Football | August 9

DeKALB, IL – When it comes to the offensive side of the ball for the Northern Illinois University football team, the tight end position has become a utility player of sorts. It takes a player that can handle blocking, receiving and running with the ball when called upon and the Huskies have a group of nine that are looking to add a different dimension to the NIU offense.
 
"In our position group, there's two different positions and the fullback," said tight ends coach Cory White. "When we recruit, we're constantly looking for three unique individuals. It's such a good group of guys because you can see the differences in them, but at the same time we train them in all three spots. That gives us some really unique sets where you have a Tristen Tewes who can play as a fullback or a flexed out tight receiver as well as on the line. Brock Lampe, our fullback, has lined up as a tight end as well."
 
Last season Grayson Barnes (Rocklin, Calif.) led the NIU tight ends with 23 receptions for 422 yards and a team-high five touchdown receptions. He capped his first year with the Huskies with five receptions in the Camellia Bowl win over Arkansas State for 105 yards and a touchdown. Barnes also led NIU with 18.3 yards per reception.
 
 "Grayson is going to be a guy who is going to be a more viable option for us offensively," head coach Thomas Hammock said. "He's going to be heavily involved in what we want to do and he can handle that. Obviously he's got great hands and we have to create matchup problems for him as much as possible."
 
Redshirt-Senior Chris Carter (Detroit, Mich.) had 12 receptions for 178 yards in his first season at NIU after transferring from Howard. He found the end zone twice in 2023 in games at Nebraska and Toledo. Tristen Tewes (Pleasant Plains, Ill.) enters the season as the most veteran of the tight end group. Tewes enters his sixth season at NIU having played in 45 games in his career. Senior fullback Brock Lampe (Kenosha, Wis.) showed his versatility in 2023, catching seven passes for 87 yards while also being instrumental as both a lead blocker and a ballcarrier with 13 rushes for 52 yards and a touchdown in NIU's season-opening win at Boston College.
 
Barnes, Carter, Tewes and Lampe proved last year to have the ability to stretch the field from the tight end position. All four players averaged at least 11 yards per reception in 2023. That group has been bolstered with five newcomers that have been making plays early in camp, highlighted by sophomore transfer Jake Appleget (Lincoln, Neb.) and freshman Jason Fowler (Skokie, Ill.).
 
"We brought in Jason Fowler as someone who can really grow into being a receiving threat," White said. "When we recruited him he was 225 pounds and now he's nearly 250. He's strong as can be. Jake was someone we knew we could get into the system and have contribute immediately. Coming from Nebraska, he's really well developed and he's got a lot of great ability. We can line him up at all three spots much like a Tristen Tewes."
 
The tight ends put some plays on film in Friday's practice at Huskie Stadium. Barnes had a long reception down the sideline late in practice to go with a pair of receptions over the middle earlier in the day. Fowler had a reception over the middle in the second 11-on-11 period of practice.
 
The offense excelled in an up-tempo period of practice on Friday. Tewes had a catch early in that period as running backs Gavin Williams (Altoona, Iowa) and Jaylen Poe (Dallas, Ga.) ripped off a couple long runs. Coach Hammock was pleased with the sense of urgency and number of plays the offense ran in that period.  
 
"We want to continue to get ourselves in football shape and that's a way to get good plays," Hammock said. "We're going to play with some tempo on offense. We want to put the honus on ourselves of how fast we're going to play and we saw some positive results. We ran 18 plays in nine minutes, and that's a testament to those guys working and being able to conceptualize the play and execute."
 
The Huskies will hold a full team scrimmage on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Huskies open the 2024 season at Huskie Stadium on Saturday, August 31 against Western Illinois. Check out all of the ticket options and buy tickets anytime online at NIUHuskies.com/myhuskies. To request more information and connect with a member of the NIU ticket staff, click here or call the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225). Calls received outside of business hours (Monday-Friday, 9 am-5 pm CT) will be returned the next business day. 
 
--NIU--