DeKALB, Ill. – With just two days of preseason practice remaining before classes – and game week – begin at Northern Illinois University on Monday, the answer to the most talked about position battle of preseason camp for the Huskies remains "OR".  As in, the starting quarterback for NIU for the season opener will be either junior Marcus Childers, the incumbent who led the Huskies to the 2019 MAC Championship, OR graduate transfer Ross Bowers, who came to NIU after starting 12 games at California in 2017.
 
For NIU offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Eric Eidsness, having two capable quarterbacks, both of whom have shown the ability to successfully lead the Huskie offense during preseason practices, is not a bad thing.  
 
"[The battle to be the starter] has been competitive, it's definitely been back and forth," Eidsness said. "We thought maybe [the competition] would clear up sooner than this, but I guess it's a good thing when it doesn't as long as they're both playing well. I feel like we can win with both of them, we just might be a little bit different offensively as far as what we would do. I think we're getting close to seeing their best, but they haven't been able to relax and not grow, which is good from that standpoint."
 
One of the most unique aspects of the competition at quarterback has been the difference in styles of the two players. Eidsness said that the Huskies' new offensive system is built to adapt to the strengths of the players and that Childers and Bowers have been evaluated by how they compete versus the defense, and not in comparison to each other.
 
"Obviously, they both have different skill sets, and so you kind of run different things with each guy so that they have the best chance to be successful," Eidsness said. "That's the nice thing about our system is it allows them to highlight their abilities. It's been fun to watch them both work in their own unique way, as far as what they're good at. It really comes down to who can attack the defense the best? It's not, how do you do versus him? It's really how do you do versus the defense?"
 
Childers, who has started 22 consecutive games for the Huskies and thrown for 3,849 yards with 31 touchdowns while rushing for 1,004 yards, said competing for the job has helped him grow, and the area where he personally feels has seen the most improvement is in his decision-making.  
 
"I think I've definitely improved at throwing the football, but for me, the mental aspect of from this time last year to now it's, I mean, it's night and day, just understanding coverages and seeing things before they're supposed to happen," Childers said.  "And then, being in competition has helped me to grow tremendously. I think for both of us, and for [third string QB Anthony Thompson], it has made us all better, and it's better for the team."
 
Bowers threw for 3,039 yards at Cal in 12 games as the starter in 2017 with 18 touchdowns, before missing all but one game of the 2018 season due to injury and making the transition from the Bay Area to the Midwest. He agreed that competing for the starting job has helped him as he adjusts to life in DeKalb.
 
"I think the competition in our room has been fantastic," Bowers said. "I think it's brought the best out of me and a lot of the other guys in the room. For me, it feels like the game has slowed down, even when it feels sped up at times. I feel like I'm progressing in the mental aspect of the game and physically, I feel the best I ever have in my life. In the summer, we had the best turnout I've ever had with receivers, tight ends and running backs out here throwing every other day, so the chemistry is there."
 
Eidsness said taking that leadership role, including during summer workouts, and having a next play mentality is critical, no matter who's in the starting quarterback spot.
 
"As a coach, you've got to be able to turn over the reins to them and let them grow as leaders," Eidsness said. "We've been really stressing to [the QBs] that the team is offensively going to go up and down based on you, so we need to be that rock that the guys look at and see calm.  We need to be picking guys up when things aren't going right, and we can't let things frustrate us because all that's going to do is affect our unit negatively. I always say play in the present, the next play is the most important play. We'll learn from the past, but we can't play in the past."
 
Behind Bowers and Childers, junior Anthony Thompson, who opened camp in the battle with the others, is firmly in the third spot, with freshmen Mariano Valenti and Bryce Carey still learning what college football is all about.
 
If you're wondering when the answer to that starting quarterback questions will be answered, well Huskies' head coach Thomas Hammock said don't look for an announcement anytime soon.
 
"I don't think I'll name a quarterback," Hammock said after practice Thursday. "I think we'll just continue to practice and get ready to play. It's 11 people [on offense] out there that have to get the job done, and whoever goes out there [at quarterback], they'll be ready to do their job, so I anticipate sometime right before the game that the quarterback will be ready to go."
 
With preseason camp nearing a close, the Huskies worked out for just under two hours Thursday at Huskie Stadium as they began to turn their attention to preparing for the season opening game versus Illinois State.  Practice followed a similar routine to many others of camp with a healthy dose of special teams along with some periods with the offense and defense working against what Hammock called the "futures" teams.
 
Less than 10 days away from his first game as head coach at his alma mater, Hammock said the team is still taking a one day at a time approach.
 
"We're just trying to take it one day at a time, that's really our focus," he said. "How good can we be today? How good can we be tomorrow? I'm not a guy that's going to get ahead of myself. There's a process, we're going to stick to our process and try to give ourselves every opportunity to win on August 31st."
 
NIU will celebrate Hammock's return with a special giveaway of 1,000 Thomas Hammock replica jerseys at the season opener, which kicks off at 6 p.m. on August 31 at Huskie Stadium.  The game has also been designated as Ag Day with free ears of corn and a tractor display.  Single game tickets can be purchased online at NIUHuskies.com or for just $15 each with the purchase of at least five tickets through the Huskie Flex Pass.
 
Three-game Mini-Plans, including two Saturday and one #MACtion (weeknight) game are just $70, while season tickets remain the best value at as little as $60 for an East Side (general admission) season ticket. Purchase four tickets for family or a group of friends on either the East or West Side for just $55 or $75 per person with the Huskie Family Pack. 
 
To purchase tickets and #JointhePack for 2019, click the links above, which are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Tickets are also available by calling 815-753-PACK (7225), emailing huskiestickets@niu.edu or stopping by the NIU Athletics Ticket Office in the Convocation Center, which is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
 
-- NIU --