DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University Huskies wrapped up 2024 spring practice Saturday with the annual Spring Showcase on a warm, blustery day at Huskie Stadium. Following the almost two-hour workout, head coach Thomas Hammock said he was pleased with the progress the Huskies made over the spring.
“I think our players took full advantage of the opportunity,” Hammock said. “I thought we got better each and every single day. We have a lot of guys that have played a lot of football. We wanted to make sure we got them some work and most importantly, keep them healthy, which we did. We’ll go into the summer with a full and strong team, a team that is looking to improve and play our best football.”
Quarterbacks Ethan Hampton, Jalen Macon and Josh Holst were the primary signal callers as NIU spent most of the Showcase in 11-on-11 scrimmage situations. Throughout all 15 spring practices, Hammock has limited tackling while stressing that players “take care of your teammates.” Even with limited tackling, a Huskie defense that returns nine starters and a host of players with experience, largely kept the offense out of the end zone during full field scrimmage action Saturday.
“Our defense has seen us for 15 practices, so there’s not anything we’re going to do that’s going to surprise them,” Hammock said. “I think we have an excellent defense. I think this is a defense that can be Top 20 in the country and I’m excited about where they are. We have a lot of depth on that side of the ball. We have really good players on all three levels. I think our D-line is extremely strong, we have linebackers that can make plays and knock back tackle and we have corners that can play the ball. I think collectively, they are much improved.”
Safety Muhammed Jammeh picked up a fumble caused by cornerback Cyrus McGarrell and returned it 54 yards for a touchdown while Jashon Prophete intercepted Hampton in red zone situations and took it the distance for a score. The defense also recorded multiple pass break-ups, several sacks and fourth down stops.
Holst led the Huskies’ longest touchdown drive of the day, assisted by transfer wide receiver Andrew McElroy who made a diving catch inside the 10-yard line, then made a grab in the back of the end zone one play later. Senior all-conference running back Antario Brown saw limited action with redshirt freshman Jaylen Poe and junior Justin Lynch receiving multiple reps as Lynch displayed his rushing and receiving skills.
“We have some talent at the wide receiver position,” Hammock said. He (McElroy) has been in the mix all spring and made some nice plays today, nice catch on the sideline. We’re going to see these guys continue to make a jump.”
Hammock said the Huskies’ passing offense and developing a starting quarterback have been an emphasis this spring, although NIU purposely played a very vanilla brand of offense on Saturday.
“We definitely wanted to enhance our passing game,” Hammock said. “That’s an area where we are fighting for balance. If we can have balance that opens everything up for us on offense. The quarterback situation will continue to progress throughout the summer and fall camp and we’ll play the guy that gives us the best chance to win. I think we have three guys we can win with. It’s now a matter of finding the best guy that gives us a chance to win every game we play.”
Brown collected the offensive MVP honor as Hammock announced the spring awards following practice. Senior defensive tackle Devonte O’Malley was named the team’s defensive MVP while linebacker Quinn Urwiler picked up the special teams MVP honor. The Spring Football Most Improved awards went to redshirt freshman safety Ethan Tierney (special teams), wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph (offense) and McGarrell.
While just six players earned awards on Saturday, Hammock said he’s seen improvement from a plethora of players across the board.
“I've been very pleased with how guys have improved over the spring,” Hammock said. “[Linebacker] Chris Fuhrman has been excellent for us. Quinn Urwiler has been excellent. Up front, Skyler Gill-Howard as a defensive tackle played in the backup role last year; he has certainly excelled. We got Pierce Oppong back this spring and he's probably playing the best of any D-end that we've had this spring from a competitive standpoint. We have a young guy Santana Banner, a safety, that is playing at a high level and our corners are playing great. Amariyun Knighten, [Jacob] Finley and [JaVaughn] Byrd are three guys that we feel can be lockdown type corners.
“Offensively, Antario Brown had his best spring since he's been here. Keyshaun Pipkin and Kyle Thomas have really grown at the wide receiver position. Evan Malcore started seven games for us last year at left tackle and he's made a tremendous jump. It's been great to have Evan Buss back as an anchor at the right tackle position. I think all three quarterbacks at different times had excellent moments this spring, and then Grayson Barnes at tight end. Jake Appelget from Nebraska who's really going to give us an athletic point of attack. There have been a lot of guys and I'm sure I've missed a couple.”
With spring practice wrapped up and the last week of classes starting Monday, the next team workouts will occur in late May when the Huskies, return for summer workouts with the incoming signing class reporting several weeks later.
After finishing 2023 on a three-game winning streak, including a Camellia Bowl win over Arkansas State for NIU’s first bowl win since 2011, the Huskies open the 2024 schedule on Saturday, August 31 versus Western Illinois. The 2024 slate includes six home games, five on Saturday, along with road games at Notre Dame (Sept. 7) and N.C. State (Sept. 28).
Running back Garrett Gensler
Photo Credit Jeff Leon
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