DeKalb, Ill. – New Northern Illinois University offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Eric Eidsness compares the installation and instruction it takes to put in a new offense to learning a completely new language.
 
While every position on offense faces similar challenges, the job of the quarterbacks is even tougher. As the leaders of the offense, the quarterbacks must know not only their job, but the job of all 10 other players on every play.
 
"If you ask the quarterbacks, they'll tell you learning a new system isn't always easy," Eidsness said. "We've changed everything.  We'vs said, 'we're going to learn Spanish, we're going to learn French.'  It's been very different. I ask them to do a lot, but I think that's a position that you have to ask a lot from if you're going to be a really good unit. At quarterback, we're continuing to grow, there's another level we can play at execution-wise.  What I'm happy with is the leadership they're showing right now, I'm happy with the improvements that have been made there."
 
Returning starter Marcus Childers, one of three quarterbacks working right now along with Anthony Thompson and transfer Drake Davis, agreed with Eidsness' characterization of learning a new offense as learning a new language, and said he has enjoyed the process, and the challenge.
 
"With the old system it was built for being fast. Everything was a one-word call and we knew where we were going with the ball," said the junior signal-caller. "Now, we have a lot more time to do things, change coverages. It's been a great adjustment to learn more offense and learn more concepts. It's been really cool. We have a lot more things that we can do, changing the play or throwing against a certain coverage."
 
While going up against the veteran Huskie defense this spring has challenged the offense in all practices, including Monday when the defense once again took the "win", Eidsness has seen improvement at the quarterback position and throughout the entire offense.  
 
"Honestly from a coordinators standpoint I've been really happy with everybody," Eidsness said. "The players have been really good, very accepting of change. They didn't necessarily sign up to play for us, so they could fight it, or they could embrace it. They've done a really good job of embracing it, they've worked hard to learn. We've seen a lot of growth as the spring has gone on.
 
"The quarterbacks have worked really hard to be good leaders," he continued. "On the offensive line, we're out three starters from last season, so it's a great opportunity to develop depth, and I think guys have really risen to the challenge. The tight ends, we're asking them to do a lot of different things getting them involved and they've done a good job. There are three really good running backs here that all have different skill sets. They all kind of have their spots where they can excel."
 
Childers said the improvement has been dramatic but know there is still work to be done.
 
"I think we're doing a lot of good things from offensive line to quarterback to receivers, it's been great, tremendous improvement," Childers said. "The first day we couldn't even line up right and now we're running a lot of different complex plays. I think the biggest strides can come with us growing in the offense, understanding those concepts we have to know. We're all still learning, we're all still trying to get better, but that's probably the biggest area is just getting us in the right play based on what we see."
 
In addition to putting in the foundation of the offensive system, evaluating the returning players and providing them with feedback in the from of grades following each practice, Eidsness has emphasized moving on from plays, whether good or bad.
 
"We've tried to put the [offense] in tough, stressful situations at times to see how they respond," said Eidsness said. "Sometimes when it's going good, guys respond really well. I've probably harped the most on, if it goes bad, put it behind you and let's move on because we have more plays to make."
 
Eidsness spent the 2012-2018 seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at South Dakota State where he helped lead SDSU to the FCS Playoffs each season, including into the semifinals in each of the last two seasons.  At South Dakota State, Eidsness' 2012-14 offenses featured one of the top running backs in the FCS in Zach Zenner, while the 2015-18 offenses were under the direction of one of the top quarterbacks in the division in Taryn Christian.   
 
While the Huskies' offense remains a work in progress, Eidsness knows spring is just the beginning of the process.
 
"When we started spring, it wasn't always as easy, now they're getting used to it and a lot more comfortable [with the system]," he said. "It's fun to see growth, it really is, we'll continue to work on it, it's a long time until August 31^st, but there's a lot to get done too."
 
The Huskies were outside for Wednesday's two-hour workout in full pads, just the third time in 13 practices this spring NIU has been able to practice outside. The defense forced multiple turnovers, including interceptions by Jalen McKie and linebacker Vinny Labus.
 
The Huskies return to the practice field Saturday, April 20 for the annual Huskie Bowl practice, which will include periods of live tackling and scrimmaging.  Fans are invited to attend the Huskie Bowl, which begins at 9 a.m. at Huskie Stadium, and check out the Huskie Gear Sale which goes from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Chessick Practice Center. The Gear Sale features game worn and brand new gear from multiple Huskie teams, including new athletic shoes and cleats at bargain prices. Following football practice, the NIU team will sign autographs and fans can also renew or put a deposit down for 2019 NIU Football season tickets.
 
-- NIU --