DeKALB, Ill. – At a glance, being a specialist on a football team can seem like the most solitary position on the field.  A punter is dropped back, a kicker is several yards removed from everyone except his holder, and the punt and kickoff return men wait – all eyes on them – as the ball drops from the sky.  Even the opponents are out of the picture.  
 
However, in reality, none of the specialists can succeed without the complete 11-man units that make up each and every group – from punt to punt coverage, kickoff and kickoff return to the PAT/field goal squad.
As a former Huskie head coach was fond of saying, "special teams account for one of every six plays in a football game."
 
While more than 40 players will likely see time on one of the aforementioned special teams units, the focus remains on those four-five players who put themselves on an "island" several times per game. For Northern Illinois University in 2018, any discussion of the specialists starts with sophomore punter Matt Ference, who is coming off an impressive freshman season, where he averaged 41.2 yards per punt on 83 kicks with 28 dropped inside the 20 yard line and 12 of 50 or more yards.
 
"Matt playing as a freshman last year was huge, he had to grow up real quick and he had a good year, so he's really honed in on some of the little things [for this year]," said special teams coach Dan Sabock. "Last year it was the big things, making sure he was ready to play 12 games, now we can get to the little things with him."
 
Ference, who also serves as the Huskies' holder on placekicks, has developed a good rapport with senior long snapper Hayden Sak, who NIU Head Coach Rod Carey said is one of the nation's best at that under-rated spot.
 
"Sak, I've said it before, if he stays consistent I think he will have the opportunity to play on Sundays because he's a special talent there," Carey said.  "Matt is a year older, a year stronger [at punter] and Andrew is doing a nice job. The operation [snapper-holder-kicker] is looking good.  I like the guys we've got on the teams so far. Coach Sabock is doing a nice job with it, now we've got to keep executing."
 
The newest member of that "operation" is actually a veteran in senior graduate transfer Andrew Gantz, who came to NIU from Cincinnati, where he served as the Bearcats' starting kicker in 2014 and 2015, making 37-of-47 field goals and earning second team American Athletic Conference honors as a sophomore.  After battling injuries the last two years, Gantz said he – and the unit – are ready for the season.
 
"Honestly, this is the best I've felt in my college career coming out of camp," Gantz said. "I feel more confident than ever, I'm hitting the ball better than I ever have in my career. For me that's a huge confidence booster.  I feel like we're all ready to go. You can see that when we're knocking down 50-plus yard field goals in practice that we're obviously working really well together so that's what I'm excited about."
 
At the other end of the kicking game spectrum are the returners, where a pack of Huskies are vying for the opportunity to follow the likes of Aregeros Turner and Tommylee Lewis, who excelled in the role for NIU in the past.  During fall practices, the players in the mix at both spots have included veterans like D.J. Brown, Jalen Embry, Marcus Jones and Jauan Wesley, as well as youngsters like Cole Tucker, Fotis Kokosioulis and Jordan Nettles.
 
"I' really think we've got a group of four to five guys that can really make a difference, and they are guys that want to do it and have a good feel for it," Sabock said.  "A lot of being a great returner comes down to feel and I think we have guys that have it. It's going to be a tough decision which is a good thing, and we've put an emphasis on the guys in front of them, all the guys that are blocking to make it a little better, too."
 
One aspect of special teams that made a comeback for NIU in 2017 was the ability to block punts.  The Huskies ranked among the national leaders with four blocked punts a year ago, and turned two of those into touchdowns.    
 
"We tried to take advantage of a few things when we saw them, and it worked well," Sabock said. "We saw a couple opportunities, missed a couple early on, and then got to a few and the guys started to believe in it, so it's become a fun thing around here now and the guys believe in what we're doing."
 
For specialists, belief and being part of the larger group is what makes NIU's units unique and united in their goals, says Gantz.
 
"It's like a family here," Gantz said. "It's the biggest reason why I came here. On my visit, I felt this was a family [atmosphere] and a really easy fit for me to come into and help win this team a championship.  That's my only goal for this season, I want to come out here and be able to help us win a championship, win a conference title win as many games as possible."
 
Practice Notes:  The Huskies practiced for a little less than 90 minutes with officials on hand with most of the last half of practice spent in "team periods."  After 18 periods, Carey called out the "young guys" and for one of the first times in preseason practice, allowed full-scale tackling.  The offense and defense scrimmaged for five series with each starting at the 25-yard line. 
 
Freshman quarterback Jiya Wright and the offense took the first two series – with touchdowns from Wright to tight end Mike DeHaan and to Amir Brummett, before the defense asserted itself, forcing a stop and then a fumble to "tie" the competition.  With the veteran offensive and defensive players animated on the sidelines, the offensive tried throwing a pass to Wright, who slipped out of the backfield, but the play was sniffed out by the defense and picked off, giving the young defenders the "win."
 
Carey Quotes:  "That was good to have the young guys go and see the whole team get fired up about it. That was a fun ending to practice.  There was a lot of good energy to start practice, too, a lot of good workman effort there. I like where we're at, now, we're starting to make the transition [to game preparation], but we've still got some camp elements in there.  We've still got time, still got 10-11 days until we play so we'll keep going.
 
"We like to start to transition to [look teams] before school starts to get those young guys understanding their scout and what they have to do. That way when school starts, they don't have school and look teams to transition too.  We'll transition it some this week and be full blown next week. 
 
"I think this team is focused on what they want."
 
Next: The Huskies will have walk-throughs and meetings on Wednesday before returning to the practice field Thursday at 3:30 p.m.   
 
Tickets: Full season and single game tickets, as well as three-game mini-plans, for 2018 NIU Football games are on sale now through the NIU Athletics Ticket Office in the Convocation Center, online at NIUHuskies.com/tickets and by calling 815-753-PACK (7225). Season tickets start at as little as $55 each (via the Family Pack) and mini-plans, featuring two Saturday and one #MACtion game, are $70. Single game tickets are also on sale.  See all the options here and get your tickets today. (https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/northernillinois/EN/buy/browse).

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