 rusher as a sophomore in 2004---returns for 2005 as well as senior A. J. Harris (Wheaton / North)---who gained 822 ground yards last fall, including 120 in the Huskies’ 34-21 bowl victory over Troy University in the Silicon Valley Football Classic last December. That NIU tailback stable also includes senior Adrian Davis (Kenosha, WI / St. Joseph), red-shirt frosh Montell Clanton (Rockford Guilford), soph Cas Prime (Janesville, WI / Parker), etc.

“I’ve got a great group of guys,” Hammock said. “I look forward to working with them and building on past success. We’re going to work hard and we have a lot of work ahead of us. A lot of times, I can still see the running plays develop in my mind and that makes it easier to coach. We definitely want to continue in that (running) mode. If you were a runningback in high school, why wouldn’t you look at Northern Illinois? We run the football.”

Hammock---a four-year letterman (1999-2002) whose collegiate career was abruptly curtailed due to a potentially life-threatening heart condition as a senior---did both and made a major impact on the Huskie Record Book. Despite missing the final 11 games of his senior year, undergoing a battery of tests, and seeking a medical diagnosis, Hammock finished his Northern Illinois days at No. 8 on the school’s all-time rushing list with 2,432 career yards and added 12 100-yard rushing performances in 32 varsity appearances.

A preseason candidate for the prestigious Doak Walker National Runningback Award, Hammock suffered from breathing problems and chest discomfort after leading all rushers with 172 yards and two touchdowns on 38 carries in a 42-41 overtime triumph over Wake Forest University in the 2002 season opener. He was withheld from competition and became a student coach, mentoring “Turner the Burner” in his Mid-American Conference-record-breaking 1,915-yard campaign. Thanks to mediciation, Hammock has been able to lead a normal life with restrictions on competitive athletics.

“I can still give something back to the game, not as a player, but as a coach,” Hammock added. “It’s a natural fit for me to go bak and get back to the program that’s given me a lot. It would be great if I can help shape the future of some young men, athletically and academically.”

A two-time Huskie team captain and First-Team All-MAC selection, Hammock also became the Northern Illinois football program’s initial First-Team College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America pick and First-Team Academic All-America repeater. At the time, only two major-college rushers---Hammock and former University of Virginia runningback Tiki Barber---had gained 1,000 rushing yards in consecutive seasons and won First-Team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors on the gridiron in a 21-year period.

As a sophomore, Hammock wound up No. 6 in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1-A scoring (10.7 points-per-game average) and No. 12 nationally in rushing (120.3 ypg.), plus tied a league single-game record with five rushing touchdowns in a 52-35 victory at the University of Akron (2001). The same season, Hammock gained a career-high 195 yards vs. Central Michigan.

Academically, Hammock graduated from Northern Illinois in only three and a half years---earning a bachelor of science degree in marketing (December, 2002). He is scheduled to receive a master of science degree from Wisconsin in educational leadership and policy analysis this May. At NIU, he was named a Third-Team Arthur Ashe, Jr., Sports-Scholar by Black Issues in Higher Education (2002) and made national runner-up for the Playboy Anson Mount National Scholar-Athlete Award twice (2001-02).

Upon graduation, Hammock started working as a credit manager for Wells Fargo Finanicial in Bolingbrook. But the game of football remained in the back of his mind.

Ironically, Wisconsin was the second game Hammock would miss because of his heart condition in 2002. At the game in Madison, Alvarez wished Hammock well and that also stuck in his memory. Now contemplating a post-graduate degree, he e-mailed Alvarez who offered him a chance with the Badgers. Hammock worked with the UW runningbacks under the tutelage of offensive coordinator Brian White in 2003 and then assisted offensive line boss Jim Hueber in 2004. In the duration, Wisconsin appeared in the Music City Bowl (2003) and the Outback Bowl (2004).

“(Hammock) has been an inspiration to us,” UW runningback Anthony Davis told ESPN.com in 2003. “He has been helping us a lot. He is only a year older than us, but he brings experience. He has been there, done that. He can relate to us in a lot of things, both on and off the field. He has been through a lot of things we’re going through.”

During his high school days, Hammock was picked Fort Wayne Area Athlete of the Year and led the Summit Athletic Conference in rushing (1,775 yards and 28 TDs on 274 carries) and scoring (168 points) for coach Matt Lindsey as senior at Bishop Luers High School. He was named to the First-Team All-Area and First-Team Associated Press All-State units on a
7-5 Class 2A state playoff team in 1998.

This past January, Hammock ran into Novak at the annual American Football Coaches Association Convention in Louisville, KY. They talked, discussed the open coaching position on the Northern Illinois staff, and Hammock interviewed.

Now---sorry Thomas Wolfe---he is back home.

“You know, that Northern Illinois is tied with Minnesota,” Hammock said. “Both programs have had 1,000-yard rushers the last six consecutive seasons. That’s second in the country. I researched it. Texas leads with nine straight years. As an alum, I’m proud of that (fact). It was also great to be part of the group that got our program turned around in coach Novak’s early years. We need to keep that going. And we’re going to work hard at that.”

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