SB Nation - Mike Salerno

Postseason Huskie Hardware Roundup

Mike Breese — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:43:47 -0000

We on award tour with Chad Spann my man

Goin each and every place with a ball in his hand

Off-tackle, left, right, to the endzone

We on award tour with JO and Eddie A

Driving and pushing the big uglies to the ground

Run-block, cut-block, pass-block, pancake

We on award tour with Corporal Coffman

Switch him to D-Tackle, he's still the best

Swim move, bull rush, tipped pass, sack lunch

All-MAC Teams (As voted on by the Coaches)

Phil Steele's 2009 Postseason All-MAC Team

Team Awards (Voted on by the players)

Offense

C Eddie Adamski - 1st Team (Coaches, PS), Co-Top OL

LG Jason Onyebuagu - 1st Team (Coaches, PS), Most Inspirational Player, Co-Top OL

RB Chad Spann - 1st Team (Coaches), 2nd Team (PS), Offensive MVP, Overall MVP, Top RB

RB Me'co Brown - 3rd Team (Coaches, PS)

LT Trevor Olson - 3rd Team (PS)

WR Landon Cox - 4th Team (PS), Top WR, Frank Cahill (WR) Award

Defense

DE Jake Coffman - 2nd Team (Coaches), 1st Team (PS), Defensive MVP, Co-Top DL, Jawan Jackson (Walk-on) Award

DE Brandon Bice - 2nd Team (Coaches), 4th Team (PS)

DT D.J. Pirkle - Co-Top DL

DE Sean Progar - 2nd Team Freshman All-American (PS), Freshman of the Year

SS Tracy Wilson - 3rd Team (PS), Top DB

LB Cory Hanson - 4th Team (PS), Top LB

Special Teams

K Mike Salerno - 2nd Team (Coaches), 3rd Team (PS), Special Teams POY

PR Tommy Davis - 3rd Team (Coaches), 4th Team (PS)

A 31-45 loss to the deserving West Champs leaves the Huskies wanting more

Mike Breese — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:46:52 -0000

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

Dan LeFevour. Enough said.

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I'd just like to say that I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving weekend. It was pretty exhausting for myself, but it was a great time and got to see some relatives on the west coast I had not seen in a while. Although I did miss the game on Friday as I was busy traveling, I watched the replay on ESPN360.com. I had seen some negative comments on the message board, but overall I thought it was a hard-fought game against the best team in the conference on a short week on the road.

Hats off to QB Dan LeFevour, RB Bryan Schroeder and the rest of the Chippewas. The best QB in the MAC was absolutely unstoppable and is reaching the apex of his season. He could do nothing wrong passing for 255 yds and 3 TDs. The Chips ran right at the Huskies, as Schroeder powered through for 128 yds and 2 TDs on only 9 carries and caught 4 passes for 41 yds and a TD. LeFevour is a sure-fire NFL prospect and proved it today. His pocket awareness is untouchable and was a pro at running the same offense he has been running for 4 years now.

The Huskies did what they could on offense and defense, but silly mistakes put the Huskies down too much early as they tried to make a furious comeback at the end of the game. The stat of the game was 3rd down conversions. NIU was 4 of 12 (33%) whereas CMU was 12 of 18 (67%).

The ball didn't bounce the right way for the Huskies on Friday, but they put up a tremendous effort. It must have been tough facing both the East (Ohio) and West Champs in consecutive weeks. For a team that was predicted to finish in the bottom half of the West, I was impressed.

Here's a positional breakdown of what I saw against the Chips in Mt. Pleasant:

Quarterback

It's clear that Chandler Harnish was not in a groove the entire game. First of all, you could clearly tell that his knee hasn't healed completely. He didn't look confident in the pocket and didn't have full speed on his runs. Another thing that messed up the offensive rhythm is the times that DeMarcus Grady filled in at QB. It was so painstakingly obvious that he was going to run the ball. We could have been more creative putting either one of the QBs in motion and sending them out wide or in the slot. Just keep Harnish behind center, especially early in the game when you're trying to get your footing.

Chandler had trouble handling snaps from Adamski at a couple different parts of the game. Sometimes, Harnish just held on to the ball too long. This could be accredited to Harnish himself, the offensive line protection or the wide receivers not getting open. He threw two interceptions late, which again could have just been miscommunications or bad throws. Looked like he was just trying to force it too much and needs to work on feeling out the blitz.

Running Back

This game reminded me of how much I love it when Chad Spann runs the ball. He started the game because Me'co Brown was out with an ankle injury. Are we seriously going to have to kidnap Me'co Brown to get Spann more carries next season? We should nickname him Mr. September, because the smaller back seems to breakdown come the latter part of the season.

Even though Spann looked awesome running the ball, you could clearly tell that his shoulder was not 100%. He had a critical fumble and then a dropped pass late in the game. A healthy Spann doesn't make those mistakes. More awesomeness from the postgame notes:

***Chad Spann scored his 19th rushing touchdown of the season (and 20th overall) to tie the Northern Illinois single season record for rushing scores. Spann tied the record owned by Stacey Robinson (1989 and 1990) and Michael Turner (2002). He also moved up to tie Turner for second on the Huskies' list for single season touchdowns with 20, trailing only Garrett Wolfe's 21 in 2004. Spann's 120 points on the year are also tied for second in a single season.

Wide Receivers

As a whole, way, way too many drops. I'm including the TEs and RBs in the passing game. Outcome would have been a lot different had they been able to catch everything thrown to them.

Martel Moore is an absolute beast. He made 3 highlight reel catches for 61 yds and almost a 4th that got knocked down. AND HE'S ONLY A TRUE FRESHMAN! He will be a future MAC star.

Landon Cox looked worn out in this game. Maybe being the only reliable WR all season finally caught up to him. He caught a TD pass early, but later on the game he had a couple drops and left the field with an injury.

Marcus Lewis was all over the place in his last regular-season game as a Huskie. He starts off the game as the go-to guy, catching 3 passes. The end of the 1st, he goes all alligator arms and doesn't catch the pass in his vicinity. Then comes the offensive pass interference. In the 4th quarter he had a SICK crack-back block on a Harnish scramble for a first. And in the final offensive drive for the Huskies, he scores the touchdown. Crazy, crazy game for the 4th year senior.

Offensive Line

It took all season, but the lack of depth really started to show as Panan Tense made his first start of his career for Adam Kiel at RT. There was just way too much pressure on Harnish the entire game. OL has to be a major focus this offseason to improve through recruiting. Joe Pawlak is a little trigger happy.

Defensive Line

Nobody could really get any pressure on Dan LeFevour, but who really can? Got cut up in the rushing game giving up 6.3 ypc to the Chippewa rushers. CMU just ran it up the middle with Schroeder. Same with the O-Line, the depth on this side of the ball has been severely depleted especially with Brian Lawson's late season hand injury. Jake Coffman had 6 tackles and Bice finished with 3 tackles and a sack.

Linebackers

Just a whole lot of meh. The starters looked like their feet were in ice blocks. A lot of overpursuing, which gave CMU the chance to execute screen passes. The only bright spot I saw was Tyrone Clark making a couple of big hits. He also was the player that tipped the ball up so that Patrick George could return the ball for a TD late in the game. The true freshman has been making great plays all season long. Both Schiller & Hanson had 9 tackles a piece and #53 was accredited with the forced fumble.

Defensive Backs

Senior David Bryant started at FS in his last regular-season game, but the rust from being sidelined most of the season was very evident. Dan LeFevour's stiff arm of him was highlight reel stuff. He did, however recover the fumble late in the game. SS Tracy Wilson racked up his 10 tackles a game average in this one.

CB Chris Smith IS A MAN. He played out of his goddamn mind in this game. Just awesome, hard tackles the entire game long. He's the best tackling CB we've had in a long, long time. Not bad for a JUCO transfer in his first year.

One thing I didn't get was all the soft coverage by the CBs on 3rd downs. It was just ridiculous. A player only has to go so far to get a 1st down and you're backed up even further than that. Yes, Kiaree Daniels I'm looking at you. 12 of 18 on 3rd downs is just ridiculous. Tommy Davis had some trouble in the tackling department as a backup. PG didn't have a stellar game either, but did return that INT for a touchdown late.

Special Teams

F*CK RUGBY PUNTS

This is not a personnel problem, this is a coaching problem. Sure, the Mike Salerno's 9 yard punt was into the wind but seriously... Josh Wilber and his monster leg hasn't played since Akron. Talk about under-utilized.

Coaching

These Huskies never gave up, right until the bitter end. Talk about getting this team up to play when they're down 10-38. There was a distinct difference in terms of talent and personnel between both teams, but I felt that the coaches did a decent job of switching things up. An offseason favor: No more 9 yard punts.

So what's next?

We wait, and then we wait some more. The MAC Championship is this Friday and bowl invitations will be sent soon after that. Navy doesn't take on Army until December 12th, so we may not know who our opponent will be in our potential bowl game until then. So now the most important thing to do is heal the bumps and bruises, hit the recruiting trail and keep in game shape. There's a bowl game on the horizon.

The 3rd Phase Failure in Athens

Mike Breese — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:28:58 -0000

I thought Brazill was a country (via farm3.static.flickr.com)

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Football is a game of three phases: Offense Defense & Special Teams. Every category is important and can win (or lose) a game single-handedly. As Kill would liken the loss to a 'game of Inches', I would say that we lost the game by many, many yards given up on the special teams side of things. And through penalties.

(Not so) Special Teams

There's just something about our coverage teams that hasn't been right ever since the Phillip Livas fiasco in the Independence Bowl last year. Purdue exploited it earlier this year for a return for a touchdown.

Mike Salerno kicks the opening kickoff to Ohio's 1 yd line and Chris Garrett returns the ball 69 yds to NIU's 35 yd line. Some would blame the defense for giving up a TD on the first offensive drive of the game. If the Huskies were to maintain coverage on the kickoff, then the Bobcats would have still been on their own side of the field after going 35 yds. Instead, they got to the endzone.

The offense gets the ball and goes on a modest drive to mid-field. Salerno boots a rugby punt to the 9 yd line and guess who is there to return it? LaVon Brazill, arguably the fastest player in green and white and the guy that just scored a touchdown for Ohio. We should have either booted it really high or through the endzone, but the line drive was returned by Brazill 91 yds to put the Bobcats up 14-0. It was the longest punt return for a TD in Ohio history.

The "rugby punt" that Kill seems to like has been met harsh criticism by fans. The result is a quick, sometimes bouncing, line-drive punt towards the sidelines sometimes giving the returner too much time to think about where he's going to go. A standard high, booming punt is not going to give the returner enough time to return the ball before the coverage team gets there.

Flash forward to the start of the second half.

The offense stalls because of penalties, so we punt it off to Ohio. We manage to stop them on a 3rd down run, so they decide to punt. Jordan Delegal comes off the edge and not only is he offsides, he roughs the kicker trying to make a play. Ohio didn't do anything that drive, but it just put the defense on the field a few more plays than it should have. A critical mistake, especially when it's a 14-14 tie game.

The only bright spot of ST was when Tyrone Clark made a heads up tackle to force Brazill to fumble in the 3rd, so we only had to go 12 yds and go up 21-17 on a Spann TD.

After NIU takes their last lead of the game at 28-24, they kickoff and Ohio returns it to the 27-yd line. But wait, there's a flag on the field an it's Jordan Delegal AGAIN with a 15-yard personal foul. Ohio starts on the 42 and drives a short field against an exhausted defense to go ahead 31-28.

Look #29, I know you had a bunch of offers to SEC schools before you went the JUCO route to Northern, but come on man. If you want to start on the weak side after Cory Hanson graduates, you're going to have to play smarter than that.

Defense

Just looking at the stats, the defense did their fair share of work to win the game. They held Ohio to only 228 yds! Ohio only converted 4 of 13 on 3rd downs, now that is impressive.

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt giving up the first TD to Brazill. Ohio only had to go 35 yds. Then look what they accomplished after that:

04:02	1	02:30	OHIO 36	6	31	Punt
15:00	2	02:52	OHIO 33	3	-7	Punt
07:59	2	01:41	OHIO 35	3	4	Punt
06:13	2	00:55	OHIO 33	3	-2	Punt
02:38	2	01:17	OHIO 8	3	13	End of Half
14:54	3	03:11	OHIO 29	6	4	Punt
08:51	3	02:49	NIU 38	6	27	Field Goal Good

Remarkable.

The only reason that FG happened was because Harnish turned the ball over on a fluke fumble. The camera angle was awkward on that play, but it looked like the QB just dropped the ball.

Imagine the defensive psyche at this point: "Oh great, first that running in to the kicker penalty, now this?" They needed a breather at this point in the game, but the offense couldn't provide that.

The next time the D is out there Ohio then drives and scores a TD pass to LaVon Brazill (how is he not double covered at this point?). 24-21 Bobcats.

After the Delegal kickoff penalty, an exhausted defense is backed into a short field situation again, and Ohio drives to go up 31-28.

The next series, the NIU makes Ohio punt AGAIN giving the Huskie offense another chance at rallying back from a 3 pt deficit. This was clearly a game where the defense did NOT lose the game for the Huskies. They played to their abilities, but were over their heads from the get-go with special teams giving up all that yardage and the fumble on offense.

DE/DT Jake Coffman was one of the few bright spots on D, gathering 2 sacks, 3 TFL and a MAC player of the week award. It's also weird that CB Chris Smith had 9 tackles and that Patrick George only had 1. Make your own assumptions about that.

Offense

410 yds of total offense, 20 first downs and 31 pts. That should be enough to win you a football game, so kudos to the offense.

Harnish had a huge day going 24 of 35 for 307 yds and 2 TDs. However, trying to break the tie in the 2nd drive of the 3rd quarter, the ball simply fell out of his hands and was recovered by Ohio. I didn't see exactly what happened, but this is a circumstance of not having played full-time these past few weeks.

Coming out of the halftime was just awkward, because even on the first drive there was a false start by Martel Moore then a delay of game. That puts the offense at a pretty impossible 3 and 17.

He fared well, considering how much pressure Ohio was putting on him every single play. RT Adam Kiel got hurt early and then it seemed like after that they released the ~~horses~~ bobcats after that. Kiel will have surgery on his foot and will miss the Central Michigan game. Some of his passes were just a bit off though, which always seems to happen with him at QB.

On a second attempt to try to even the 3 pt deficit (after the failed 4th down), Ohio brought the house and got Harnish for an 11 yd sack. However, #12 tried to throw the ball and it didn't make it past the line of scrimmage for intentional grounding. The play after that was just a chuck deep to see if anybody would catch it and a Bobcat player did and returned it to the house.

Landon Cox had the best game of his young career catching 11 passes for 132 yds. Marcus Lewis continued his senior tour with 4 catches for 64 yds and a TD. The amazing jumping fullback Kyle Skarb a couple of his patented sideline catches and managed to score the opening TD for the Huskies.

I could go on and on about the running back situation, but I won't. Me'co Brown (ankle) and Chad Spann (shoulder) were pretty banged up, so wouldn't it make sense to give the ball to Justin Anderson? Not even in short-yardage situations? He looked great against Eastern Michigan...I just can't seem to muster up any rationale for this insanity.

Another thing that bothered me was the silly implementation of Garrett Barnas on the offensive side of the ball. I believe they could have used him a lot more on the defensive side of the ball, especially in this game. Just like NIU1981 says,

if you're going to have Barnas run and throw why not use, I don't know, DeMarcus Grady?? You know, our most explosive offensive player?

It was just so blatantly obvious that he was only doing these plays on offense to set up a pass later in the game. Every NIU fan watching the game knew it, so I bet the Ohio sideline knew it as well. Then the pass did go up and the whole play was a disaster.

Overall, I was somewhat impressed with the ingenuity on offense. There were some different formations in there with a bunch of different personnel in the backfield.

If you look at the whole scheme of things, championship teams don't make these mistakes. I am happy at this point just to be playing in the post-season for a bowl championship. Maybe. First things first as we have to make things Mt. Un-Pleasant for the Chippwas on Friday.

The Boilermakers enter the Boneyard

Mike Breese — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:07:38 -0000

Justin Anderson performing "The Fake" (via mikegreenephotography.com)

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The boneyard is a fixture in the Huskie locker room representing the biggest victories in NIU's history:

Just past the door the players normally enter is "The Boneyard." The white fixtures in the shape of bones are affixed to the walls complete with scores such as "NIU 19, Alabama 16" and "NIU 20, Maryland 13" from 2003 serve as reminders of the biggest wins of the program’s history.

Six years was way too long of a break between boneyard triumphs. So says Harnish, who was a freshman in high school at the time of the last one:

They call them "boneyard" victories, triumphs over BCS conference schools, and Northern Illinois hasn't had many.

"It's a speechless feeling," NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish said. "We haven't had a boneyard victory in a while."

Since there are no pictures available of this phenomenon, I'm going to assume that these are actual bones taken from the unfortunate players from BCS schools that Huskies tend to prey on.

The Call

So who's idea was it to fake a punt on 4th and 2...on your own 16 yard line?

"You really don't get nervous on it until they line up and you see 'Oh, [wow] we got the look we want.' That's when you get nervous on the whole thing," said NIU defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys, who was in on the fake punt discussion with [Jay] Sawvel and Jerry Kill.

Despite being NIU's leading rusher in 2007, Justin Anderson has been embracing his role as a team player:

"To be honest, I'm thankful for the opportunity," Anderson said. "I've been on the punt team for a couple of weeks now. It's something new. I'm thankful for coach Sawvel putting [the fake] in."

"Any player would rather do more," he said. "Me and coach Kill, we've bumped heads about it. But I know my role and I'm going to play my role. Whenever they call on me, if they call on me, I'm ready. But I'm a team player. I'm all for my guys. I'm not jealous."

A confident team player:

"I was just trying to give those kids from Indiana a chance," Anderson said. "I was talking with [Onyebuagu]. He was saying [Purdue] wanted him to walk-on and they didn't give him a scholarship and he didn't like that. I kept telling him 'Are you ready? I'm going to get you a win.' "

Coach Kill gets a helmet sticker for this play-call, even though he doesn't wear a helmet. THANKS GRAHAM WATSON. He also got a "Paper" award from Mid-Major Madness.

Other than that fake...

The special teams was pretty brutal. K Mike Salerno missed an easy 25-yarder, where it looked like the snap and ball placement was a little off. Obviously we need to improve our punt coverage as Purdue returned one for the house on that first one. I know that P Josh Wilber has a lot of pain in his foot, but he has to get better than a 35.6 average and get more balls inside the 20 yd line. Hope he can bounce back big next week. Our punt return game is pretty boring as well, but I don't know you go about fixing that so much.

Typical NIU Quarterback Stats

15 of 26 for 174 yds and a TD. That's classic efficiency there for a Huskie QB. Chandler Harnish's only mistake was when he tried to force a ball in to a reciever and it got tipped in the air and picked off. It was a nice thing to see him hooking up with senior WR Marcus Lewis for once. Lewis seems to be Chandler's main target through these early games. Willie Clark didn't play for some reason and I wasn't too impressed with Landon Cox. It seemed like he could have had a couple extra catches in this game. Either that or Harnish was JUST off throwing to him and a couple other guys. Most of the throws were broken up by good plays on Purdue's defense however. TE Reed Cunningham may become a redzone threat not unlike Spann as his 1 catch was for a TD.

Dynamic Duo

RBs Me'co Brown & Chad Spann were just sick again. Nobody can stop these guys. Brown won MAC West POW for his performance. 26 for 150 and a TD for #8. 18 for 80 and 2 TDs for #28. Spann has SO much power. You think he'd down and the next thing you know he's in for a TD. Had a weird fumble early on though that nobody caused. Credit the line for opening up MONSTROUS holes for both of these players to run through. Spann is now only behind Cal RB Jahvid Best for most TDs scored in the country with 7. Best has 9, including 5 vs Minnesota this past weekend. Brown is #14 in the nation in ypg with 110.33.

Oh and don't forget about the tremendous pair of fullbacks that we have in Kyle Skarb & Connor Flahive!

First-class Secondary

The defense pretty much stacked the box trying to stop Ralph Bolden, so the secondary really needed to step up and they did big-time. It was very impressive how CBs Chris Smith and Patrick George were able to stay with their receivers step-by-step. Davis Bryant had a nice return at FS and SS Tracy Wilson keeps piling up the tackles with 8 in this one. Kiaree Daniels was impressive as well.

Big 10 Referees

It seemed like they let Purdue run wild, especially late in the game. On Purdue's last drive, Elliott threw the ball to a receiver, the receiver then proceeded to lateral the ball back over some guys head. The refs somehow called an incomplete pass. Truly one of the most ridiculous calls I have ever seen in my life. Then as the clock was winding down...

Can you say CHEAP SHOT???

Hope, you got some 'splanin to do:

"I'm sure it's going to be brought up and we'll address it. I didn't see anything that happened to that injured player that made me think it was foul play. I don't think Zach Reckman should've jumped in there on that guy at the end of the play but maybe he was hoping the ball would come out. He was trying to find a way to win."

Infirmary Report

Injury updates: Linebacker/Kick returner John Tranchitella missed the game with a knee injury he suffered against Western Illinois. He likely will be out for a few weeks. Tight end Jason Schepler left the game in the second quarter with an elbow injury. Right guard Joe Pawlak left the game in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury. More will be known on Schepler and Pawlak this week.

Also, DE Jake Coffman was shaken up towards the end of the game for a while. No word if it is anything serious. Me'co Brown was also sick with the flu, but turned out a great performance:

"I felt terrible," Brown said. "I went out there the night before, Friday when we made it up there and my stomach, I wasn't feeling too good. I was coughing real bad. [Running backs] Coach [Rob] Reeves told me 'Michael Jordan played sick and you can do the same.' It looked like at the end of the day it came to be something good."

via mikegreenephotography.com

Northern Illinois preview

BoilerTMill — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:30:46 -0000

This is a homecoming game of sorts for Northern Illinois. The Huskies feature eight players from the state of Indiana on their roster, with seven of them playing key roles as starters or backups. They are led by Chandler Harnish, an Indiana player who wanted to come to Purdue and very well could be our current starting quarterback had he ended up here. What we will see is an interesting game. We are facing a team that is very similar to Oregon in terms of style of play, as well as one that is in the second year of building a program under coach Jerry Kill.

2008 Record: 6-7 (5-3 in MAC West)

2009 Record: 1-1

Bowl result: Lost 17-10 to Louisiana Tech in Independence Bowl

Blog Representation: Red and Black Attack

Series with Purdue: First Meeting

Red and Black Attack Preview

And for our next dual-threat quarterback...

Northern Illinois offense:

The Huskies have put up some interesting offensive numbers so far. They had a tight game with Wisconsin that came down to the final possession to start the year. In that game, they trailed 28-6 going into the 4^th quarter, but a pair of quick touchdowns and an onside kick meant they had a chance to tie in the final minutes. Against Western Illinois, the Huskies built a big lead and never looked back against their 1-AA foe. In both games, the Huskies have had a fairly balanced offense led by the versatility of Harnish.

As Mike Breese stated in the podcast last night, Harnish is a running quarterback that is attempting to stay in the pocket more this year. He had a better passing game against Wisconsin, but the Huskies ran more against the Leathernecks. So far he is 25 of 38 on the season for 317 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdowns came last week against Western Illinois, but he has been sacked three times. After running for 539 yards and four scores last year he has not taken off as much. In two games he has just 31 yards rushing. His stats tell that he is an accurate passer. As a freshman last year he threw only nine interceptions, but he missed three games early in the season.

Northern Illinois is a run-first team out of the spread option, much like Oregon. Me'co Brown leads the team in yards with 181 yards and one score. He had a solid game against Western Illinois, going for 117 yards and a score. Chad Spann, an Indianapolis native, is the power back with 57 yards and four scores. He has two touchdowns in each game so far. All told, Northern Illinois has 325 yards passing against 344 yards rushing.

There is not really one main receiver that we must focus on. Ten different players have at least one reception so far, while none has more than Willie Clark's five. Spann has 3 catches for 50 yards and a score, while Clark (5-63-0) leads in yardage as well. Northern Illinois has not run many plays this year on offense, but they are experienced in playing from behind.

The offensive line may be one of the best in MAC. Eddie Adamski was a third-team all-MAC selection last season at center and makes few mistakes. Left guard Jason Onyebuagu joined him on the third team last year and has Big Ten size at 6'2", 305 pounds. Trevor Olsen, Panan Tense, and Kevin Skatrund were all starters last year at one point, making this line incredibly experienced. As mentioned, they have given up three sacks.

Northern Illinois defense:

The Husky defense has been particularly frisky so far. As a team, northern Illinois has 10 tackles for loss, four sacks, and has forced four turnovers. The strength is in the front seven, but Mike seemed to be terrified of the threat that Ralph Bolden represents. Their best defensive lineman, Brandon Bice, has yet to record a sack after having 6.5 sacks last year. Linebacker Alex Kube is a player to keep an eye on. He has played all over the defense in his career, and he notched a team high 111 tackles during his sophomore season.

I think it is a bad sign that Northern Illinois' two safeties currently lead them in tackles. Tracy Wilson (21 tackles) and Mike Sobol (15 tackles) have the most stops on the team. That means teams are getting into the secondary against them even if Northern Illinois has not given up many points. They have yet to face an offense as prolific as ours, so this will be their most difficult challenge to date.

In terms of numbers, Northern Illinois has given up an average of 117 yards rushing and 211 yards passing. Those numbers are very respectable, but again, they have come against offenses that aren't exactly lighting up the scoreboard. I think you can throw out the 1-AA result because they did what 1-A teams should do against 1-AA teams. Wisconsin used a rushing by committee approach, while Isaac Anderson had a 100 yard day as a receiver. We will need to keep an eye on linebacker Cory Hanson, who already has two interceptions.

Honestly, this is a game in which our offensive line should continue its dominance. The defensive line has not done a whole lot yet, and they are already shorthanded because projected starter Mike Krouse is out for the season with a heart ailment. Since our running game has been very successful so far I think we can expect another good day from Ralph Bolden. I say we run it until they prove they can stop us, keeping things held back some for Notre Dame next week.

Northern Illinois Special Teams:

This area has been a major strength for the Huskies so far. Mike Salerno has shown why he is one of the best kickers in the nation by going 4 for 4 on field goal attempts with a long of 40 yards. He has also been solid on kickoffs, limiting teams to 18 yards per return. Josh Wilber is averaging 39 yards per punt on seven attempts. No one has managed to break a big punt return against them yet, either.

Northern Illinois' return game has not done much yet. Tommy Davis pulls double duty on returns, with a long of 25 yards on a kickoff return. This area will be of special concern for us, as our coverage on kickoffs has been spotty at best. We cannot afford to give up a quick return for a score.

Intangibles:

With all respect to our visitors from the MAC, this is a MAC vs. Big Ten game. We have not lost one of these games in 6 years, despite having two awful seasons in that time. The Northern Illinois defense is without a doubt better than Toledo's, but I am just not convinced their offense can keep pace with us. Defensively, we gave up just 21 points last week to a similar type of offense with much better athletes. That was on the road as well. Harnish might be a better passer than Masoli was, but Masoli was a much bigger running threat. That is more dangerous against us.

I must say, I have a good vibe about this game. I feel like our defense is going to come together and have its best performance of the season. To me, Northern Illinois is a good team, but they are still about a year away from being really good. Many people are still talking about us being vulnerable, about how we will have this hangover from Oregon, how this is a trap game before Notre Dame, but I think differently.

I don't think coach Hope is going to allow any letdowns this year. I know Boilerdowd and J Money were talking about this earlier this week, but this is a good measuring stick to see how we recover from a rough loss. In recent years, it has started a deep spiral. I think we will now come out and have a convincing performance against a team we should dominate. I think we also do it without showing too much heading into the Notre Dame game:

Keys for Purdue:

Run until they stop us
Continue improving on tackling
Keep an eye on Harnish for runs
Watch defensive coverage on short passes over the middle
Do not let them back in it if we build a big lead early

I think it will be a very good sign if we win this game without too much effort. Those who don't respect us are still expecting a struggle. We can begin by making a statement in this game with a comfortable win before facing the Irish next week.

Western Illinois vs Northern Illinois: In Photos

Mike Breese — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:38:26 -0000

Hey everybody! We have a brand new addition to the growing number of people who contribute to this site. Northern Star photographer Mike Greene is a tremendous talent behind the camera. He will be capturing action shots of NIU Huskie football games throughout the season and has graciously allowed us to use his photos. You can find the rest of his great work at http://mikegreenephotography.com/huskies/

This is great news because the AP photos that are provided to this site are only licensed for a short amount of time. Plus, the AP is probably only going to have photos of the Wisconsin and Purdue games, because they're in BCS conferences or something. Not a good situation, so that's where Mike steps in to save us!

So look, admire and feel free to comment on what you think of these photos. All of which will be here permanently for your viewing pleasure:

Former U.S. Marine DE Jake Coffman leads the team out with an American Flag to commemorate 9/11

John Tranchitella returning kickoffs

Chad Spann's 1st TD

Chad Spann's 2nd TD (sensing a theme here?)

Spann and teammates Olson & Cox celebrate. Check out the cannon smoke in the background!

TE Jason Schepler's wide-open TD score

Chandler Harnish on one of his runs

CB Chris Smith has awesome hair

SS Tracy Wilson makes a tackle

Awesome perspective of Wilson

Coffman and Brian Lawson try and block a FG

Me'co Brown busting out a run

TE Bryan Beckner gets his facemask tugged

WLB Cory Hanson makes a tackle

Hanson

FS Mike Sobol grabs some jersey

MLB Pat Schiller taking down the QB

Me'co

Harnish

Spann

Spann lead blocking for Harnish

Harnish

CB Kiaree Daniels

Freshman DE Alan Baxter leads a pack of Huskies in the backfield

Spann

NG Nabal Jefferson sees his first game-time action

Me'co

Me'co tries for some tough yards

QB DeMarcus Grady stares down a receiver

DE Darnell Bolding's sack

RB Justin Anderson makes a late game appearance

K Mike Salerno = STUD

NIU Huskies exorcize the WIU Leathernecks with 41-7 victory

Mike Breese — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 02:49:20 -0000

DB Tommy Davis upends a 'Neck ball carrier (via NIUHuskies.com)

View full size photo »

Whew. This game started off a little scary with RB Me'co Brown fumbling on the first possession, but they got the ball back right away as Western Illinois fumbled on their own. RB Chad Spann then scored the first of his 3 TDs for the game.

On the next possession by WIU, QB Matt Barr drove his team down the field for 76 yds and a TD. The game would be tied 7-7. Immediately, I was thinking that this was 2002 or 2007 all over again against a lower division team. However, that is the closest Western would get in this game.

A healthy serving of Spann and Brown was exactly what the Huskies needed. On the ground NIU ran the ball for 244 yds and 3 TDs. They never looked back and put 34 straight points on the board.

QB Chandler Harnish was extremely efficient going 10 of 14 for 143 yds and 2 TDs. At halftime, he was a perfect 7 of 7 for 98. He spread the ball around to 8 different receivers. K Mike Salerno hit 2 FGs and still hasn't missed anything this season.

The defense woke up and began to dominate Western, limiting them to only 223 total yards. The 'Necks only gained 55 yds in the 2nd half of the game. The big uglies over there on the defensive side of the ball seem to be growing up fast right in front of our eyes. This Northern Illinois team is so young and talented, it's ridiculous.

The game was over when...

...Chandler Harnish threw to TE Jason Schepler for a TD that put the Huskies up 28-7 before halftime.

As for injuries, FS David Bryant was held out just as a precautionary measure with his ankle. Everybody else made it out healthy. Me'co Brown's thumb injury is making him drop the ball, but that's about it. Ricky Crider even saw a garbage time carry as he has been out with a hamsting injury.

All in all, a tremendous game by the Huskies. They really corrected some mistakes from the Wisconsin game. Excuse me, I'm going to turn on the Purdue-Oregon game right now.

Official Recap/Stats
ESPN Recap/Stats

After struggling with the Leathernecks for years, Northern Illinois finally defeats the boys from Macomb. Handily. Somewhere, former Huskie Coach Joe Novak has this expression on his face:

Hangover from the 4th Quarter Fury in Madison

Mike Breese — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 06:53:45 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

Browse more photos »

I find it interesting that the Wisconsin Blog on SB Nation is named Bucky's 5th Quarter, because it seemed like that's what we were playing for Saturday night: A 5th Quarter. I have one thing to say though: TGINC. Thank God It's Non Conference. It took a while for these Huskies to wake up.

This game was just crazy. I was beginning to think it was over circa a typical 2007 game, but then things just came out of nowhere to surprise you. My sentiments to John Sahly's post-game remarks:

How it got there was paint-by-numbers with all the wrong colors. I'm still trying to piece it together.

I don't know what I just saw, but I know it was fun to watch...A game like this leaves a lot to dissect. But, for an opening-night game, I'm going to enjoy this scenic route to madness.

Yes, madness.

Let's take a look back at my keys to the game: Did we bring the heat? Not nearly enough. Tolzein had a clean jersey at the end of the game, and our pass rush was as responsible as anybody for the yards Wisconsin got through the air. Did we hold on to the ball? Mostly, except for a fumble given up by Me'co Brown late in the 2nd quarter. Brown apparently got hurt on that play as well and didn't see any more action for the rest of the game. Did we establish the run? Nope, 47 of NIU's 100 total yards rushing was by Brown's highlight in the 1st. Did we get rattled? Yes we were, until the 4th quarter of course. Everybody just looked out of place early on and nobody could find any sort of rhythm. That's 0.5/4 in case anybody was keeping score. Time for the positional breakdown:

Quarterbacks

Chandler Harnish looked pretty confident and was a successful game manager. Made plays when he needed to. Trouble was that his run game wasn't working (see below) and he wasn't getting enough time to throw (more on that later as well). 15 of 24 for 174 yds, no touchdowns, but zero INTs. Rushed 13 times for 37 yds, but then you have to takeaway the 21 yards lost because of sacks. Somehow you end up with 10 net for the game. Nice two-point conversion to put the Huskies in game contention there at the end. He could have probably made a couple more plays on his feet earlier in the game, but then again there was barely any room for him. Needs to work on the option if we are going to run that more this season. Surprised we didn't see any DeMarcus Grady.

Running Backs

Less than average with the exception of Me'co Brown's 47-yd scamper. Brown helped in both of the drives that scored field goals for us. Chad Spann was a beast in the 4th quarter, continuing his reign as red-zone demon scoring two touchdowns. Spann also caught 2 passes for 30 yds. Not to mention he also recovered the onside late. Brown had a great 5.8 ypc, but combined? 2.9 ypc...yuck.

Fullbacks/Tight Ends

Is it bad when 2 out of your top 3 pass-catchers in a given game come from this group? FB Kyle Skarb had 3 catches for 42 yds that included a sweet 31 yd gainer down the sidelines. TE Bryan Beckner stepped up big catching 2 passes for 41 yds.

Wide Receivers

Just blah all around. Nobody really stood out. Harnish went deep to Martel Moore and got a pass interference call. Moore also had a nice catch late in the game. Perez Ashford actually dropped a pass if I'm not mistaken, but then rebounded nicely picking up a few yards to set up Spann's last TD. My suggestion: Keep playing the freshmen and get them ready for MAC play. They deserve it and have the talent to dominate games. Both of them started the first game of their respective careers.

Offensive Line

Just look at how the drives ended in the 1st quarter: 3rd and 2 - Brown only gets one yard. 3rd and 6 - Harnish sacked for 7 yd loss. 3rd and 9 - Harnish sacked for 9 yd loss. I think LG Jason Onyebuagu overslept or something, as he looked nowhere near the All-MAC performer that he is supposed to be with some whiffs that will make a long film session for JO. Wisconsin's DEs J.J. Watt & O'Brien Schofield were having field days with our tackles. RT Adam Kiel/Panan Tense had some trouble containing Schofield on his side. On the left side, Trevor Olson couldn't stop Watt, who is a physical freak at 6'6" 285...yikes.

There was a bright side, however, as the line came together late allowing Chad Spann to get both of his TDs in goal-line situations. Not bad run blocking at times.

Defensive Line

Definitely a mixed bag. The pass-rush was virtually non-existent by these guys, but they did manage to keep Wisconsin to only 152 yds on the ground. Zach Brown and John Clay's ypc were only 3.6 and 2.9 respectively. Guys that made their debut yesterday: True Freshman DE Alan Baxter - 2 tackles, RS Freshman DT Brian Lawson - 1.5 tackles, RS Freshman DE Sean Progar - 1 tackle. Need I remind you that Wisconsin's O-Line averages 6'6" 325 per guy!

Linebackers

WLB Cory Hanson was a game-changer grabbing 2 interceptions. Other than that, these guys were pretty pedestrian. Alex Kube & Pat Schiller had 3.5 tackles a piece. Sophomore Jordan Delegal made his debut on the outside blitzing a little bit. NOBODY could cover TE Garrett Graham as he caught 6 passes for 82 yds.

Defensive Backs

A mess and the low point of the game. Starting off the game, who's fault was it giving up that long bomb: FS Mike Sobol or CB Patrick George? First of all, Sobol's natural position is SS and George was making his big debut as the starting CB. George was all over the place, but he learned as the game went on. One blitz he made set up one of Hanson's interceptions. SS Tracy Wilson led the team with 8.5 tackles and CB Kiaree Daniels made some nice plays. Obviously, its gonna be tough working all these new guys in like Chris Smith and everybody else but this game was just ridiculous. Didn't help there was zero pass rush. David Bryant didn't play much and there was no sign of Garrett Barnas anywhere.

Special Teams

OK, Kicker Mike Salerno is the best onside kicker in the world. I didn't even know you could be good at such a thing as usually luck comes in to play. Plus 2 great field goals to keep us in the game early. Salerno does weird things sometimes when he kickoffs, its not always hard enough even though he has the power. Punter Josh Wilber was a bit inconsistent and had a shankapotamus in the 3rd. Not bad though.

Coaching

I would have liked for NIU to open up their playbook a bit more early a la Minnesota last year, but that wasn't the case until (sensing a theme here?) the 4th quarter. Too much conservatism after trying to rush against Wisconsin's big D wasn't working. Definitely need to see more deep passes and stuff on the perimeter. Would like to have seen a lot more blitzing on defense, but that's hard to do with so many inexperienced players.

Random Notes

Wisconsin had a habit of passing for it on 1st down. They opened the game with that 70 yd bomb and then Cory Hanson got interceptions on the first play of two separate drives by the Badgers.

3 and outs were devastating to NIU, especially in the 3rd quarter. The first drive in that quarter, WR Marcus Lewis had a catch to make it 2nd down and 2, but then we couldn't convert. RB Chad Spann rushed for no gain and then there was that tipped pass.

On the next 3rd quarter drive, we did nothing on offense after that run by WR Nathan Palmer. Spann rush for 3 yds, incomplete to Skarb because of a QB hurry. Then there was that pass where Clark trapped the ball and they had to review it to see that it wasn't a catch.

The time of possession was 12:11 to 2:49 and this game was won by the Badgers in the 3rd.

Infirmary Report

RB Me'co Brown has some sort of arm injury. Don't know if its too serious as of now. We could have used his athleticism for the whole game, not just part of the 1st half:

"I asked him 'Is it broke?' He said it wasn't but it was all wrapped up," Kill said. "I don't know what his status is. I think that's the biggest concern we have coming out of playing a physical football team."

Also apparently FB Kyle Skarb has some sort of injury. We'll know the results Monday about both these guys.

Next up on our path to redemption: The Western Illinois Leathernecks

Poll

Who is your player of the game?

WLB Cory Hanson - 2 ints, 1.5 tackles

13 votes

RB Chad Spann - 9 rushes for 20 yds and 2 tds, 2 catches for 30 yds, onside kick recovery

9 votes

K Mike Salerno - 2 for 2 on FGs of 40 & 29, kicked onside

35 votes

57 votes | Poll has closed

Top 5 Mid Major - Big Ten Games of 2009: #3 Wisconsin v. Northern Illinois

grahamfiller10 — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:00:20 -0000

In partnership with Mid-Major Madness (MMM), SBN's haven for non-BCS coverage, we present to you the top five match-ups between Big Ten and Mid-Major football teams. At number three comes Saturday's showdown between Wisconsin and Northern Illinois.

Make sure to go back and submit your picks for the Obligatory Predictions Contest. Every weekly winner gets the right to write 500 words on the site about college football. NEW this year is our season long competition - win the whole damn thing and we send you something amazing.

The favored Badgers have played musical chairs with their starters, while Northern Illinois will comes out inexperienced but featuring a star quarterback. Can the Big Ten's 3rd best program of the last 10 years make a run this year? Will Student Body Sweep Right crush the Huskies?

Hype

MMM: When Jerry Kill took over the NIU football program after the 2007 season it looked as if he was going to have to spend at least a few seasons rebuilding the team. After the Huskies finished with an abysmal 2-10 record in 2007, Kill’s team made surprising progress in 2008 with a .500 regular season winning percentage and an invitation to the Independence Bowl. Kill looks to continue with his rebuilding efforts as he enters his 2nd year as head coach of the Huskies.

However, 2009 might be a bit more difficult as he loses 20 seniors from last years roster including the MAC MVP and the 16th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, Larry English. Along with English, the Huskies lost 5 receivers that accounted for 83% of the teams catches. The team will need someone from the incoming freshman class to step up and become a playmaker.

With such a young and inexperienced team it will be very difficult to go into Madison, one of college footballs biggest stages, and come out with the victory against the Badgers.

TRE: What in the world happened in Madison? The entire state will be watching the Badger's backfield, as heralded RB John Clay has been passed on the depth chart by Zach Brown and preseason starting QB Dustin Sherer has been replaced by Scott Tolzien and frosh Curt Phillips. Clay will play big minutes, but the concept is clear - Coach Bielema is winning at all costs and doesn't give a damn if that means changing leaders one week before the season.

Countdown Games

#5 - Wisconsin v. Fresno State

#4 - Purdue v. Northern Illinois

Key Matchup

Huskies Red Zone Offense vs. Badgers Defense

MMM: In 2008, the Huskies seemed to always have found a way to screw up every possession in which they were within the coveted boundaries of the Red Zone. Quarterback Chandler Harnish failed in attempt after attempt, causing Kill to rely on his kicker Mike Salerno to put points on the board. Kill has worked to address the issue during camp and feels confident in his QB, although they still lack the go-to guy that they can rely on to put 6 points on the board.

Harnish is unquestionably their best shot at an X-factor , with the quick feet necessary to pick up yardage on the ground. A lot of Harnish’s struggles in 2008 was due to his inexperience, but this year he really needs to show the coaching staff that he can step up and make the big plays and what better way to do so than against then against a Big Ten powerhouse. With such a young supporting cast it will be very interesting to see if Harnish has what it takes to put points on the board and take some stress off Salerno.

TRE: It looks like MMM has been doing his research. The Huskies run game has been potent for years and matches up extremely well with Wisconsin's depleted defensive line. The Badgers lost DE's Mike Newkirk and Matt Shaughnessy to graduation, making it their most vulnerable defensive position. If Northern Illinois makes it inside the 20, they should pound the rock with quarterback runs (Harnish is almost 220 lbs) and draws to smallish playmaker Me'Co Brown.

Significance

MMM: As mentioned earlier, this is NIU head coach Jerry Kill’s second season and although he did a tremendous job at turning the team around in 2008, he needs to prove that last year wasn’t just some aberration. Last year he had a team with a mix of not only the players he recruited, but also the players that signed on to play under former head coach Joe Novak. Now that Kill has 24 of his own recruits coming in can really showcase his coaching ability. There is no question that they will be a very young and inexperienced team but they are talented nonetheless.

Kill will be in the spotlight week one against the Badgers in easily one of NIU’s biggest games of the season. If the Huskies can go in and steal the win, it will not only start the season off on the right track but also show NIU boosters and fans that Kill is the real deal.

TRE: The Wisconsin preseason preview is littered with cliches. Bielema is always on the " hot seat" and every OOC game is a "must win." But much of the time, cliches exist to wipe out the need for long, complicated explanations. And in Madison, these overused cliches might ring true. The Wisconsin "system," which consists of a strong run game, hard-hitting defense, and the ability to draw other teams into slugfests, didn't work so well last year. Bielema can take steps to prove '08 was an aberration with a thumping of the Huskies.

Predictions

MMM: The Badgers face another quarterback decision coming into the 2009 season. It seems that the past three years the Badgers have face the same issue over and over again, which is probably the main reason behind their mediocre play. Regardless, the Badgers have veteran players that the Huskies seem to lack. The youthfulness of the Huskies will be a major issue and will most definitely lead to careless turnovers and blown coverages. Wisconsin 31, Northern Illinois 17.

TRE: Preparation is the keyword for the Badgers. They were caught unprepared against numerous opponents (Cal Poly, Florida State, Iowa) in 2008. Bielema has had the entire off-season to put together some kind of gameplan and one has to believe he'll have the Badgers jacked up for Redemption Year '09. Right? Wisconsin 34, Northern Illinois 20.

The NIU Huskies Football Depth Chart is out

Mike Breese — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:46:22 -0000

The depth chart just got released per John Sahly's Huskie Wire. A lot of differences from the vague chart from the media guide. Youth is served to say the least for Northern Illinois with 8 freshmen (4 true) and 16 sophomores listed under the two-deeps. 15 juniors and 9 seniors make up the upperclassmen. Here is the breakdown by position:

The Offense

WR (X) 10 Willie Clark ...................................... 6-1, 196, So.-R
11 Marcus Lewis .......................................6-3, 210, Sr.
OR 1 Martel Moore ....................................... 6-2, 168, Fr.

WR (V) 81 Nathan Palmer .............................5-11, 190, So.-R
82 Preston Williams ...........................5-11, 180, Sr.-R
OR 80 Landon Cox ...........................................6-3, 213, Jr.

WR (Z) 80 Landon Cox ...........................................6-3, 213, Jr.
7 Perez Ashford ....................................5-10, 168, Fr.
OR 81 Nathan Palmer .............................5-11, 190, So.-R

I'm not an expert on NIU's current offensive system, so I can only assume that the X is on the left, V is the slot and Z is on the right. Realistically, guys can be switched all over the field so who knows. I bet you the ladies that went to Football 101 could probably explain this to me. Moving on, we always knew that the main three (Clark, Palmer & Cox) were the top guys coming in. We just didn't know where they were going to fit. Lewis & Williams look to fit in nicely as veteran reserve role-players. True freshmen Ashford & Moore look to creep in to the lineup as deep threats.

TE (Y) 87 Jason Schepler ...................................6-3, 255, So.
83 Reed Cunningham .......................... 6-5, 255, Sr.-R

TE (H) 96 Bryan Beckner .................................. 6-4, 240, Jr.-R
97 Jack Marks ...................................... 6-6, 232, So.-R

More algebra numbers that confuse me. Schepler & Beckner beat out Cunningham in an epic battle throughout all of the off-season. As our offense evolves, all of these players will see extensive playing time. Marks is the 4th guy in and surprised not to see Nick Groeniger anywhere.

LT 62 Trevor Olson .................................... 6-6, 294, So.-R
68 Keith Otis ........................................ 6-4, 314, So.-R

The only line position that has not changed since the Spring. A good sign, because left tackle is one of the most important positions on the field.

LG 65 Jason Onyebuagu ................................6-2, 307, Sr.
60 Ed Jackson ........................................ 6-3, 297, Jr.-R

I'm extremely excited that Ed Jackson is able to claim a backup job on the offensive side of the ball after becoming too big to play on the D-Line.

C 50 Eddie Adamski ................................. 6-3, 284, Sr.-R
71 Scott Wedige................................... 6-4, 296, So.-R
OR 77 Jared Volk ............................................6-3, 302, Fr.

Wedige had mono throughout camp, so Volk saw a ton of snaps. Hope we don't have to see them, because Adamski is one of the better linemen in the conference.

RG 72 Joe Pawlak ...................................... 6-5, 281, So.-R
70 Logan Pegram ................................. 6-3, 293, Fr.-R

Pawlak moves up to the starting spot, because of Kevin Skatrud's season-ending knee injury and Tense's switch to RT. Pegram switched over to the right side from the left.

RT 61 Panan Tense .....................................6-4, 300, Jr.-R
OR 74 Adam Kiel ........................................ 6-5, 305, So-R

Tense has good size, so he switched from starting RG to the starting RT as stated above. The coaching staff was high on Tense to have a spot starting on the right side even before Skatrud got hurt.

QB 12 Chandler Harnish ........................... 6-2, 213, So.-R
3 DeMarcus Grady............................. 6-1, 202, So.-R
OR 15 Ryan Morris ..................................... 6-3, 196, Sr.-R

Pretty much expected. Looks like we'll be redshirting all our freshmen QBs. Is the OR necessary or simply a formality for the 5th year senior in Morris?

FB 34 Kyle Skarb ............................................ 6-2, 226, Jr.
47 Connor Flahive ................................. 6-0, 240, Jr.-R
88 Nick Groeniger ......................................6-5, 242, Jr.

Top-2 were expected. Hey, I found him! Groeniger will play an H-Back role shifting and lining up in the backfield and all over the field.

TB 8 Me’co Brown .......................................5-7, 185, So.
OR 28 Chad Spann ..........................................5-9, 197, Jr.
21 Justin Anderson ............................... 6-0, 234, Sr.-R

Nice to see Anderson as the 3rd guy in again. Ricky Crider is struggling with a hamstring right now, but should be OK for Saturday.

The Defense

LE 56 Brandon Bice ................................... 6-4, 250, Sr.-R
90 Alan Baxter .......................................... 6-0, 241, Fr.
OR 44 Darnell Bolding ................................. 6-2, 224, Jr.-R

Pretty much expected if you've followed the epic rise of freshman Baxter. Both Bice and him provide huge bodies capable of stopping the run and stopping the QB. Bolding looks to be a situational pass-rusher.

NG 92 Brian Lawson ....................................6-3, 272, Fr.-R
93 Adam Coleman ...................................6-3, 266, So.
99 Nabal Jefferson .................................5-11, 270, Fr.

Lawson is starting as a freshman now due to Mike Krause's condition. Coleman provides tremendous depth as well. Marist grad Nabal Jefferson is the surprise winner of the true freshman most likely to see action in the middle of the line. Noseguard is just the defensive tackle left of the defensive tackle, if that makes any sense.

DT 98 D.J. Pirkle ............................................. 6-0, 285, Jr.
89 Ron Newcomb ................................ 6-3, 265, So.-R

Pirkle is the man and Newcomb jumps up to the backup spot as Coleman heads over to NG.

RE 54 Jake Coffman....................................6-5, 255, Jr.-R
95 Sean Progar ..................................... 6-3, 255, Fr.-R

Solid as a rock on Larry English's old position.

SLB 37 Alex Kube .......................................... 6-0, 212, Jr.-R
36 Tyrone Clark .......................................5-11, 202, Fr.
OR 27 Spencer Williamson ........................ 6-4, 218, Sr.-R

True freshman (I'm sensing a theme here) Clark frog-jumps Williamson to be the backup to the most-feared player on the defense.

MLB 53 Pat Schiller...................................... 6-2, 229, So.-R
9 Devon Butler ......................................5-11, 209, Fr.
OR 52 Phil Brown ........................................ 6-0, 225, Sr.-R

A shock here. Where the heck did Victor Jacques go? He went from Schiller's backup to not even making the top-3. Something is definitely awry here. Phil Brown continues to be in Kill's doghouse.

WLB 26 Cory Hanson .................................... 6-2, 220, Sr.-R
42 John Tranchitella .................................6-1, 236, Sr.
29 Jordan Delegal ....................................6-1, 203, So.

Two solid veterans anchor the weakside with potential speed-rushing specialist Delegal to probably see some time.

LCB 33 Patrick George ................................... 5-11, 190, Jr.
20 Tommy Davis ................................. 5-11, 190, Fr.-R
OR 2 Sean Evans ........................................5-11, 167, Fr.

Davis to play nickelback, but it looks like the smallish Evans is pushing him.

SS 25 Tracy Wilson .................................... 6-2, 204, So.-R
39 Garrett Barnas ..................................... 6-1, 205, Jr.

Nice to see Barnas get that 4th safety spot. Wilson has been a terror since the end of last season, beating out incumbent Mike Sobol.

FS 4 David Bryant .................................. 5-11, 210, Sr.-R
38 Mike Sobol ........................................6-0, 198, Jr.-R

Sobol switches over to free safety to provide depth because Jody Van Laanen has been banged up this off-season and just returned to practice.

RCB 23 Kiaree Daniels ................................... 5-10, 193, Jr.
5 Chris Smith ........................................ 5-10, 185, Jr.

Finally looking at the depth chart has me a little more comfortable with our depth chart depth as long as Smith and the rest of these guys stay healthy.

Specialists

K 16 Mike Salerno ................................. 5-11, 170, Sr.-R
3 Ryan Fillingim .......................................6-0, 191, Jr.

P 49 Josh Wilber ........................................ 5-11, 235, Jr.
OR 6 Ryan Neir ..........................................6-3, 195, Fr.-R

DS 55 Nolan Owen ....................................... 5-10, 203, Jr.
93 Adam Coleman ...................................6-3, 266, So.

HO 15 Ryan Morris ..................................... 6-3, 196, Sr.-R
38 Mike Sobol ........................................6-0, 198, Jr.-R

The usual suspects here. Walk-on Fillingim is emergency backup. Nice spot for Morris to see more time on the field.

PR 20 Tommy Davis ................................. 5-11, 190, Fr.-R
OR 8 Me’co Brown .......................................5-7, 185, So.

KOR 20 Tommy Davis ................................. 5-11, 190, Fr.-R
AND 4 David Bryant .................................. 5-11, 210, Sr.-R

Well it looks like we'll be seeing a lot of Tommy Davis! Me'co will probably only field punts in critical situations. Don't know about using our best player on defense on kickoff returns in Bryant. Should be interesting to see how that works out. These spots will be open all year.