DEKALB – Football is officially underway on Northern Illinois University’s campus.
NIU held its first spring practice Tuesday morning at Chesik Practice Center. Head coach Thomas Hammock felt his team performed efficiently in the first practice of the spring session.
“For the first time on the practice field, I thought the players were moving around a lot,” Hammock said. “I was happy with the tempo, the pace and the performance of the players. In the first few days there weren't many people sitting on the ground and just watching, which is what you're looking for.
The battle for QB1 begins
The question of who will be under center when the offense takes the field against Western Illinois on Aug. 31 has been on Huskies fans' minds since the end of last season.
Hammock gave no indication during Monday's press conference before the first practice. Hammock said the position is wide open among the six quarterbacks on the roster and there is “no need to rush into making a decision.”
No further tips were available Tuesday. The Huskies played first-team offense and defense that day with redshirt junior Ethan Hampton. Hampton is coming off a season in which he appeared in four games and threw for 147 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
He was followed by Jaylen Macon, a transfer from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, redshirt freshman Josh Horst and JUCO transfer Kenny Ruth, who each got reps under center on scrimmage plays. Redshirt sophomore Nevan Cremascoli was also given the first round, but didn't make it to the final scrimmage of practice.
Hampton, who filled in for then-starter Rocky Lombardi during an injury last season and is the most experienced of the returning players, said he welcomes the competition.
“That's what I live for and that's what it takes to play football at this level,” Hampton said. “You have to be a competitor, and there's no getting around that. So I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do as the spring unfolds.”
New faces (and numbers) on the wide receiver side
Regardless of who takes over the quarterback room by the time the season begins, one thing was clear from the first practice. That means they have a lot of new weapons at the receiver position.
Leading the way during practice at the position was Trayvon Rudolph, who led the Huskies' receiving department last season with 51 catches, 531 yards and two touchdowns.
But next to him in line to start practice were Kenji Lewis, a transfer from Pine Bluffs, and redshirt freshman Kyle Thomas. Kyle Thomas wore No. 24 last season and wore No. 10 in practice.
In his first season at NIU, Thomas played in just three games and had three catches for 62 yards. He also had a rushing attempt for 3 yards. Hammock said Thomas is coming off a great offseason and is a player who could make an impact in 2024.
However, after the first run through, Lewis took off his helmet and was only on the field to help or catch field balls during quarterback drills. Instead, Keyshawn Pipken took snaps against the first-team corners.
The receivers had nearly all of their players see the field during scrimmages, with the only exception being redshirt freshman Christopher Gore, who was not in pads for Tuesday's practice.
fill out linebacker depth
After losing three of its top four linebackers last season, NIU hit the transfer portal to find answers. There they found Christian Furman, a transfer from Southeast Missouri State, and Hammock lined him up right next to first-team senior Jayden Dolphin.
“We hired (Furman) with the intention of being an immediate starter,” Hammock said, “so we're looking forward to watching the tape and seeing how he does.”
In the second rotation, the Huskies started Batavia native Quinn Erweiler and redshirt sophomore Jake Gassaway at linebacker. Isaac Hatfield, Joey Lattin and Mark Plett each took their rotational positions throughout the day.
Who is running away?
One of the big questions heading into spring practice was how much we would see of star running back Antario Brown.
If anything showed up in the first practice, it was clear he was going to play, but he wasn't going to run much.
The senior, who totaled 1,348 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, spent most of his scrimmages with non-quarterback lineups and only fired off a few runs.
Instead, most of the points were taken by backup running backs. Gavin Williams, the No. 2 running back last season, was responsible for most of the running plays throughout the rotation. Justin Lynch, who transferred from Temple before the 2023 season, and redshirt freshman Jalen Poe also received significant carries through practice.
