DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University football team wrapped up 2022 spring football practices on a chilly Saturday morning in front of a crowd of family, friends and alumni in attendance at the Spring Showcase.
 
The Huskies worked out for almost two hours in pads with most of the final 1:15 spent in full team scrimmage action. After practice, NIU head coach Thomas Hammock said he was pleased with the progress his team made during the spring, especially on defense, an area prior to practices that he had emphasized.
 
"We're good on defense," Hammock said. "We have depth. After each spring, we rank the top 30 [players] and normally, you feel good about 16, 17 guys. We feel good about 28 guys on defense. These guys are mature, they've grown up, they've developed, they have a better understanding of the schemes, and they can go out there and make plays, and that is exciting. We can play a different style of game come this fall with a defense like that."
 
With 27 letterwinners returning on defense, including 14 different players who started at least four games in either of the last two seasons, even NIU's sophomores can be considered veterans, Hammock said, and he expects to see a more confident mentality on that side of the ball.
 
"Defensively is where you'll see the biggest jump on our team with young guys that now have confidence to go out there and be dominant," Hammock said. "We have young veterans. We have guys that have played multiple years now and are still sophomores [in eligibility]. It's exciting. On the defensive line, we've got James Ester, Ray Thomas, Demond Taylor, Devonte O'Malley – we are deep. Then you look at the linebackers like Jaden Dolphin and Daveren Rayner and in the secondary, we have some young safeties and corners like JaVaughn Byrd, he played the second half of the season last year and has been a lockdown guy this spring."
 
Offensively, the breakout star of spring has been wide receiver turned running back Billy Dozier and the sophomore from New Lenox, Illinois did not disappoint in front of the fans, breaking through for several long runs, including one of 90-plus yards.
 
"He has had a tremendous spring," Hammock said of Dozier. "That's his most natural position and today he showed what he can do and the dimension that he can add to our offense. We've got to have a role for him, we think he can do multiple things with his versatility. We're going to use him as a chess piece in our offense."
 
Leading the way on offense Saturday and throughout the spring was senior quarterback Rocky Lombardi (Clive, Iowa/Valley HS), who earned the spring offensive MVP honor from Hammock following the workout.
 
"He's been phenomenal," Hammock said. "He's making all the checks, he's telling the receivers where to get lined up, who to block. His leadership matters. When you have a quarterback that can lead like that, it gives you a chance to be very, very dynamic on offense."
 
Hammock handed out a series of spring awards following the practice, with the announcement that three players – tight end George Gumbs (Chicago, Ill./Simeon HS), fullback Brock Lampe (Kenosha, Wis./Bradford HS) and linebacker Ryan King (Wildwood, Mo./Chaminade College Prep) – had earned scholarships for 2022-23 getting the biggest cheer as the players were mobbed by their teammates after receiving T-shirts that read "Earned – The Hard Way".
 
King and defensive tackle Jalonnie Williams (Milwaukee, Wis./Greenfield HS) were named the Most Improved Players on defense, while Dozier collected that honor for the Huskie offense. Sophomore linebacker Dolphin was named the spring Defensive MVP.
 
Hammock also presented the "Hard Hat" Awards to tailback Harrison Waylee (Johnston, Iowa/Urbandale HS) and safety Devin Lafayette (Brunswick, Ga./Brunswick HS). Waylee took nearly all of the reps with the first team at tailback during the spring with several running backs limited by injury, while Lafayette returned after suffering an injury in the season opener at Georgia Tech last year to participate in every practice this spring.
 
Earning the Huskie Heart awards were redshirt freshman center Pete Nygra (North Indianapolis, Ind./Brownsburg HS), who Hammock dubbed as a future leader of that group and newcomer Izayah Green-May (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook HS), a defensive end who came to NIU from Wisconsin and did not miss a practice despite going through nearly all of spring with a cast on his hand.
 
Following practice, approximately 100 young Huskies took part in the Victor E. Huskie Egg Hunt, collecting plastic eggs that the Huskie players helped spread across Brigham Field and then collected autographs on 2022 schedule posters.
Renew or purchase tickets for the 2022 NIU Football season now. Season tickets offer the best value as opposed to purchasing a ticket for just one or two games with prices less than $15 per ticket with the Huskie Plan (a minimum of four season tickets in section A, G for $88 each) while a reserved seat season ticket in sections C, D or E (between the 35s) is just $162 for a great seat to all six games. Discounts are available for seniors (62+), Varsity Club or NIU Alumni Association members as well as NIU faculty and staff.

To purchase season tickets anytime, click here, go to NIUHuskies.com/tickets or call 815-753-PACK (7225) Monday through Friday.  
 
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