Football | August 14

DeKALB, IL - The Northern Illinois University football team was back on the practice field at Huskie Stadium Monday morning after an off-day Sunday. The Huskies worked on a lot of situational football, especially on what to do when it rains as NIU battled the elements for over 90 minutes before having to finish practice in the Chessick Practice Center.
 
"The rain was an added bonus," said head coach Thomas Hammock following practice. "Two years ago we played Eastern Michigan in the rain and the guys handled it well. We want to put the guys in situations they may be in during the season, so today was an excellent opportunity with some wet ball drills offensively, protecting the ball and catching the ball."
 
"Our players know me well enough that they knew we were going to be outside, unless it was lightning and thunder which came in the last 20 minutes of practice. We're going to be out there in the elements because Coach [Joe] Novak used to say 'if you're going to play in the north Atlantic, you've got to train in the North Atlantic'."
 
NIU worked offensively on the run game in Monday's wet weather. The Huskies were second in the Mid-American Conference in rushing last season with 190.4 rushing yards per game, which put NIU among the top 40 in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). In NIU's MAC Championship season of 2021 the Huskies were fourth in the nation in rushing at 241.4 yards per game.
 
The Huskies' leading returning rusher is junior Antario Brown (Savannah, Ga./Beach), who amassed 689 yards and seven touchdowns in 2022. Brown led the MAC with 6.26 yards per carry. He averaged 10 yards per attempt when he ran for a career-high 160 yards at Ohio last season. In his first two seasons as NIU, Brown has rushed for 1,227 yards and 12 career touchdowns.
 
"He's going to go out and perform at an extremely high level," said Hammock, who rushed for 2,432 yards in his NIU career from 1999-2002. "He's shown it every day in practice with his consistency. He's a competitive young man who wants to be great. If he's in the right frame of mind, he's going to play great this season."
 
Brown broke a big play on a screen pass in the first team period of the morning, something he has been working on in the offseason.
 
"We've been working that in in camp," Brown said. "I've been working on my pass-catching this summer and just in general whatever helps the team. We have a lot of guys in the room with different skill sets and it adds a lot to what we can do offensively."

Bolstering the running backs group are a pair of Huskies who are changing positions this fall in juniors Billy Dozier (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln Way West) and Justin Lynch (Chicago, Ill./Mt. Carmel). Dozier joins the backfield after playing as a wide receiver and kick returner his first two years. He averaged over 17 yards per kick return in 2022. Lynch came to NIU from Temple and played in nine games last season, rushing for 323 yards and three touchdowns while adding 146 passing yards.
 
"Justin came to us and felt he could contribute to the football team at running back," Hammock said. "There were some growing pains at first, but he has picked up the position very well. He's a really good player and I expect good things from him this season. Billy's a true jack of all trades. He has good running back skills, good wide receiver skills, and adds a lot of elements to our team as he's gotten bigger and stronger."
 
There are also two transfers that are making waves for playing time in the backfield. Redshirt-Junior Gavin Williams (Altoona, Iowa/Dowling Catholic) comes to NIU after playing in 26 games from 2020-22 at Iowa. He played in 11 games for the Hawkeyes last season, carrying the ball 43 times for 138 yards. He had 57 rushing yards and 91 all-purpose yards against Nevada. Kendrell Flowers (Columbia, S.C./Irmo) transferred to NIU from South Carolina State where he played for two seasons after redshirting at Wake Forest. Flowers had 517 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns for the Bulldogs last season in five games.
 
"They're physical players who are tough, intelligent, and understand the game of football," said Hammock. "They help us in protections and in the passing game and they've done that in practice.  I've been very pleased with what I've seen from them. They've been battling their tails off for that number two spot. They provide good relief for Antario and I feel comfortable playing both of those two young men."
 
First-year running backs coach Wesley Beschorner also noted how his group, which includes a redshirt-freshman and four true freshmen, can make an impact on the team this season in special teams.
 
"I think everybody in our room needs to be a special teams guy because that's just going to help the whole football team," Beschorner said. "We talk a lot in our room about being good without the football. That's what makes great players great, what you're doing without the football whether it's blocking downfield, having great fakes or playing on special teams. We talk about that a lot and take pride in that."
 
"Our young guys - Christian Nash, Garrett Gensler, Greigh Joseph, Jaylen Poe, and Joshua Pridgen - continue to grow in practice. They've gotten a number of reps and are doing similar reps as the older guys. Seeing them compete has been a lot of fun."
 
Follow all the action from NIU Football preseason practices, including position previews, videos and more, go to 2023 Preseason Football Camp Central on NIUHuskies.com.
 
Season, single game and mini-plan tickets for the 2023 Huskie home games are all on sale now 24 hours a day, seven days a week online at NIUHuskies.com/myhuskies or by calling the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225). Season tickets provide the best overall value at as little as $17 per game for general admission seating on the West Side of Huskie Stadium ($102 total). Sit in the same reserved seat for all six games for just $144 (sections A, B, F) or $162 (sections C, D, E). With the addition of the new Homecoming + One option, there are three "Pick Your Pack" mini-plans available, including Saturday Only and MACtion+Saturday four-game plans. See all the ticket prices and options, including premium experiences, here.
 
-- NIU --