Aug. 22, 2009
DEKALB, Ill. - The Northern Illinois University football team wrapped up its 20th and final practice of 2009 preseason camp, working for more than two hours, opening up with some special teams work before getting into 11-on-11 drills Saturday morning at Huskie Stadium.
While camp may have come to an end, the Huskies still have a long way to go before their season opener Sept. 5 at Wisconsin. That's just fine with second-year head coach Jerry Kill.
"Right now, we've got to get better as a football team," Kill said. "We have to identify personnel, figure out who were going to redshirt. We've got a lot of areas to get better at. We've still got some kinks to work out."
Saturday's practice was similar to an NFL preseason game. The veterans opened the scrimmage, playing the first series or two, before giving way to the reserves and younger players. It gave the coaching staff an opportunity to better evaluate their personnel while giving the young guys some more playing time to show what they can do.
"We've made some progress, but we have so many young players playing right now," Kill said. "We played a lot of young players today. We have a lot of young players with a lot of talent. They need to learn how to play football within a scheme of 11 people on a field working together and trusting each other."
A couple guys took full advantage of this extended practice opportunity. Anthony Johnson (San Antonio, Texas/Earl Warren) was impressive, with three catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns, all coming from the arm of freshman quarterback Jordan Lynch (Chicago, Ill./Mt. Carmel). Lynch finished the day going 7-for-10 for 216 yards and three touchdowns.
Martel Moore (San Antonio, Texas/Earl Warren) finished camp strong. He made a spectacular grab on a 52-yard pass from Ryan Morris (Carol Stream, Ill./West Chicago). Moore finished with five receptions for 83 yards. Antione Kirkland (Boca Raton, Fla./Olympic Heights) ripped off a 28-yard run on his first carry of the day on his way to 66 yards rushing and a touchdown, in which he leaped over the pile to get into the endzone.
"We had a lot of youngsters that did some good things today," he said. "A lot of young players did well. The future of our program looks good."
While the offense had a solid day, the defense made its presence felt as well. Freshman Jon Phillips (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) pounced on a loose ball, while sophomore Jordan Delegal (Miami, Fla./Chaminade Madonna) and freshman Zach Anderson (Ladysmith, Wis./Ladysmith) each deflected a pass. Anderson's deflection conjured images of another No. 51 who used to make plays like that, Larry English.
The defensive line had been a big position of interest heading into camp this season. The Huskie defense will be without their front four of the No. 1 defense in the Mid-American Conference from a year ago heading into 2008. It was an adjustment to be sure.
"It was a lot different," NIU defensive end Brandon Bice said. "They were there to look up to. Now the young guys are looking up to us. It was a new experience."
Bice feels the Huskies have made strides in the last few weeks to build depth on the defensive line.
"At the beginning of camp we had to find some depth," Bice said. "I think we did that in the last couple weeks. A lot of young guys stepped up and were ready to play."
Tickets for the 2009 Northern Illinois season are on sale now at the value price of just $90 for all six games. Discounts are available for NIU Faculty and Staff, NIU Alumni Association and Varsity Club members and senior citizens. A three-game "mini-plan" and single game tickets are also on sale. Tickets can be ordered at www.niuhuskies.com, by calling 815-752-6800 or in person at the Athletics Ticket Office in the NIU Convocation Center.
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