Football | August 11

DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University football team has had 13 student-athletes selected to Pro Football Focus' 2022 Preseason All-Mid-American Conference Team, as PFF has been releasing it's all-conference teams for all Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conferences this week.
 
NIU had a league-high five First Team selections in wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph (Crete, Ill./Crete-Monee), offensive tackles Nolan Potter (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington) and Marques Cox (Peoria, Ill./Peoria), cornerback Jordan Gandy (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb/South Dakota State), and kicker John Richardson (Orland Park, Ill./Brother Rice). Rudolph was also named Honorable Mention as a kick returner as well.
 
Four of the five returning starters on the Huskies' offensive line are on the PFF Preseason All-MAC Team with guards Logan Zschernitz (Spencer, Wis./Spencer) and J.J. Lippe (Milwaukee, Wis./Whitefish Bay) earning Second Team and Third Team honors respectively. The NIU offensive line led the way for the fourth-best rushing attack in the country in 2021 at 241.4 yards per game. It also allowed the second-fewest sacks in FBS.
 
Cole Tucker (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) was named to the Third Team with Antario Brown (Savannah, Ga./Beach), Michael Kennedy (Chicago, Ill./Mount Carmel), Nick Rattin (Palatine, Ill./Fremd), and CJ Brown (Canton, Mich./Walled Lake Western) all on the Honorable Mention squad.
 
Rudolph, a Second Team All-MAC selection as both a wide receiver and kick returner, led NIU in receiving yards, all-purpose yards and receiving touchdowns. He had 51 receptions for 892 yards and seven scores while also averaging over 25 yards per kick return. Rudolph is on the Biletknikoff and Hornung Award watch lists.
 
Richardson was named to the watch list for the Groza Award this summer. The redshirt-junior kicker made a single-season program record 22 field goals in 2021 and is currently NIU's all-time leader in field goal percentage at 79.6 percent. Gandy led the Huskies with 10 pass breakups and had a pair of fumble recoveries last season to go with 53 tackles.
 
Antario Brown was named to the Doak Walker Award watch list this summer after averaging 6.6 yards per carry in his freshman season. CJ Brown, a First Team All-MAC safety in 2021, is on the watch lists for the Jim Thorpe, Bronko Nagurski and Bednarik Awards after leading NIU with 109 tackles.
 
Rattin was second on the team in 2021 with seven tackles for loss and third with 72 tackles. He is on the watch lists for both the Wuerffel Trophy and the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Kennedy had 44 tackles in 14 games last season, adding four tackles for loss and a sack. Tucker caught 41 passes in 2021 for 575 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 14 yards per reception.
 
Huskies on the 2022 PFF Preseason All-MAC Team
 
First Team
Trayvon Rudolph, Wide Receiver
Nolan Potter, Offensive Tackle
Marques Cox, Offensive Tackle
Jordan Gandy, Flex Defender
John Richardson, Kicker
 
Second Team
Logan Zschernitz, Guard
 
Third Team
Cole Tucker, Wide Receiver
J.J. Lippe, Guard
 
Honorable Mention
Antario Brown, RB
Michael Kennedy, Edge Rusher
Nick Rattin, Linebacker
CJ Brown, Safety
Trayvon Rudolph, Punt Returner/Kick Returner
 
Preseason practice continues Friday morning beginning at 10:15 a.m. at Huskie Stadium. Position previews of the team continue throughout camp. Read them online and see the complete camp schedule on the 2022 Camp Central page on NIUHuskies.com.
 
Purchase NIU Football tickets now online at NIUHuskies.com or by calling 815-753-PACK (7225) during regular business hours. Ticket options include season tickets to see all six Huskie home games, Mini-Plans featuring either the All-Saturday ($90) or All-Weekday ($78) package, and single game tickets, priced from $18-$40 depending on the game. Season tickets provide the best value with prices as low as $14.67 per ticket with the Huskie Family 4 Pack (do not have to be related), $97 for East Side general admission seating or $144 for West Side reserved seats. Premium area tickets are also available on both a season and per game basis.  For more information and to see all the options and prices, click here.
 
--NIU--