NIU FOOTBALL POSITION PREVIEW: SAFETY

DEKALB, Ill. The University of Northern Illinois football team hit the training ground for the third time in 2021 at Huskie Stadium on Sunday.

Slightly cooler than yesterday, thanks to strong winds and cloudy skies, but still warm, the Huskies trained for two plus hours and added shoulder pads to their training series for the first time this fall as pillow assembly continues. NIU head coach Thomas Hammock was pleased with the team he saw.

“The pillows are coming on and it’s a new step in the process,” Hammock said. “We raised strength and physicality. I think both sides of the ball were played. I think the biggest thing is that we keep leaping that we’re going to be as hard as we become. Iron sharpens iron on us, so we have to keep working. We have to keep working. competition. They need to continue their studies. We’re putting more information in the game book and they need to be able to handle and adjust and be ready to perform. ”

Second class security Joshua Earl was in a red POTD (Player of the Day) shirt on Sunday for his performance in Saturday’s practice. Earl is part of a talented, deep, young but experienced fur group for the Huskies.

“We are probably the youngest, old secondary in the country because we have experience in everything,” NIU Defense Coordinator and Security Coach Derrick Jackson said. – We have four guys who have played a lot.

“It’s fun in it, and I tell them in every exercise that the expectations are as high as if we had vets there, because these guys have really played all season, for the most part. They played enough football to know They have a bow under the belt we missed. [last year]. So it’s been fun just to see how fast they’ve come. “

The two guys who impressed in their first year of college football were freshmen Devin Lafayette and Jordan Hansen. Lafayette was second in the team last year in the fight with 36 and dropped the fight, while Hansen led the team in the cut-outs with INT in the first game of the season against Buffalo and the second against Toledo.

In fact, the Huskies ’defense dropped three more abductions, five in six games, than they did in 12 matches the previous year. That’s a trend Jackson would hope to continue in 2021.

“We talked about wanting to be one of the best changing teams in the country,” Jackson said. “We’re going to stress that it’s a different thing than combat and different than we’re disguising. If we can take the ball away, we can eliminate the big games.”

One way Jackson feels that the Huskies can eliminate big games is to intervene. It was something that the NIU didn’t do a good enough job in Jackson’s opinion last season, and something for which he takes personal responsibility.

“I did a bad job because the film reflects me, and we didn’t solve the level that is necessary for us to have a chance to succeed,” he said. “I don’t think it was a youth task. I don’t think it’s a function of intensity. I think it was a task to understand that every play is an opportunity for us to be explosive. The explosive plays we gave up in our first year were typically not touches. Year two was explosive touches, and when explosive touches get points, you don’t have a chance to succeed no matter how many great buttons you play, so then there’s no consistency. We really focus on everyday work on some things, even if it doesn’t take anyone to the country. ”

The big difference from the beginning of last season to the beginning of this year, which Jackson feels helps in combat and more physical, is the size of his players.

“We probably don’t have the safety of less than 190 pounds or at least hovering there, which is physically large enough for guys to play at any moment, physically and play with confidence,” Jackson said.

While size has its advantages, Huskie DC also knows that mental play is just as important. Can understand plans, coverage concepts and communication.

“I think that’s the area where the young guys we failed,” he said. “It’s as much my fault as them, how we have to be so intentional and focus on notes and nuances, backfield sets, tight end lines, offensive line and / or recipient cracks, staff groups, down and distance. All of these are pieces of information that I don’t think guys do. could not collect [last year]. I think we’ve seen since then that they understand why down and distance matter. “

The Huskies will return to the practice field on Monday morning for the fourth practice of the fall camp.

The NIU will open the season at Georgia Tech on Sept. 4 before welcoming fans back to full capacity at Huskie Stadium, which will start from the home game and Wyoming on Sept. 11. The game starts at 12.30pm (CT) and the game honors the first defendants and health heroes while serving as a celebration for welcome fans.

Season tickets for NIU’s full six-match home schedule are still on sale, and season ticket prices are as high as $ 85. Buy at least four tickets to all six games through the Family Pack for only $ 90 per ticket (sections B and F) or $ 66 per ticket (sections A and G). Three- or four-game mini-plans are also available with Mission’s 3-game mini-plan, which costs $ 79 (including handling), while Victor E.’s 4-game mini-plan is $ 107.

See all ticket options and prices, as well as more information on premium seats on the football ticket page at NIUHuskies.com. To purchase tickets, call 815-753-PACK (7225) or go to NIUHuskies.com/MyHuskies.

-NIU-