DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University Huskies opened 2020 spring football practices Thursday morning inside the Kenneth and Ellen Chessick Practice Center as the second year of the Thomas Hammock era at NIU got underway with a 90-minute workout in shorts and helmets.
 
Hammock was excited to get on the field and start working with the majority of the student-athletes that will make up the 2020 roster, with more to be added this summer. He said one of the biggest differences in Year Two has been his familiarity with the team, along with seeing the development of the players.
 
"We're obviously a lot more comfortable," Hammock said. "We did a lot of things this offseason to make it the type of atmosphere and culture that is conducive to developing as men, developing as football players and building those relationships, which was really important to me.
 
"I think we're a much more athletic football team. Coach Napoli has done a great job, developing their bodies, developing their minds, developing a mentality of being competitive. We spent a lot of time this winter just on football development - we called it football school. The growth and development of our young men has been outstanding."
 
The Huskies' spring roster includes 84 players, including 40 returning letterwinners off the 2019 squad that posted a 5-7 record in 2019. NIU returns eight starters on offense and six on defense, including a quartet of sixth-year players in quarterback Ross Bowers, tight end Daniel Crawford, center Christopher Perez and linebacker Kyle Pugh. In addition to the returnees, 11 new names have been added to the spring roster – five true freshmen, a pair of junior college transfers, two grad transfers and two walk-ons.  
 
Four of five starters return on the offensive line along with tight ends Crawford and Mitchell Brinkman. Andrew Haidet, a grad transfer from Houston Baptist, and Dustin Fletcher, a true freshmen, have joined Bowers and redshirt freshman Mariano Valenti in the quarterback room. Hammock said on offense, two positions he is interested to see the competition develop this spring are at running back and wide receiver.
 
"The running back position is going to be exciting to watch," Hammock said. "You've got some guys competing that we've seen this offseason - Rondarius Gregory, Erin Collins, Jay Ducker, Shaq Oliver – that have been competing their butt off. They see an opportunity to play with no returning starters at their position. Jordan Nettles is hurt, so he's a guy that we know and he'll be back in fall camp.
 
"The wide receiver position is one that I can see a lot of competition. Guys have made jumps. Tyrice Richie should make a tremendous jump. Last year, he was a junior college transfer, and it normally takes those guys a year to feel comfortable in the system. Cole Tucker's a guy who had a good year, and we're looking into how we can expand his role within our offense. Then you've got the freshmen that we redshirted last year, all of them probably could have played but we wanted to save their redshirts."
 
Defensively, the return of Pugh and eventual return of Lance Deveaux Jr., who will be limited this spring, along with Jordan Cole, Vinny Labus and Nick Rattin, who started eight, eight and six games, respectively, give NIU a sturdy group of linebackers. The defensive line features a trio of senior returning starters in honorable mention All-American Jack Heflin, Weston Kramer and Matt Lorbeck.  
 
The defensive backfield is the area on defense where several new names could make an impact, beginning in the spring.
 
"At defensive back, we have a lot of young guys and a lot of guys coming in that have length, athleticism, skill and speed that can give us some good competition," Hammock said. "Coming out of the spring, we want to try to solidify the safety position. We have some really good candidates like CJ Brown, Woodly Appolon and Josh Earl, three guys that are competing to find a spot. At the cornerback position, Antwain Walker and Dillon Thomas are two guys that have seen action. If we can get two or three of those spots secured before training camp, and then we have some freshmen that we think can come in and compete from day one."
 
Hammock's goals for spring begin with staying healthy.
 
"First and foremost, the goal is to stay healthy," Hammock said. "We're not winning any games in these 15 practices. We want to make sure that we can keep improving our football IQ, keep improving our football fundamentals and techniques. Those are the things that are going to help you when you get to October and November and you're fighting for a MAC Championship."
 
Hammock also noted that this year, NIU will not play a spring game and instead welcomes fans to its final spring practice session on Saturday, April 11. The practice will be followed by an autograph session and a chance to meet the players in the North End Zone. 
 
"I know a lot of people get excited about spring and when we add this freshman class, we'll make sure spring is what it used to be, but at the same time, we want to make sure we're ready for [the 2020 season opener versus] Rhode Island," Hammock said. "We have to take the steps necessary to get better at football, but also make sure we keep guys healthy."
 
Hammock noted that several players will be limited during spring drills including Perez, DeVeaux Jr., Nettles, Dennis Robinson, Cam Mattox, J.D. Harris and Mark Aitken.  
 
Following Friday morning's special teams practice, the Huskies will take a week off for spring break and return to the practice field on Tuesday, March 17th. NIU will practice in the morning (7 am) during the week with most practices going 90-100 minutes in either the Chessick Center or Huskie Stadium, depending on the weather.  The Huskies will also hold two Friday evening workouts on March 27 (5:30 pm) and April 3 (6 pm) while Saturday practices will begin at 11 a.m. on March 21^st and 1 pm on March 28^th.
 
All practices following spring break are open.  See the complete 2020 NIU Football spring practice schedule below.       
 
Thursday, March 5 – Practice (Helmets) – 7 a.m.
Friday, March 6 – Practice (Helmets) – 7 a.m.
Saturday, March 7 – Sunday, March 15 – Spring Break (NO PRACTICE)
Tuesday, March 17 – Practice (Helmets) – 7 a.m.
Thursday, March 19 – Practice – 7 a.m.
Saturday, March 21 – Practice – 11 a.m.
Monday, March 23 – Practice – 7 a.m.
Wednesday, March 25 – Practice – 7 a.m.
Friday, March 27 – Practice – 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 28 – Practice – 1 p.m.
Monday, March 30 – Practice – 7 a.m.
Wednesday, April 1 – Practice – 7 a.m.
Friday, April 3 – Practice – 6 p.m.
Monday, April 6 – Practice – 7 a.m.
Wednesday, April 8 – Practice – 7 a.m.
Saturday, April 11 – Spring Practice Finale – 3 p.m.
 
-- NIU --