By Bobby Narang
The Northern Illinois University football team wrapped up its Spring practice in mid-April.
The Huskies were one of the surprise teams in Division I last season and won nine games, the Mid-American Conference (MAC) West Division and the Conference championship game to earn another bowl bid.
Coming into the 2021 season, Northern Illinois coach Thomas Hammock was on the hot seat following an 0-6 record in the shortened 2020 season. But the Huskies opened up last season with an impressive road victory over Georgia Tech, and showed a penchant to win close games to help Hammock earn the MAC Coach of the Year Award.
The Huskies will have eight starters return on each side of the ball, and Hammock said the offensive and defensive lines are the strengths of the team.
“We’re good on defense,” Hammock said. “We have depth. After each Spring, we rank the top 30 [players] and normally, you feel good about 16, 17 guys. We feel good about 28 guys on defense. These guys are mature, they’ve grown up, they’ve developed, they have a better understanding of the schemes, and they can go out there and make plays, and that is exciting. We can play a different style of game come this Fall with a defense like that.”
The loss of running back Jay Ducker, the MAC Freshman of the Year, to Memphis hurts the offense. Three sophomores, led by Harrison Waylee, are slated to handle the majority of the carries in place of Ducker. Senior quarterback Rocky Lombardi is back after a stellar first season following his transfer to DeKalb from Michigan State.
“His leadership is something you can’t put a value on,” Hammock said. “He’s a true leader in the locker and an extensive of the coaching staff. We gave him that leeway, believed what in he could do and he executed exactly everything. He’s had a tremendous offseason. We can do a lot more things with him in passing game because we trust him.”
“He’s been phenomenal. He’s making all the checks, he’s telling the receivers where to get lined up, who to block. His leadership matters. When you have a quarterback that can lead like that, it gives you a chance to be very, very dynamic on offense.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Ethan Hampton did not play in the Spring game, but he’s impressed the coaching staff this Spring. The 6-foot-2, 204-pound Hampton, an Aurora Christian graduate, played in three games last season, completing 4-of-10 passes for 23 yards.
“Ethan continues to learn under Rocky,” Hammock said. “Hopefully, we don’t need him this season. But he will get better and better. He’s gotten bigger, his weight is up and he has an elite arm talent. We will play a different game if he was playing, probably eliminate some of quarterback run stuff because he can stretch the field in the passing game.”
The Huskies welcomed a familiar name to their quarterback room this Spring in Justin Lynch. As the younger brother of former All-America quarterback Jordan Lynch, Justin played one season at Temple University before transferring to Northern Illinois.
“Justin Lynch was a nice addition to our team,” Hammock said. “He gives us the ability to run the ball at quarterback and he can throw the ball.”