By Bobby Narang
Northern Illinois University head football coach Thomas Hammock has his program at a crossroads.
Three years ago, in the shortened coronavirus pandemic season, the Huskies lost all six of their games.
Two years ago, the Huskies won five straight games in the middle of the season to win the Mid-American Conference West Division championship. The Huskies added to their stellar season with a 41-23 victory over Kent State in the MAC championship game, but then lost, 47-41, to Coastal Carolina in the Tailgreeter Cure Bowl in Orlando.
Last season, coming off a MAC championship, the Huskies had high expectations for another stirring run, but injuries, mainly to standout receiver/returner, Trayvon Rudolph, and quarterback, Rocky Lombardi, led to a 3-9 won-loss record.
Now, in year five of Hammock’s tenure, the Huskies are looking to climb back up to the top of the bottom from the cellar, behind a solid cast of returnees, most notably Lombardi. The Michigan State transfer is slated for his third year in DeKalb, one of 13 players who were starters during the 2021 MAC championship season.
Hammock said the Huskies are ready to turn the corner in 2023.
“There were six games that we played last year we had the lead or were tied,” Hammock said. “We looked at that to analyze where the breakdown was and what happened. It came down to we must execute better. That’s one thing we have been focused on throughout this offseason. How can we execute better? How can we perform better in critical situations to get back to where we want to be?”
The Huskies’ non-conference schedule includes Boston College, Southern Illinois, Nebraska, and Tulsa. Sophomore quarterback Ethan Hampton, an Elburn native who attended Aurora Christian High School, is set to back up Lombardi. Last season the 6-foot-3, 219-pound Hampton played in four games, and completed 72-of-122 passes for 798 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions.
The good news, for all of NIU’s quarterbacks, is the return of five starters on the offensive line. Hammock said he’s been pleased with his quarterbacks this Spring.
“Getting Rocky back is a big difference and also keeping him healthy,” Hammock said. “Ethan Hampton made a big jump. He has a better understanding of the offense, gotten a lot of reps this Spring and made a jump. He’s healthy and his leadership has greatly improved. We have a nice one-two punch at quarterback.”