NIU Football Preview 2014

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2014 | DAILY-CHRONICLE.COM

TOUCHDOWN 2014SPECIAL NIU FOOTBALL PREVIEW SECTION

Familiarity keys wayNIU’s defense has come a long way since Jay Niemann took over in 2011 / 4

I N S I D E

Top DawgsA look at key players on offense, defense and special teams this season / 6-7

Up nextDrew Hare, Anthony Maddie and Matt McIntosh battle for the starting QB job / 8

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2 2013 MAC STANDINGS

WEST DIVISION Con. Overall W L W LNorthern Illinois 8 0 12 2Ball State 7 1 10 3Toledo 5 3 7 5Central Michigan 5 3 6 6Eastern Michigan 1 7 2 10Western Michigan 1 7 1 11

EAST DIVISION Con. Overall W L W LBowling Green 7 1 10 4Buffalo 6 2 8 5Ohio 4 4 7 6Akron 4 4 5 7Kent State 3 5 4 8Massachusetts 1 7 1 11Miami (Ohio) 0 8 0 12

MAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAMEBowling Green 47, Northern Illinois 27

MAC IN THE BOWLFamous Idaho Potato Bowl –

Dec. 21, 2013San Diego State 49, Buffalo 23Beef O’Brady Bowl – Dec. 23, 2013

East Carolina 37, Ohio 20Poinsettia Bowl – Dec. 26, 2013

Utah State 21, Northern Illinois 14Little Caesars Bowl – Dec 26

Pittsburgh 30, Bowling Green 27GoDaddy.com Bowl – Jan. 5

Arkansas State 23, Ball State 20

2013 MAC AWARDSVern Smith Leadership Award

Jordan Lynch, QB, Northern IllinoisOffensive Player of the Year

Jordan Lynch, QB, Northern IllinoisDefensive Player of the Year

Khalil Mack, LB, BuffaloCoach of the Year

Rod Carey, Northern IllinoisSpecial Teams Player of the Year

Jeremiah Detmer, K, ToledoFreshman of the Year

Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan

ON THE COVER – Northern Illinois defensive end Jason Meehan, safety Dechane Durante and linebacker Boomer Mays anchor an over-looked defense hoping for a bounce back season. Story on page 4.

Photo by Danielle Guerra - [email protected]

A LOOK INTO NORTHERN ILLINOIS’ 2014 NONCONFERENCE SCHEDULEPresbyterian Blue Hose

WHEN: 6 p.m. ThursdayTV: ESPN3Coach: Harold Nichols

(6th season, 11-44)Last year: 3-8Location: Clinton, South

CarolinaLast meeting: First meeting between the

two schoolsKeep an eye on: Senior wideout Tobi An-

tigha, who hauled in 54 passes for 764 yards and six touchdowns a year ago.

Also: Senior tailback Demarcus Rouse led the Blue Hose with 542 yards on the ground in 2013. Junior linebacker Breyon Williams returns after posting a team-high 70 tackles last year.

2014 outlook: Presbyterian isn’t exactly an opponent whcih will make fans flock to Huskie Stadium.

The Football Championship Subdivision Blue Hose have won just five games the past two years combined.

It’s one of those games that should be over at halftime with Presbyterian leaving with a big paycheck.

AP file photo

Illinois quarterback Reilly O’Toole (4) is tackled by Northwestern linebacker Chi Chi Ariguzo (44) and linebacker Drew Smith (55) during the first half of Northwestern’s 50-14 victory over the Illini on Nov. 24, 2014. Northern Illinois will face the Wildcats on Sept. 6 in Evanston. This will be the first time the Huskies have played Northwestern in Evanston since suffering a 38-37 loss Sept. 10, 2005.

Northwestern WildcatsWHEN: 2:30 p.m. Sept. 6Coach: Pat Fitzgerald (Ninth season, 55-46)Last year: 5-7Location: Evanston, IllinoisLast meeting: Northwestern

38, NIU 37 on Sept. 10, 2005 in Evanston

Keep an eye on: Senior outside linebacker Chi Chi Ariguzo leads the defense, he had 106 tackles an four picks last season.

Also: Senior Trevor Siemian takes over for Kain Colter, but Siemian does have experience. Last year, he threw for 2,149 yards and 11 touchdowns. Senior running back Treyvon Green provides depth at that position. All five

starters return on the offensive line. North-western will be without senior tailback Venric Mark, who was suspended for the first two games of the season due to a violation of team rules.

2014 outlook: Two years ago, the Wildcats came away with their first-ever bowl win, and expectations were high heading into 2013. However, things fell apart as Northwestern finished 5-7, lost seven in a row at one point and missed a bowl game for the first time since 2007.

Expectations should be high again for Northwestern this season with the Wildcats looking to rebound from a disappointing 2013. Look for a lot of NIU support in Evanston when

UNLV RebelsWhen: 6 p.m. Sept. 13Coach: Bobby Hauck (Fifth year, 13-38)Last year: 7-6 (Lost to North Texas in the

Heart of Dallas Bowl)Location: Las Vegas,

NevadaLast meeting: NIU 62,

UNLV 14 on Oct. 7, 1995 in DeKalbKeep an eye on: Senior receiver

Devante Davis had 87 catches for 1,290 yards and 14 touchdowns last season.

Also: Senior wideout Marcus Sullivan had a big season, grabbing 45 catches for 505 yards and five touchdowns. On defense, the Rebels are led by safety Peni Vea, who finished with 108 tackles and two interceptions in 2013, as well as sophomore linebacker Tau Lotulelei.

2014 outlook: The Rebels made their first bowl game since 2000 last season, but they won’t be going to a bowl game this year. UNLV is ineligible for the postseason because of a poor academic progress rate. UNLV lost starting quarter-back Caleb Herring. Juniors Nick Sherry and Blake Decker spent camp battling for the starting job.

Arkansas RazorbacksCoach: Bret Bielema (Second year, 3-9)When: Time TBA,

Sept. 20Last year: 3-9Location: Fayette-

ville, ArkansasLast meeting: Arkansas 30, NIU 27 on

Nov. 12, 1994 in FayettevilleKeep an eye on: Sophomore running

back Alex Collins. Collins made headlines on signing day 2013, when his mother confiscated his letter of intent in hopes that he would stay in South Florida and play for Miami. Collins ended up in Fayetteville anyways, and ran for 1,026 yards and four touchdowns.

Also: Junior tailback Jonathan Williams ran for 900 yards and four scores last year. Quarterback Brandon Allen will look to improve after a sophomore season in which he completed just 49.6 percent of his passes. On defense, end Trey Flowers was a second-team All-SEC pick, while tackle Darius Philon was a member of the league’s All-Freshmen team.

2014 outlook: Arkansas didn’t win a conference game last year, and will have to compete in the SEC West with the likes of Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Texas A&M.

FUTURE NORTHERN ILLINOIS NONCONFERENCE OPPONENTS2015

Sept. 5 – vs. UNLVSept. 12 – vs. Murray StateSept. 19 – at Ohio StateSept. 26 – vs. Wyoming

2016Sept. 3 – at WyomingSept. 17 – San Diego State

2017Sept. 16 – at Nebraska

Sept. 30 – at San Diego State

2018Sept. 1 – at IowaSept. 8 – vs. UtahOct. 27 – at BYUTBA – vs. Idaho

2019Sept. 7 – at UtahSept. 14 – at Nebraska

2020 Sept. 5 – at IowaSept. 12 – at MarylandSept. 24 – vs. BYU

2021Sept. 4 – at NebraskaSept. 25 – vs. Maryland

2023Sept. 16 – at Nebraska

TOUCHDOWN 2014 | Daily Chronicle / Daily-Chronicle.com

• Wednesday, August 27, 2014

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4 NORTHERN ILLINOIS KEY PLAYERS RETURNING ON DEFENSE

DECHANE DURANTEClass: SeniorHometown: Charlotte, North CarolinaHigh School: VanceHeight/Weight:

6-2/193Position: SafetyHighlights: Third

time All-MAC se-lection in 2013. … Finished sixth on NIU in tackles (55), including 31 solo in 2013. … His three interceptions ranked second on the Huskies. … Was ranked as the MAC’s best NFL prospect. … Led NIU with 10 tackles Sept. 14 against Idaho. … Led the Huskies with three fumbles in 2012. … Was named to Rivals.com MAC All-Freshman Team in 2011. … His 36-yard interception for a touch-down sealed the Huskies’ GoDaddy.com Bowl win Jan. 8 against Arkansas State.

JAMAAL BASSClass: SeniorHometown: Miramar, FloridaHigh School: Mira-

marHeight/Weight:

5-10/214Position: LinebackerHighlights: Named

to the Lombardi Award Watch for this season. … First-team All-MAC selection in 2013. … Finished second on the Huskies with 87 tackles, six of which were for loss. … Also had 1.5 sacks. … Finished third on the team in tackles with 83 in 2012. … Named to Rivals.com MAC All-Freshman Team in 2011. … Ranked sixth with 62 tackles.

BOOMER MAYSClass: JuniorHometown: Lawrence, KansasHigh School: EudoraHeight/Weight:

6-0/243Position: LinebackerHighlights: Started

all 14 games at middle linebacker in 2013. … His 82 tackles last year ranked third on the Huskies. … Also had 5.5 tackles for a loss and two sacks. … Had a career-high 11 tackles and intercepted a pass in the end zone against Toledo last year. … Played in 13 games while starting four at middle linebacker in 2012, finishing with 31 tackles.

Danielle Guerra – [email protected]

Northern Illinois linebacker Boomer Mays (left) defends during an Aug. 18 practice in Huskie Stadium.

COMING A LONG WAYFamiliarity keys recent strong defensive play

By STEVE [email protected]

DeKALB – Northern Illinois drew plenty of attention because of Jordan Lynch and

the Huskies’ high-powered offense during their 24-4 run over the past few seasons.

Deservedly so. Lynch set numerous records during his two years as NIU’s starter and the Huskies’ attack lit up scoreboards, culminating in Lynch being named a Heisman Trophy final-ist last year.

But what about NIU’s defense? Two seasons ago when the Huskies earned their Orange Bowl berth, they finished 21st in the nation in points allowed at 19.9 a game, second in the Mid-American Conference.

Last season, NIU’s defense wasn’t as solid, finishing 52nd in the coun-try in scoring defense (25.1 points a game), as the MAC Championship loss to Bowling Green in which NIU gave up 47 points definitely didn’t help.

Three players who started the Or-ange Bowl – safety Jimmie Ward (San Francisco 49ers), defensive tackle Ken Bishop (Cowboys) and cornerback Rashaan Melvin (Tampa Bay Bucca-neers) were on NFL rosters as of Aug. 15. Ward was selected by San Fran-cisco with the 30th overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft, becoming the second first-round pick in school history after the San Diego Chargers selected Larry English in 2008.

The defense has come a long way since 2011, when NIU gave up 30.3 points a game (a total which ranked 85th in the country) in defensive co-ordinator Jay Niemann’s first season running the defense.

Niemann is entering his fourth season, and there’s a familiarity with his system.

“Our teaching progression, that’s why we have the ability to plug new guys in like we did last year, like we’re doing this year, and not have much of a learning curve because the system is set, because Jay’s leading

it, along with Kevin (Kane) and Brett (Diersen) and Sigs (Kelvin Sigler),” said NIU coach Rod Carey, men-tioning the other assistants on the defensive staff. “This is their Year 2 (for Diersen and Sigler) but Kevin and Jay have been together for four years. That’s a huge deal.”

Niemann said he’s tweaked dif-ferent things, but his philosophy and plan is still the same.

“I think it’s a product of all those things along with good recruiting, and just everybody moving forward with the same golden aspirations,” he said.

Niemann said one reason for the Huskies’ early defensive struggles in 2011 – NIU improved at the end of the year, giving up just more than 17 points a game the final three contests of the season – was his players getting used to what he calls a pretty intricate system with checks based on forma-tions that took awhile to get down.

See DEFENSE, page 5

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5Durante named MAC’s best NFL prospect by Sporting News

“I think that had a lot to do with our early struggles in our first year. We got better and better as we went along,” Niemann said. “It’s painful sometimes to go through, it’s just a process that takes time. Hopefully we’re on top of it now, I think if we look at here we are today after 12 or 13 practices compared to last year, even with a really young secondary that’s very involved in those adjust-ments, I think we’re on pace to be where we want to be.”

Gone from last year’s team are Ward, who had the rare corner and safety skills, and Bishop, a key com-ponent of the defensive line. Not to mention pass rusher Joe Windsor.

This season, players like defensive ends Perez Ford and Jason Meehan will be counted on in the defensive line, while linebackers Jamaal Bass and Boomer Mays are the veterans. The Sporting News ranked safety Dechane Durante as the league’s best NFL prospect.

“For the most part, we have lots of guys that have been in the system for

awhile now,” Bass said. “We really know the system front and back, so just that gel that we have with each other. We know how each other play

so that plays a lot on us.”Niemann’s philosophy is to rush

four players, avoid blitzing and cover with seven. Some years, he’s going

to have to blitz more than he wants to depending on personnel, and said the Huskies have been fortunate to be able to rush four for the most part.

This year, NIU will count on play-ers like Ford, Meehan, Austin Smaha at end and Donovan Gordon, Corey Thomas and Michael Ippolito at de-fensive tackle to take pressure off of a secondary which could see some true freshmen get time.

“Good defensive backs that can cover people, I think that’s a key to our defense,” Durante said. “Coach Niemann, he wants to get up in guys’ faces, not let them throw the ball around. I think just a good secondary and players who want to get to the ball, make tackles, that’s all it really is.”

Ward was obviously a huge part of last year’s team, but he’s compet-ing on Sundays this year. However, there’s plenty of players who will have the chance to step into a famil-iar scheme and make an impact.

“I think as the years went on, us just playing, things got easier for us,” Durante said. “We just want to get more aggressive and get better, and better. And that’s what we did, com-ing in game after game each week.”

• DEFENSEContinued from page 4


NIU coach Rod Carey talks to the defense at the end of an Aug. 18 practice in Huskie Stadium in DeKalb.

“For the most part, we have lots of guys that have been in the system for awhile now. We really know the system front and back, so just that gel that we have with each other. We know how each other play so that plays a lot on us.”

Jamaal Baas, Northern Illinois senior linebacker on the defense’s play since 2011

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Wedel took over as the Huskies’ punter last year, and will add field-

goal kicking duties this year. He had a net average of 40.4

yards per punt a year ago, and went 3 of 5 when filling in for Matthew Sims on field goals.

He’s been the Huskies kickoff specialist the past three years, and averaged 59.8 yards on

kickoffs last season.Expect punt and kickoff

returns to fall to a combination of Paris Logan, Tommylee Lewis, Aregeros Turner and Chad Beebe.



7

Stingily, a converted linebacker, was

a nice surprise for the Huskies in 2013, running for more than 1,000 yards. However, he’ll miss at least the first four games of the season due to injury. Luckily, NIU will have the help of Daniels. He came on strong

at the end of 2012 but missed last year due to a foot injury.

NIU has a lot of depth with players like sophomores Joel Boua-gnon and Draco Smith, who both played as true freshmen, as well as junior Keith Harris Jr. and redshirt freshman

Jordan Huff.

vs. Presbyterian

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at UNLV

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at Arkansas

Time TBA Sept 20

vs. Kent State

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vs. Central Michigan

4 p.m. Oct. 11

vs. Miami (Ohio)

Time TBA, Oct. 18

at Eastern Michigan

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at Ball State

7 p.m. Nov. 5 ESPN2/ESPNU

vs. Toledo

7 p.m. Nov. 11 ESPN2/ESPNU

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Time TBA Nov. 28 ESPNU/ESPN3

A LOOK AT THE 2014 SEASON

NIU ROSTER

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr.1 Dechane Durante S 6-2 193 SR* 1 Anthony Maddie QB 6-1 201 SO*2 Marlon Moore S 5-9 192 JR 3 Akeem Daniels TB 5-7 189 SR*4 Da’Ron Brown WR 6-0 196 SR*5 Mayomi Olootu CB 5-9 173 FR 6 Jamaal Bass LB 5-10 214 SR* 7 M. Santacaterina LB 5-10 205 SR*8 Ladell Fleming LB 6-0 224 SO*9 Rasheen Lemon LB 6-0 206 JR*9 Matt McIntosh QB 6-1 213 JR*10 Tommylee Lewis WR 5-7 159 SR11 Juwan Brescacin WR 6-4 224 JR*12 Drew Hare QB 6-1 215 SO*13 Jackson Abresch S 6-1 209 FR* 13 Landon Root QB 6-2 202 FR 14 Ezra Saffold WR 5-7 164 FR 15 Christian Blake WR 6-1 170 FR16 Renard Cheren LB 6-1 195 FR17 Ryan Graham QB 6-1 198 FR18 Peter Deppe P 6-1 194 FR*18 Bobby Jones IV LB 6-0 218 FR*19 Kenny Golladay WR 6-4 200 JR19 Shawun Lurry CB 5-8 172 FR20 Mycial Allen S 5-11 193 SO20 Keith Harris Jr. TB 5-8 193 JR21 Deion Hallmon CB 5-10 162 FR21 Skyler Monaghan WR 5-9 162 FR22 Darion Henderson LB 5-11 175 FR22 Aregeros Turner WR 5-11 172 SO23 Jordan Huff TB 5-11 217 FR*23 Devan Ingram S 6-0 189 FR24 Brandon Mayes S 5-11 187 FR*25 Josh Orne K 6-0 220 SO26 Tyler Wedel P/K 5-11 192 SR27 Jawuan Johnson S 5-11 203 FR28 Joel Bouagnon TB 6-2 222 SO28 Will Daniels S 5-11 207 FR29 Paris Logan CB 5-9 184 JR*30 Tifonte Hunt CB 5-9 164 FR31 Anthony Brooks CB 5-11 189 SO*32 Jimmy Russell CB 5-10 194 FR*32 Andrew Stark K 5-10 168 FR33 Jamaal Payton LB 6-0 229 SO34 Christian Hagan K 6-0 171 FR35 Khalil Rogers LB 6-0 239 FR35 Shane Wimann TE/FB 6-4 248 FR*36 Draco Smith TB 5-9 191 SO37 Desroy Maxwell TE 6-2 257 JR38 Alex Morrow TB 5-8 203 SO*40 Sean Folliard LB 6-2 227 SO40 Ryan Stendler TE 6-4 263 FR*42 Alex Schwab LB 6-1 206 SO42 Cameron Stingily TB 6-1 235 SR*43 Albert Smalls CB 6-1 206 FR

Roster continued on Page 7

NIU ROSTER

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr.44 Perez Ford DE 6-0 228 JR 45 Boomer Mays LB 6-0 243 JR*46 Aaron Fischer FB 5-10 227 FR 46 Terrell Harris LB 5-11 237 SO*47 Rob Sterling FB 5-10 245 SR 48 Ricky Connors FB 6-1 250 SR*48 David O’Gorman DE 5-11 229 FR 49 Jason Meehan DE 6-1 252 SR 50 Austin Smaha DE 6-1 227 SO 51 Brian Canoy OL 6-5 275 FR*52 Cody Sullivan LB 6-0 224 FR*53 M. Baltimore DE 6-3 257 SO*54 C. Clinton-Earl DE 6-1 245 JR*55 Ty Harmston DE 6-4 231 FR55 Andrew Ness OL 6-3 298 JR*56 Ben Compton DE 6-4 273 JR57 Scott Taylor OL 6-2 295 SO*58 Jareem Fleming DE 5-11 202 FR59 Michael Gegner OL 6-3 287 SR*61 Aidan Conlon OL 6-3 297 JR*62 Mike Smith OL 6-4 310 FR64 Luke Shively OL 6-2 273 FR65 Wes Ott OL 6-3 306 SR*66 Bobby Ramlet LS 6-3 231 SO*67 Tyler Pitt OL 6-5 314 SR*68 Ron Brown OL 6-3 333 SO*69 Corey Thomas DT 6-2 302 SO*70 Josh Ruka OL 6-5 311 SO*71 Levon Myers OL 6-5 311 SO*73 Max Scharping OL 6-6 287 FR74 Lincoln Howard OL 6-5 291 SO*75 Tyler Loos OL 6-5 302 SR*76 Nick Calhoun OL 6-5 303 FR*77 Shane Evans OL 6-4 294 FR78 Ryan Brown OL 6-6 297 SR*80 David Senior WR 5-11 149 FR81 Clayton Glasper WR 6-4 218 SO*82 Chad Beebe WR 5-9 171 SO83 Luke Eakes TE 6-3 253 SR*84 Brian Mayer LS 6-2 209 SR*85 Malik Mitchell WR 6-4 182 FR*86 Jacob Brinlee WR 5-9 185 JR87 Denzel Tolliver TE 6-2 241 FR88 Tim Semisch TE 6-8 267 SR*89 Dale Brown OL 6-3 265 FR90 William Lee DT 6-2 301 FR*91 Russell Chambers DE 6-3 251 FR92 Mario Jones DT 6-0 270 SO*93 Rajshawn Mosley DE 6-2 235 FR94 Donovan Gordon DT 6-0 293 SR*95 Ruben Dunbar DE 6-3 254 FR96 Michael Ippolito DT 6-3 275 SO*97 Herlandez Corley DE 6-2 256 FR98 Cal Breedlove DT 6-1 276 FR*99 Siosifa Malolo DT 6-3 255 SO

* – Denotes redshirt

NORTHERN ILLINOIS’ TOP DAWGS

Akeem DanielsSenior • 5-7 • 189

ANDCameron Stingily

Senior • 6-1 • 235

Running BacksLewis is a speedy weapon who could be in for a very big year provided he stays

healthy. The senior finished with 715 yards and three touchdowns on 86 receptions (8.3 yards a catch) last season after gaining 539 yards and five touchdowns on 48 catches in his sophomore campaign at Northern Illinois. He also had 356 yards and a touchdown on 30 rushing attempts in 2013. Lewis is also a threat on kickoff returns after scoring a touchdown in each of his past two seasons while taking two back in 2011.

Also returning are players like senior Da’Ron Brown and junior Juwan Brescacin.

Sophomore Aregeros Turner was a highly-touted prospect who played as a true freshman, while NIU wide receivers coach Thad Ward said fellow sopho-more Chad Beebe had the best spring of any of his receivers. Redshirt freshman Malik Mitch-ell could contribute as well.

Tommylee LewisSenior • 5-7 • 159

ReceiveRs

Dechane DuranteSenior • 6-2 • 193

Defensive Backs

analysis:By STEVE NITZ

[email protected]

Photos:Danielle Guerra

[email protected]

and Monica [email protected]

Jamaal BassSenior • 5-10 • 214

lineBackeRs

Jason MeehanSenior • 6-1• 252

Defensive line

Ryan BrownSenior • 6-6 • 297

offensive line

Tyler WedelSenior • 5-11 • 192

sPecial teams

Durante, a four-year starter, will be heav-ily counted on in the

defensive backfield after a 2013 campaign that saw him finish sixth on the team in tackles (55) and second in intercep-tions with two. He also lead Northern Illinois in fumbles in 2012 with three.

Durante enters the season ranked as the MAC’s best NFL prospect according to The Sporting News.

Marlon Moore moves over from corner and will start oppo-site Durante, while Paris Logan is a veteran at corner.

Depth-wise, there is some youth in the secondary, and you could see some true freshmen get time here, especially after losing cornerback Jimmie Ward, who was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round in April.

Losing players like defensive ends Joe Windsor and George Rainey and defensive tackles Ken Bishop and Anthony Wells will be tough, but there’s plenty

of talent in the Huskies’ front four.Junior defensive end Perez Ford finished with four

sacks and eight tackles for loss a season ago. Senior end Jason Meehan led the Huskies with 6.5 sacks. Senior Donovan Gordon played in six games at defensive tackle, while sophomore Mario Jones appeared in 13 games.

The question is who provides depth. Expect to see names like Cameron Clinton-Earl and Austin Smaha at defensive end, and Michael Ippolito, William Lee and Corey Thomas at tackle. True freshman Ruben Dunbar could see some time at defensive end.

One of the veterans of the defense is Bass at outside linebacker.

The senior will be a four-year starter this season. Bass was second on the Huskies last season with 87 tackles, and earned first-team all-conference honors.

Baas was also named to the Lombardi Award Watch list for this season.

Junior Boomer Mays is the return-ing starter in the middle, while Jamaal Payton will man the other outside spot.

Payton played as a true freshman last season, starting two games and making 42 tackles.

Experience is heavy on the offensive line. Four starters return from last season, and projected starting right guard Tyler

Pitt has experience. Left tackle Tyler Loos returns after missing the final four games of 2013 after suffering a broken left fibula, dislocated left ankle and torn deltoid liga-ment against UMass. Loos was still named first-team All-Mid-American Conference.

Whoever starts at quarterback will benefit greatly from the experience NIU has up front that helped pave the way for 4,161 yards and 39 rushing touchdowns on 655 carries in 2013.

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8

BREAKING DOWN THE NORTHERN ILLINOIS QUARTERBACKS

Anthony Maddie

Class: SophomoreHometown: PlainfieldHigh School: Aurora ChristianLast College: Western MichiganHeight/Weight: 6-1 / 201Highlights: Did not play in 2013

because of NCAA transfer rules. ... Named Offensive Scout Player of the Week for the Akron (Oct. 12) game and the Ball State ( Nov. 13) game. ... Redshirted as a true freshman at Western Michigan. ... Earned all-state honors at Aurora Christian in 2011. ... Passed for 3,799 yards and 52 touchdowns in 2011, while rushing for 1,117 yards and 18 scores on the ground. Earned conference and state title game MVP honors. ... Responsible for 33 touchdowns as a junior. ... Guided Aurora Christian to state title in 2009.

Matt McIntosh

Class: JuniorHometown: Evansville, IndianaHigh School: ReitzHeight/Weight: 6-1 / 213Highlights: Backup quarterback saw

action in five games in 2013. ... Completed both of his passing attempts for touchdowns in 2013. ... Rushed for 44 yards on six carries. ... Threw a 36-yard touchdown pass versus Eastern Michigan (Oct. 26). ... Threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tim Semisch at Purdue (Sept. 28). ... Appeared in seven games as Jor-dan Lynch’s back-up in 2012, completing seven of his 13 pass attempts for 57 yards and a score. ... Finished fifth on the team in rushing yards (92 yards) on 25 attempts. ... Had a season-long pass of 34 yards against UMass (Nov. 3, 2012).

Drew Hare

Class: SophomoreHometown: O’Fallon, MissouriHigh School: Fort Zumwalt WestHeight/Weight: 6-1/215Highlights: Appeared in three games

as the Huskies’ third-string quarterback in 2013. ... Finished completing five of his nine attempts for 153 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 68 yards and a touchdown on five attempts. ... Threw his first touchdown Oct. 26 to Ricky Connors for 11 yards against Eastern Michigan, and went 3 for 5 for 55 yards. ... Played his first career college game against Purdue on Sept. 28. ... Went 2 for 4 for 98 yards Nov. 2 against Massachusetts. ... Threw the team’s longest touch-down pass of the season with an 81-yard strike to Chad Beebe at UMass. ... Redshirted in 2012.

WHO IS NEXT IN LINE?Hare, Maddie, McIntosh vying for quarterback job

By STEVE [email protected]

DeKALB – Anthony Maddie wanted to be a part of Northern Illinois’ high-powered, fast-

paced spread attack.During the 2012 season, Maddie

didn’t feel home at Western Michi-gan. When Broncos coach Bill Cubit was fired, and his spread offense replaced by P.J. Fleck’s pro-style attack, his decision to leave Kalama-zoo to find a new program was made easier.

Maddie, who spent fall camp com-peting for the starting quarterback spot along with Drew Hare and Matt McIntosh, wanted to come to NIU out of high school, but never received an offer. He finally got his chance to be a Huskie when he transferred before the 2013 season.

NIU was close to his home in Plainfield, and he wanted the chance to play in NIU’s spread attack, which has been extremely successful over the past few years under Chandler Harnish and Jordan Lynch.

“The success that they had, I felt it was exciting for me because they were running the type of offense I felt like I fit best into,” Maddie said. “That’s what really excited me about [coming to NIU].”

McIntosh ran a triple option sys-tem at Reitz High in Evansville, Indi-ana. He wanted to be able to run the ball, so for him, going to a high-tempo spread made sense. Hare was part

of a spread offense in Missouri, so this seemed like a good transition for someone who ran for over 1,000 yards in his high school career.

“I felt like I could run with any-body,” Hare said. “When thy offered

me I felt like it was a good fit, Jordan and Chandler both ran the ball a lot.”

It wasn’t long ago when NIU was known for its running backs, produc-ing a string of successful backs like Michael Turner, Garrett Wolfe and

Chad Spann.But over the past few years, the

main reason for NIU’s success has been all about the quarterback position.

Monica Maschak – [email protected]

Northern Illinois quarterback Anthony Maddie passes the ball during an Aug. 2 practice at Huskie Stadium.

See QUARTERBACKS, page 9

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9TOP 10 NIU CAREER PASSING LEADERS

1. Chandler Harnish (2008-11) ..... 8,9442. George Bork (1960-63) ............. 6,7823. Chris Finlen (1997, 99-2001) .... 6,5114. Jordan Lynch (2009-13) ............ 6,2095. Josh Haldi (2001-04) ................. 6,0156. Phil Horvath (2004-06) ............ 4,8877. Marshall Taylor (1985-88) ........ 4,1678. Bob Heimerdinger (1948-51) ... 4,0769. Dan Nicholson (2005-08) ........ 3,55910. Pete Kraker (1976-78) ............. 3,290

TOP 10 NIU SINGLE SEASON LEADERS

1. Chandler Harnish (2011) ............ 3,2162. Jordan Lynch (2012) .................. 3,1383. George Bork (1963).................... 3,0774. Jordan Lynch (2013) .................. 2,8925. Josh Haldi (2003) ....................... 2,5446. Chandler Harnish (2010) .......... 2,5307. George Bork (1962) ................... 2,5068. Ron Christian (1962) ................. 2,1019. Chris Finlen (2001) .................... 2,03610. Josh Haldi (2002) ..................... 2,027

SEASON-BY-SEASON PASSING LEADERS

2013 – Jordan Lynch ...................... 2,8922012 – Jordan Lynch ...................... 3,1382011 – Chandler Harnish ............... 3,2162010 – Chandler Harnish .............. 2,5302009 – Chandler Harnish.............. 1,6702008 – Chandler Harnish ............. 1,5282007 – Dan Nicholson ................... 1,6332006 – Phil Horvath ...................... 1,9322005 – Phil Horvath ...................... 2,0012004 – Josh Haldi .......................... 1,384

Chandler Harnish won the Vern Smith Award as Mid-Amer-ican Conference MVP in 2011, and Lynch put up record-setting numbers in 2012 and 2013, finish-ing third in the Heisman Trophy balloting last season and winning MAC MVP each year.

It will be hard, maybe nearly impossible, for any of the three quarterbacks to replicate what Lynch did. But one thing is for certain, each of the three fits the system well. All are athletic play-ers who can throw, as well as tuck the ball in and get some yards on the ground.

McIntosh has played under four different coordinators – Matt Canada in 2011, Mike Dunbar and Rod Carey in 2012 and current offensive coordinator Bob Cole, who has ran the offense the past two seasons.

McIntosh said there hasn’t been much change with the different coordinators, and the system has been one of the reasons for the Huskies’ recent offensive success.

“We’ve just tried to keep the same offense, the same base. I think that’s why we’ve been so successful here, we’re bringing the same guys in here, doing the same offense, doing the same thing, so I think that’s really important to us,” McIntosh said. “Because as a team, as an offense, we really love the system. We really love the tem-po, and that’s why we came here. It’s a great fit for us.”

• QUARTERBACKSContinued from page 8

NIU QBs won MAC MVP in ’11, ’12, ’13

Monica Maschak – [email protected]

Quarterback Drew Hare passes the ball during an Aug. 2 practice at Huskie Stadium. Hare, along with Anthony Maddie and Matt McIntosh, looks to replace Jordan Lynch as the Hus-kies’ starting quarterback.

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10 BREAKING DOWN THE BOWLSFive options for Northern Illinois, Mid-American Conference

[email protected] STEVE NITZ

The 2014 season brings about a new era in college football. Gone is the BCS, and in comes the widely-celebrated College Football Playoff.

There will be no more debate about the No. 2 team in the nation, as that debate now belongs to who’s the fourth-best team, as the top four teams will make up the four-team playoff and face off in the Rose and Sugar Bowls and meet in Ar-lington, Texas for the national championship.

Six bowls make up the CFP – the two semifinal sites (which will rotate each year), the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona and Orange Bowl in South Florida.

If NIU plays well and things break their way, the Huskies, who earned an Orange Bowl berth two years ago, will be playing in one of these games.

The top-ranked team, as chosen by a selection committee, from the “Group of Five” mid-major confer-ences will earn a berth in either the

Cotton, Peach or Fiesta Bowl.If not, it’s likely NIU will be

headed to its seventh straight bowl appearance. Here are the options for NIU and the MAC, a league which now has five bowl agreements.

Gone is the possibility of travel-ing to Detroit in late December, and

entering are the chances of going to Boca Raton, Montgomery, Alabama or the Bahamas.

In terms of matchups, the GoDad-dy Bowl gets the first pick among MAC schools, and doesn’t have to select the conference champion.

The league will work with the

other bowl games when it comes to selections, taking things like match-ups into consideration.

The conference doesn’t want teams in the same bowl game every year.

Here is a breakdown of the five games (all start times CST):

Date: Saturday, Dec. 20, 4:45 p.m. (ESPN)

Location: Albertsons Stadium, Boise, Idaho

Matchup: MAC vs. Mountain West

The skinny: One of the few non-warm weather bowl games, the contest kicks off on the first day of bowl season. NIU competed in the 2010 version, defeating Fresno State with Chandler Harnish named the Huskies’ MVP. Tom Matukewicz was named interim coach after Jerry Kill’s departure to Minne-sota and led the team that day.

San Diego State defeated Buffalo in last year’s game.

RECENT BOWL HISTORYDec. 21, 2013: San Diego St.

49, Buffalo 24Dec. 15, 2012: Utah St. 41,

Toledo 15Dec. 17, 2011: Ohio 24, Utah

St. 23Dec. 18, 2010: Northern

Illinois 40, Fresno St. 17Dec. 30, 2009: Idaho 43,

Bowling Green 42

FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL CAMELLIA BOWL

Date: Saturday, Dec. 20, 8:15 p.m. (ESPN)

Location: Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, Alabama

Matchup: MAC vs. Sun BeltThe skinny: From 1939-2001,

the Cramton Bowl hosted the Blue-Gray All-Star Classic, which was usually held Christmas Day. This year, postseason college football returns to the 25,000-seat Stadium.

Montgomery may not be the ideal bowl site, but the average high in December is 60 degrees, and Montgomery has an airport fans can reach from Chicago via connection.

RECENT BOWL HISTORYFirst year of existence

BOCA RATON BOWL

Date: Tuesday, Dec. 23, 5 p.m. (ESPN)

Location: FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, Florida

Matchup: MAC vs. Sun BeltThe skinny: South Florida now

has three bowl games, with the new Boca Raton and Miami Beach bowls in addition to the Orange Bowl. This is a good thing, as the average high for December in Boca Raton is 78 degrees, and Fort Lauderdale is 30 minutes south while Miami is 50 minutes away.


BAHAMAS BOWL

Date: Wednesday, Dec. 24, 11 a.m. (ESPN)

Location: Thomas A. Robin-son National Stadium, Nassau, Bahamas

Matchup: MAC vs. Conference USA

The skinny: A bowl game returns to the carribean for the first time since 1937, when the Bacardi Bowl was played in Ha-vana, Cuba. The MAC has some interesting matchup possibilities with Conference USA as well.

It will be the first time a bowl game has been held outside the United States since the Interna-tional Bowl, which took place in Toronto from 2007 through 2010.

Fans who make the (expen-sive) trip to the game will have the chance to take in the resorts, hotels and nightlife of the Bahamas.


GODADY BOWL

Date: Sunday, Jan. 4, 8 p.m. (ESPN)

Location: Ladd Peebles Stadi-um, Mobile, Alabama

Matchup: MAC vs. Sun BeltThe skinny: This is the last

postseason game before the National Championship Game, which just doesn’t seem to make sense. NIU was here in January 2012, when the Huskies defeated Arkansas State in a game that also was the last bowl victory for NIU after losses the past two seasons.

Mobile has an average high of 61 degrees in January and is serviced by a regional airport.

RECENT BOWL HISTORYJan. 5, 2014: Arkansas St. 23,

Ball St. 20Jan. 6, 2013: Arkansas St. 17,

Kent St. 13Jan. 8, 2012: Northern Illinois

38, Arkansas St. 20Jan. 6, 2011: Miami (Ohio) 35,

Middle Tennessee 21Jan. 6, 2010: Central Michigan

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11New era to start for NIU, college football

This season brings forth a new era in college football.

The BCS (which, seriously, wasn’t so bad) is history, and in its place comes the College Football Playoff, something fans have been clamoring for seemingly forever.

The 2014 season also brings about a new era in Northern Illinois football. The past two seasons brought together the best two-year stretch in school his-tory. A BCS bowl berth, Mid-American Conference championship, three victo-ries over BCS schools, a 12-0 start which put the Huskies on the cusp of a second consecutive BCS game, not to mention a Heisman Trophy finalist.

However, the Jordan Lynch era, as good as it was, is behind us. The odds are we’ll never see a player like him in DeKalb again. Lynch bailed the Huskies out of tough situations so often over the past two years at NIU’s starter. Seeing him bounce off tacklers and put togeth-er highlight-reel plays in last year’s game against Ball State are two situa-tions which come to mind.

Regardless of the fact that Lynch is no longer in DeKalb, there’s plenty of optimism for the future of both NIU and college football in general.

Let’s start with the new playoff system, which is great. Sure, the BCS had its detractors and rightfully so. At the same time, look at how things were before. The BCS finally pitted No. 1 against No. 2 on a consistent basis, and

for the most part got things right. It also paved the way for mid-major programs like NIU to make it into major bowl games.

Yet things will be better under the College Football Playoff. Teams 1 through 4 deserve to have things settled on the field, first of all. It will also bring back the significance of New Year’s Day, which is when the two semifinal games will be played at the Rose and Sugar Bowls, respectively.

In terms of the Huskies, thing still look bright without Lynch. One positive aspect of the College Football Playoff is the top-ranked conference champion from the “Group of Five” getting a ma-jor bowl berth.

With the momentum from the past

few seasons (with all that’s happened since, the 2011 MAC title seems like a decade ago), the Chessick Practice Cen-ter (which was completed last season), the good recruiting classes, not to men-tion the schedule NIU athletic director Sean Frazier has put together, things are looking good at Huskie Stadium.

Maybe it doesn’t happen this sea-son, but I don’t see any reason why the Huskies can’t be in contention for that Group of Five bid in the future.

The next few years should be a good time, whether your an NIU fan or col-lege football fan in general.

• Steve Nitz is a sports reporter for the Daily Chronicle and can be reached at [email protected].

Steve Nitz

VIEWS


NIU coach Rod Carey signals a second down during an Aug. 18 practice at Huskie Stadium.

2014 MAC PREDICTIONS

The Mid-American Conference poll was announced July 23 at the league’s annual Football Media Day at Ford Field in Detroit and was determined by members of the league’s media members.

MAC East DivisionTeam (1st-Place Votes) Points1. Bowling Green (18) 1442. Akron (3) 1143. Ohio 1074. Buffalo 875. Kent State 726. Miami 437. UMass 23

MAC West DivisionTeam (1st-Place Votes) Points1. Toledo (11) 1142. Northern Illinois (8) 1103. Ball State 824. Central Michigan (2) 675. Western Michigan 446. Eastern Michigan 24

2014 Marathon MAC Cham-pionship Game Winner: Bowl-ing Green 11; Toledo 6; Central Michigan 2; Northern Illinois 1; Akron 1.

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CASTLECASTLE

SHOWYOUR SCHOOLSPIRIT

Tickets available at DeKalb & Sycamore High Schools & Middle Schools, Castle Bank, DeKalb and Sycamore Chambers, Kishwaukee Family YMCA,and by student athletes throughout both communities. Includes admission to football game, tailgate party activities and Hy-Vee pork chop meal.

Support DeKalb and Sycamore Booster Clubs

TICKETSAdults..............$12.00Students...........$6.00

DATEFriday, September 19NIU Huskie Stadium

Tailgate, Hy-Vee Pork Chop Meal& music by Back Country Roads...5-7 pm

Sophomore Game...4:45 pm

Varsity Game...........7:30 pm

D e Ka l bB A R B SD e Ka l bB A R B S vs. SycamoreSPARTANS

SycamoreSPARTANS

ORANGEOUT/GOLDOUTNIGHT

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