NIU Baseball drops doubleheader to open season

There was a time.

There was a time last year I would read box scores like they were a well-written piece of literature. Baseball season is back. Being the Cubs fan that I am, I started to follow the minor league teams as well. I expect the transition from following minor leagues will be smooth looking towards the collegiate baseball game, something I have never followed before. Few press, hardcore fans. I can't wait.

Looking at last Thursday's marathon of 25 innings of baseball in one day...that's right:

The 16 inning loss against Portland was the longest game in NIU's history!!! Also in duration with the game going 4 hours and 22 minutes. Portland is a respectable WCC team and I have tremendous respect for them. Our undoing could have been blamed on the 3 errors we had in the 9-6 loss.

Here was the opening lineup for the Portland game:

SS Bobby Stevens
LF Jeff Thomas
3B Jordin Hood
RF Danny Reed
DH Justin Behm
C Matt Behren
1B Dave Reynolds
2B Dave Buonavolanto
CF Pat Minogue

P Trevor Feeney

#1 RF Danny Reed went 4 for 7 with one run, a double and an RBI. He also had 3 strikeouts, which was unfortunate. #13 1B/P Dave Reynolds was 3 for 7 with 2 RBI's and zero strikeouts. He also came in to the game to finish off the last 2 outs of the game in relief of Nick Badgley. Reynolds got caught stealing one time as well. Reynolds also did leave 3 guys on base during the course of the game. #11 SS Bobby Stevens went 2 for 8 with 2 doubles as well.

For pitching performances, starting #32 RHP Trevor Feeney was impressive as always, going 7.1 innings and only giving up 2 ER! He gave up 7 hits, struck out 2 batters and walked only 1 guy.

In the bullpen, #18 RHP Dan Atkenson destroyed the competition, striking out 5 in only 2 innings of work during the 14th and 15th innings. Unbelievable! He must have been on a pitch count, because we wouldn't have lost in my opinion if we had kept him in there for the 16th inning.

Players who made their debut yesterday include:

#23 LHP Nick Badgley - walked 2 and gave up 3 ER in the 16th inning to record the loss. Not the way I'd want to start a career! 3rd Badgley to pitch for NIU.
#2 2B Marvin Sanchez - went 1 for 3 with a run, a sacrifice and a strikeout.
#28 P/IF Brad Allen - pinch hit
#5 1B Joe Etcheverry - saw some fielding time

Now for the Hawaii game in which we lost 7-3. I wonder what these guys must have felt like having to play so much baseball in one day!

Changes to the lineup to give the catcher a break:

SS Stevens
LF Thomas
3B Hood
RF Reed
C Behm
DH Kamin
1B Reynolds
2B Buonavolanto
CF Minogue

P Jernstad

My favorite performance against Hawaii was by #14 3B Jordin Hood. He went 2 for 3 with an RBI, a triple and 2 BBs! Nice to see that performance from him. #4 LF Jeff Thomas had a nice game as well going 1 for 2 with 2 RBIs and 2 BBs. Thomas was also caught stealing in this game.

#25 LHP Matt Jernstad went 5.2 innings, giving up 7 hits, 2 ER, while striking out 7 and walking 5 guys.

Debuts in this game:

#10 C Sam Kapacinsakas played a little behind the plate
1B #5 Joe Etcheverry - debuted in the first game, but got his first hit pinch-hitting in the 9th inning
#26 LHP Tom Zelasko - relieved Jernstad in the 5th and gave up 2 hits and 2 ER
#29 RHP Zach Oates - retired the last two batters in the 8th inning. Oates is 6'7", the tallest Huskie baseball player since 1980.

I love baseball. Back in action today @ 3 against SIU.

Sports return to NIU, AD Phillips resigns

Last night was the return of sports to Northern Illinois Unversity. Despite losing 56-49, it was very fortunate to see the team back on the court. We had an attendance of 2,032, which I think is our 3rd best for the season. The attendance was disappointing, but somewhat reasonable considering there were only 700 or so people at the last game. Let's not forget that our basketball team is 6-18 and plays in the MAC conference.

Read any article and it will tell you that more people should have gone to the game. Maybe it was a problem with marketing and nobody knew about the game. People may have been expecting a Virginia Tech-esque crowd of people. We don't have any legacy in basketball. The last time we made a tourney was in 1996. Ricardo Patton has us on the right tracks, just now is not the time. Now if there was a football game coming up, the crowd for that would have been insane and would have set the attendance record without a doubt.



AD Jim Phillips is gone to Northwestern. The hiring happened weeks ago, but the announcement was obviously delayed because of the February 14th shootings. It would not have been appropriate to announce his resignation because of the situation.

It was only a matter of time the arguably greatest AD NIU has ever seen would leave the school. He has done so much for the university and was a master of fundraising, upgrading NIU's facilities significantly with the opening of the Yordon AAPC last fall.

Phillips had a contagious positive personality that everybody he met and talked to got to feel. He had to make tough decisions in the firing of basketball coach Rob Judson and hiring of Ricardo Patton from Colorado, providing the resources needed to succeed in that sport in the future.

Not only did he hire Patton, he also went through 1,000 resumes in the hiring of new head football coach Jerry Kill. It was the absolutely perfect time to get a new football coach, and Phillips completed the task admirably.

We offered to match Northwestern's offer, but he just had to make the decision to move on. It was the best decision he could have made and here's why: Ron Guenther, the AD for University of Illinois is expected to leave after 2010. That is the dream job for Phillips, because he is an alum from U of I from the class of 1990. That job is the biggest opportunity for Phillips, except he is not guaranteed the job will be available to him. He may not be hired to be the AD for Illinois 2 years from now. So instead of putting all of his eggs in one basket, Phillips has decided to move up to the Big 10 and have Illinois pry him away from NW.

Goodbye Jim, we will never forget you and will always appreciate the things you have done for this university.

WMU @ NIU on Tuesday

Right off the bat this week we get to watch some basketball this Tuesday at the Convo!

G David Kool & F Joe Reitz destroyed us when we went to Kalamazoo, so hope we can keep up with the Broncos this time around with the extra practice and maybe some extra motivation. Hopefully a HUGE crowd can make this one.

The Toledo and bracketbuster Tennessee State games have been CANCELLED! This is not good because I felt we had a fighting chance against both teams. It is unfortunate we can't play these games to get more experience and tally up a couple wins to get a better seed in the MAC tourney.

Also, the womens basketball game against Ohio will be played a week from Monday on March 3rd.

One Week Later

First of all, check out the NIU Athletics link on the right to check out the cool tribute they have.

At this point, there's only one thing you can do as a student of Northern Illinois University. You have to acknowledge the fact that this entire incident happened and move on.

There's no sense in dwelling on the subject, since Donald Grady and the rest of the NIU Police are doing the best job they can in analyzing interviews, evidence and figure out anything about the motive of the shooter. It's not our fault that the coward took out his hard drive from his computer and the sim card from his phone to thwart the investigation.

The best thing we can do as students is just move on and focus on other positive things. This event has brought to life the more important things in life. It makes you look past the minor squabbles and arguments that you may have with your friends. You realize how much your friends mean to you, and who cares for you.

Usually I take solace in the fact that a Northern game is coming up whether in Basketball or the upcoming Baseball season. I can't wait now for the remaining home basketball games and the season opener for baseball @ SIU February 29th.

The last memorial service before school starts will be Sunday at 7 PM @ the Convo. Then 2 days of "class" with counselors around the classrooms. Then a regular schedule will resume.

Special thanks to all the tributes including:

The Chicago White Sox
The Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Blackhawks
Virginia Tech
Western Michigan
Sycamore & Dekalb High Schools

And all others...

Sports-Related Articles Pt 2

Hawks, Sox, honor NIU (Photos by Tribune, Getty):

Ricardo Patton consults with Virginia Tech (Tribune)

Athletes touched by Northern Illinois tragedy (ESPN)

Sports-Related Articles

AD Jim Phillips talks about crisis plan (ESPN)

Drew Jeskey, a midfielder on the Huskies soccer team, was in the lecture hall during theshooting but escaped. Tim Mayerbock, an offensive guard on the school's football team, was just outside Cole Hall at the time of the shooting and helped a wounded student.

"The student got hit with some pellets off of one of the shotgun shells, was not in critical condition but was certainly injured," Phillips told ESPN.com on Friday night. "Tim and his friend helped the kid to safety and also took him to the hospital. He really jumped in at a horrific moment."

NIU tragedy hits close to home for Bears RB Wolfe

Safety Alex Kube - "We couldn't learn in peace?" (Chronicle)

Entry Number 3

I am sad. I am sad because this event involves me and so many people I know.

I have been told to go home, but I choose to stay here right now. I want to get out of Dekalb as soon as I can, because it is dead here. Right now it is just me and a few fraternity brothers that stayed. Just hanging out, drinking and listening to music. There's only so many nights of this I can take. I want normalcy, but know it's not going to happen anytime soon.

One of my friends told me he had a dream the night before about seeing people with buckshot wounds. I am very sad these unfortunate actually happened.

I don't want to go home. I have gone to 3 vigils in 2 nights. I am too close for comfort and also too few friends have talked to me and offered me condolences. Tonight's included the reverend Jessie Jackson.

Out of all the universities in the nation, it just has to be us. Why? I ask.

I do know that the service and the people on the scene of the crime get a 10 out of 10 from me. They truly did all they could do in an impossible situation.

I also have a new hero and its this guy:



NIU Police Chief Donald Grady

What a badass.

Everything Cancelled this weekend

I would have really liked to have seen my Huskies play at the Convo against WMU on Sunday to get over this tragedy, but that event has been canceled, as is the women's game on Saturday.

Women's gymnastics, track and field, the tennis teams and the wrestling and golf teams will not be traveling anywhere this weekend.

I went to the candlelight vigil last night and it was really good. I went to both the one on Glidden/Normal and the one by the Pike house for the late Dan P and 2 Sigma Kappa girls that were injured.

The updated list includes 6 people have died along with the gunman.

You can find the names online if you go to the school's website on the right or any recent news article.

I guess the shooter lives in Champaign. There is video of police searching his house. He is 27, attends U of I and is a recent grad of NIU in sociology.

Am I going home? Haha. I don't think so. I live in a fraternity house, while my family lives in Texas and couldn't get a hold of my cousin, who is my only family in the area.

It's a good thing I don't have any classes in Cole Hall. Seriously though, they need to demolish that place. I've heard it was an old school house that was here before the time of segregation. Just put up some memorial there instead.

Feel free to comment or discuss this event on the Dog Pound Forum

School Shooting @ NIU

I am OK, but this is bad. Very surreal. Nobody should have the experience that I am having right now. The shooter is confirmed dead which is good, probable suicide. Keep the 15+ victims in your prayers. For those that don't know, the shooting was inside Cole Hall, which is located almost at the center of campus. Keep the university students in your prayers.

Luckily my class was located in Barsema at the time, as farthest away as I could be. Walking up to the building, all I heard were people talking on their cell phones about seeing ambulances and the shooting. I couldn't believe my ears. The building was properly locked down for an hour or so and we were let out and finally got cell phone service so we could call our families.

Cole Hall. I remember taking one of my finals in that place, thinking to myself and saying to my friends that this would be the place a shooting would maybe happen. Classes in Cole house the most amount of people in one place on campus. Cole is one of the oldest, most run down buildings on campus. I could care less if they tore that entire place down. Truly unbelievable. The biggest auditorium on campus. I have friends in critical condition and wish for their recoveries.

Please anybody that wants an eye-witness account, I wasn't there. Therefore I really don't want to give an interview. Especially with all this grief that is going on right now. I'm so sad that somebody close to me has to have surgery and I don't even know if she's OK. Please e-mail me support, not inquiries because I don't know anything other than what's being reported on the news.

Reviewing the travesty that was the 2007 All-MAC Football Team

Here's something I was just browsing over again:

When the MAC All-Conference team was voted on by the MAC's 12 coaches:

1st Team:
DL Larry English, JR

2nd Team:
RB Justin Anderson, SO

3rd Team:
OL Jon Brost, JR


Wait just one second here. Where are WR Matt Simon and SS Alex Kube? They played well enough to be on 3rd or even 2nd-1st team at their respected positions.

Let's take a glance at Matt Simon's stats for the year:

52 rec
969 yds
18.63 avg
5 tds
4.3 rec/g
80.8 ypg

Now let's look at this jokester that made 3rd team All-MAC:

Buffalo WR Naaman Roosevelt:

63 rec
766 yds
12.16 avg
4 tds
5.3 rec/g
63.8 ypg

Matt is better than this guy in every single category other than receptions. It is a joke that Simon was not named 3rd Team All-MAC.

He had 203 more yds than the Buffalo WR for the year! Matt led the MAC in yards per catch with 18.63. What an embarrassment that the most consistent offensive player for the Huskies has to be shafted.


Now for SS Alex Kube. This redshirt freshman really came on the scene for the Huskies, staying healthy when everybody else was going down.

Let's take a glance at tackles by a DB in the MAC Conference:

1. Buffalo's Davonte Shannon with 123 tackles
2. NIU's Alex Kube with 111 tackles

WHAT?

Shouldn't Alex Kube be a shoe-in for 1st or 2nd team All-MAC??? Shannon is 1st Team. What about Alex? Being the 2nd best tackler for a defensive back doesn't put you in the top 12 DBs in the conference? What a farce.

Kube may have been a glorified roaming linebacker at the SS spot, but shouldn't he get some recognition inside this conference? He was the number 8 tackler in the MAC, but doesn't get the respect he deserves as our last line of defense. What a joke. I don't know if our safeties are going to get as many tackles next year as they have in past years, but I hope this snub doesn't happen again.

I guess we just live in a corner-obsessed league where interceptions are everything and strong safeties aren't going to get respect. I just hope that the NIU secondary learns how to play in the post-Doornbos era and force more turnovers so we can avoid another 2-10 season.

Bizzaro World - Huskies pull off win in Akron

My health has been in the toilet lately. I didn't attend an extra credit event for one of my classes and didn't even bother to listen or watch NIU @ Akron. It was the "MAC game of the week" or something. I really couldn't stomach another loss at this point. Earlier today, I shrugged off the notion that NIU right now was just like an animal backed up in to a corner.

Akron had won 22 straight games @ Rhodes Arena, which was the 5th longest streak in the country. Come on now this is a 5-17 17 point underdog against a 17-6 Akron team at home! Truly David vs Goliath.

Jake Anderson went 8 for 11 from the field and scored 24 points with 10 rebounds. Michael Patton went 7 for 13 including 5 from behind the arc, finishing with 22.

Keep in mind that both players mentioned above are TRUE FRESHMEN and will be around for 3 more years.

Out of nowhere, Ben Rand also got a double double scoring 11 and pulling down 10. Logan and Nichols both had 10 pts as well. Ricardo made a comment after the game that Rand was only 65-75% ready to go. The Iowa transfer truly has a lot of heart to still be playing this game.

One of the worst perimeter defenses in the nation (currently 328th) in NIU stopped Akron as they only made 8 of 27 shots from the 3-point range. The Huskies shot 64.5% for the entire game, and never fell behind in the 2nd half.

The next home game is Sunday at 3pm @ the Convo in Dekalb against Western Michigan. Can NIU continue their momentum and possibly make a dent in the MAC Tourney? Is it possible for this team to have a chance to make the tourney? Only time will tell.

HIGHLIGHTS (courtesy of MadDawgz02 of godawgz.com)

VIDEO!

Highlights of all our recruits are up on the the athletic website:

http://niuhuskies.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/020608aac.html

This is the first time I've seen this done. Kudos to the athletic dept/whoever runs that website.

Wow ATH Tommy Davis is a speed demon. RB Meco Brown looks like a player. Jody VanLaanen looks like he will live up to his ranking as the #1 DB in Wisconsin. LB Kiaree Daniels makes great tackles to go along with his 4.4 speed.

Which Freshmen Redshirted Last Year?

Along with the true freshmen coming in, there are also some guys who redshirted last year and still have 4 years of eligibility left.

The Redshirt Freshmen for 2008:

3 QB DeMarcus Grady
12 QB Chandler Harnish
46 LB Dan Hilbert
74 OL Adam Kiel
89 DL Ron Newcomb
62 OL Trevor Olson
68 OL Keith Otis
81 WR Nathan Palmer
29 LB Pat Schiller
35 RB Alan Smith
16 DB Boone Thorgesen
71 OL Scott Wedige
41 DB Tracy Wilson

Redshirt walk-on freshmen (Still on roster):

77 OL Eli Alafogainanis
10 WR Willie Clark
88 TE Brett Eriksen
97 TE Jack Marks
55 LB Pat McAvoy
55 LS Nolan Owen
77 OL Joe Pawlak
43 PK Andrew Trimmerman
3 LB Kyle Wideman

True Freshmen that did play last year:


36 RCB Chase Carter (JR) - Started all 12 games
Season stats: 42 tackles (23 solo), .5 TFL, 2 INTs for 120 yds and 5 pass break-up

Chase is a perfect example of how a JUCO guy can come in and help right away. Kill recruited guys from the same JUCO in Coffeyville, KS.


80 WR Landon Cox - Played in 10 games
Season stats: 2 catches for 19 yds
Special teams: 5 tackles (2 solo)

Cox would always play in games, but rarely caught the ball for some reason. Hopefully he can develop more skills this off-season with his 6'3" frame.


33 DB Patrick George - Played all 12 games
Season defensive stats: 7 tackles (5 solo)
Special teams: 13 kick returns for 242 yds (18.6 avg), longest 28 yds, 20.2 per game

George was sporadic in his kickoff returns. He would drop the ball a lot of the time. He has a ton of speed, and hopefully he can develop some more awareness over this off-season.


94 DL John Hopkins - Played in 3 games
Season stats: 1 tackle

Hopkins filled in pretty nice on the D-Line before falling to Compartment Syndrome.


98 DT DJ Pirkle - Played in 6 games, starting 3
Season stats: 13 tackles (11 solo), 4 TFL for 37 yds (3 sacks for 35), 1 pass break-up and 1 fumble recovery

Pirkle was another nice fill-in with all of the D-Line injuries. He is huge and just engulfs people sometimes. He had some huge games later in the season.


34 LB Kyle Skarb - Played in 8 games
Season stats: 4 tackles (2 solo)

Skarb is a guy I barely noticed playing, but he filled in pretty well as a backup LB.


3 RB Chad Spann - Played in 10 games
Season stats: 11 rushes for 61 yds
Special teams: 5 tackles (2 solo)

Spann had a tough year after apparently being put in Novak's doghouse after the Idaho game and injuring his knee on special teams later in the year.

This brings the entire freshman class number up to 24 scholarship players (11 true, 13 redshirt) along with 9 redshirt freshman walk-ons. Can't wait to see what walk-ons Coach Kill brings on the team this year in addition to Krisch.

Preferred Walk-on...a Fullback?!

Can somebody tell me exactly what a fullback is? It's been a solo job in the backfield of Brigham Field as long as I can remember.

This guy is a good player from a good program in Joliet Catholic.



Connor Krisch, FB
6'1" 220 lbs
Joliet, IL (Joliet Catholic)

40 Time: 4.6
Bench: 22 reps of 185
Bench Max: 330
Dead Lift: 530
Squat: 570
GPA: 3.2

All-Conference

http://connorkrisch.com/

JCA '7' Sign Letters

Krisch -- The wingback who loved to block entertained several offers from Division II schools, but "I wanted to play at the highest level possible, and I especially wanted to play fullback."

New coach Jerry Kill, late of Southern Illinois, and his staff had just the ticket at Northern Illinois.

"They didn't have that many scholarships this year, but I can earn one," Krisch said. "I took an official visit last weekend and loved it. I really like Coach Kill and P.J. Fleck, who recruited me."

Krisch plans to major in sports management and eventually be a college football coach or an athletic director.

NSD Pt V: JUCO Guys and Wrap-Up

Signing day is over, and we finish off the class with a couple of KS JUCO guys. Not a bad way to fill some needs and get some speed in to the program. Again, 20 guys are seriously injured right now on the team, so these young guys need to step up. 15-16 guys may not get back until June. Our kicker situation right now is going to be taken over by Mike Salerno. Each year, Kill wants to get the majority of his guys from the Chicagoland area. He commented during the Fatty's event that kids from the North commit a lot sooner than the kids in the South. That's how we were able to get a few of the kids this year in our 2008 class.

5 coaches are recruiting the Chicago area right now, while 3 others are recruiting the south. Each year they may want to get 2-3 players from the south if they are good enough and fill needs. Again, Kill wants the players to mainly be from around here just like the teams before. As Kill said in the Daily Herald, Chicagoland, Minnesota, Indiana, Wisconsin & Iowa will always be our main recruiting base. Kill also mentioned about picking up a QB every year or so.

We had the least amount of signees in the nation with only 13. Penn State and Navy had 14, while Texas Tech, Utah and TCU all had 15.


12. Darnell Bolding, LB (SO)
6'2" 215
Washington DC (Bowie HS/Coffeyville CC)

Rivals Profile
ESPN Profile
Rivals Profile (2006)
Scout Profile (2006)

Was also considering: Illinois (Offer), Cincinnati (Offer), Iowa (Offer), Miami OH (Offer), Indiana (Offer), Michigan State (Offer), NC State, Akron

Darnell is already enrolled @ NIU and will participate in Spring Practice.


13. Kiaree Daniels, DB (SO)
5'10" 195
Kissimmee, Fla (Osceola HS/Highland JC)

40 Time: 4.4

Rivals Profile
ESPN Profile

Recruited by: LBs coach Tom Matukewicz

Participated in track in HS.

NSD Pt IV: Last Minute Decisions

9. Tommy Davis, ATH
5'11" 180
East St. Louis, IL (Althoff Catholic HS)

Vertical Jump: 38"

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile

Huskies land versatile Althoff senior Tommy Davis

Was also considering: Stanford (Offer), Air Force (Offer)

Plays CB, WR and is also Returns Kicks. Again, he has a 38" vertical. Ridiculous. Dad was a RB for Iowa State and his cousin Peerless Price plays WR for the Bills.



10. Brian Lawson, DT/DE
6'3" 260
Park Forest, IL (Rich East HS)

40 Time: 4.8

Rivals Profile
ESPN Profile

All-State

Recruited by: DTs Coach Jeff Phelps

Was also considering: NDSU (Offer), Illinois, Ball State, Central Michigan, Michigan

Wrestled and competed in Track in HS. Sprinter and High Jumper. Comparisons to NIU DE Larry English.



11. Meco Brown, RB
5'7" 185
Moss Point, Miss (Moss Point HS)

40 Time: 4.4-4.5

GPA: 2.9
ACT: 17

Rivals.com Rating: 2-Stars, 5.2
Scout.com Rating: 2-Stars

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile

Brown signs on the dotted line (Mississippi Press)

Was also considering: Jackson St (Offer), Southern Miss, Hawaii, Auburn, LSU, Rutgers, Miss St, Georgia

Draws comparisons to former MAC RBs Garrett Wolfe & Jerry Seymour. Also returns Kicks/Punts.

NIU classes are...CANCELED!

God help us all. 14 inches of snow expected. Don't think I'm making it to Fatty's @ Noon for the signing day event. Or anybody else for that manner.

NSD Pt III: Southern Cookin'

One thing Joe Novak didn't do was recruit nationally. It often seemed like there was a forcefield around the Midwest. That is not the case with Coach Kill in charge. And the fact that we have to look hard all over this year because most of the recruits around here have committed already. Without further ado, here are the rest of the current verbal commits for NIU:


6. Maurice Coon, ATH
6'1" 238 lbs
Lakeland (FL) George Jenkins

40 Time: 4.51 secs
Vertical Jump: 32.6"

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile

Myspace Profile

3rd Team All-State

Maurice really looks like he can do it all being so mobile, while still weighing around 240. Looks like a Michael Turner or a Brandon Jacobs type-runner. Jacobs got his Super Bowl ring with the Giants on Sunday, and that just shows how good of a college Coach Jerry Kill is. He's a guy that was lost in the mix, because he was hurt his Junior year and transferred to Lakeland his senior year. Not too many coaches had film on him and Kill scooped him up from the state of Florida.

Coon called up Jerry Kill the night before Signing Day and told him he was going to sign with USF just as a joke. WOW. I would be pissed if I were Kill, but oh well...hahaha

Recruited by: RBs Coach Rob Reeves

Was also considering: Southern Illinois, Oregon, South Florida, Ball State, Middle Tenn St.






7. Logan Pegram, OG
6'3" 298 lbs
Silver Lake (KS) Silver Lake

40 Time: 5.2 secs
Vertical: 29"
GPA: 2.6
ACT: 21

Rivals.com Rating: 2-Stars, 5.3
Scout.com Rating: 2-Stars, #80 OG
ESPN.com Rating: 74, #53 OG

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile

Pegram finds right fit at Northern Illinois
Pegram picks Northern Illinois
Pegram among state's top prospects

All-State

Was also considering: Colorado State (Offer), Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri

Logan can easily be one of our top recruits this year. Just look at his rankings. ESPN has him at the 53rd ranked Guard in the nation! That is incredible. He's just not as tall as you would like in an exterior, but he should dominate the interior of the line in the MAC conference. A great type of recruit for NIU to get. Also played basketball in for Silver Lake.


8. Brandon Rogers, QB
6'2" 215 lbs
Tulsa (OK) Union

Rivals.com Rating: 2-Stars, 5.1
Scout.com Rating: 2-Stars, #146 QB
ESPN.com Rating: 69, #112 QB
Ranked #27 OK Prospect by OkPrepXtra.com

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile

Options limited for Redskin quarterback
Union quarterback commits to Northern Illinois

Was also considering: Eastern Michigan (Offer), Colorado State, Kansas, SMU, TCU, Alabama, NC State, Purdue, Tennessee, Tulsa

Brandon is the late commit that we all felt like we needed to get. One of our last weekend gets. Hopefully he can push some people at the QB position and have a better year in that department for the 2008. Just like one of the coaches said, the QB needs to be an extension of the head coach. Played in front of 25-30,000 fans each game in HS. Benches 300+ lbs. The same player that helped Coach Kill pick up Brandon Jacobs found this guy. Compared to former SIU QB Nick Hill.

Threw for 2,449 yds, 25 TDs and only 5 INTs his senior year, completing 65% of his passes.

Here's what Brandon's uncle has to say about him per NIU Dog Pound:

He's the real deal and he is coming to NIU with something to prove. Trust me, he's definitely a student of the game and his only focus is winning and school. None of those other outside distractions are a factor. Can't wait until everyone gets an opportunity to see and meet him this summer.

NSD Pt II: Midwestern Roots

Jerry Kill said this quote today in the Northern Star:

“That’s what made it tough coming in here; when you take it up a notch, most of them are already committed,” Kill said. “I think everybody in the Chicagoland area was committed before we got the job.”

Therefore, Kill and his assistants had to hit the rest of the Midwest hard to get these last-minute guys to come to Northern. It's a good thing we only have 10 scholarships to hand out this year. Again these are just verbal commitments, nothing official.


3. Chase Mejia, WR/KR
5'10" 180 lbs
Columbia (MO) Rock Bridge

40 Time: 4.5 secs
Bench Reps: 20
Vertical Jump: 35"
Shuttle: 4.10 secs
GPA: 3.0
ACT: 26

Rivals.com Rating: 2-Stars, 5.2
Scout.com Rating: 2-Stars, #207 WR

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile

Takkle Profile
Mid-State Sports Profile

Missouri WR Opens Eyes

Recruited by: PJ Fleck

Was also considering: Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Ball State, Arizona State, Colorado State, Purdue

“I could see myself at Northern Illinois. Coach Fleck is a great guy and he played in the NFL so he knows what it takes to get to the highest level. Northern Illinois is only taking one wide receiver and Coach Fleck told me that I’m his #1 receiver prospect so we’ll see what happens.”

I would like to dub this Slot WR/DB/KR/PR as "The White Devin Hester" Chase is already enrolled at NIU and will participate in spring practices. Wants to major in Finance. PJ Fleck/Wes Welker type WR.



4. Adam Coleman, DT/DE
6'3" 260 lbs
Bettendorf (IA) Bettendorf

40 Time: 4.91 secs
Bench Reps: 27
Vertical Jump: 28"
Shuttle: 4.44 secs
GPA: 3.61

Rivals.com Rating: 2-Stars, 5.4
#8 on Rivals.com Iowa Top 10
Scout.com Rating: 2-Stars
ESPN.com Rating: 74, #71 DT

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Bettendorf star picks NIU, not Western

Was also considering: Western Illinois (Offer), Northern Iowa, Duke (Offer), Stanford, Wyoming, Buffalo, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas & Kansas State.

Adam had an offers from both Duke and Western Illinois. He verbally committed to Western Illinois before even visiting the campus. He didn't like what he saw there and Kill and staff lured him to the Dekalb area. He has a high-motor and is the player most likely to play as a freshman.



5. Dan Edem, TE/DE
6'3" 235 lbs
Apple Valley (MN) Eastview

40 Time: 4.67 secs
Vertical Jump: 32"

Rivals.com Rating: 2-Stars, 5.0

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Edem commits to UND
2007 All-State Football Ballot

Dan Edem, SR, Eastview: Data: 6'3", 235 lbs. 2007 Stats: 12 catches for 176 yards, 4 TD. Limited defensive action: 1 defensive TD, 3 hurries, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 tackle. Notes: Two-year starter at TE and DE. Member of two section champions.

All-Conference selection this season. Graded out at 95.3% blocking score during 2007. Career defensive stats: 5 hurries, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 5 TFL, 25 tackles (11 solo 14 assist). Team rushed for 2621 yards (5.0 yards per carry) this season. Coach quotes: "We believe him to be the most dominant offensive lineman (from TE) in the Lake Conference. Forces teams to account for him both as a blocker and a receiver. He has shown the ability to dominate the line of scrimmage during many games this year. Also can play at wide receiver in many offensive sets." Third team all-metro pick by Star Tribune.

Special Mention All-State

Was also considering: Ohio (Offer), North Dakota (Offer), Michigan State, Montana, Montana State & D-II

Dan also played Soccer, Lacrosse and Basketball @ Eastview HS.

NSD Pt I: The Ones Who Stayed

With National Signing Day on Wednesday, we'll start off with 3 guys that committed to this program and stuck through the entire coaching change (And hopefully they sign Wednesday!)

Ouch there goes our first commit OG Richard Hayes off to CMU instead of us. Oh well...



1. Kevin Sabock, OLB/FB
6'2" 210 lbs
Sycamore (IL)

Rivals.com Rating: 2-Stars, 5.2
ESPN.com Rating: 71, #105 LB

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Sabock fulfills lifelong dream to play at NIU (Chronicle)

Was also considering: Georgia Tech, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ball State, Illinois

Kevin is the son of former NIU Assistant Coach Mike Sabock.


2. Jody VanLaanen, S
6'0" 195 lbs
Green Bay (WI) Ashwaubenon

40 Time: 4.77 secs
Vertical Jump: 34"

Rivals.com Rating: 2-Stars, 5.1
Scout.com Rating: 2-Stars, #143 S
Wisconsin Sports Network Position Ranking: #1

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D-I Attention for VanLaanen
VanLaanen nets Division I offer

Was also considering: Wisconsin (Preferred Walk-On), Illinois State, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Wyoming and D-II schools.

Jody was State Champion in the 171 weight class last year for wrestling, where his dad is the coach. Aside from DB, he also played QB and RB.

Check out some of his wrestling matches here:

http://badgerstatewrestling.com/content/view/143/36/
http://badgerstatewrestling.com/content/view/267/36/

Ohio Out-Guns Huskies 73-55

The day started off pretty interesting when in the 11 AM Alumni game the Cardinal beat the Black 124-120 in OT. I'm disappointed I forgot about this game and missed it. I really am not familiar at all with a lot of the basketball played here before I got to school at NIU. It has always been a football school, whereas before our recent success with the pigskin, basketball has been all the rage.

I never got to experience games at Chick Evans, but I was reminded that during the Convo years, our attendance in 2002-2003 we averaged 3,500 a game with 6,800 attending the CMU game when Chris Kaman played for them.

Then started the real game.

Things are a little hard when one of your most valuable guards goes down for an extended period of time. This is the case with the foot of Jarvis Nichols. Again we are down to 9 players and that is something this team just can't compete with right now.

Ohio has good days and bad days, but they just dominated us in all facets of the game. I guess it's a little revenge after last year when we beat the Bobcats at their place towards the end of the season.

Ohio probably has the best frontcourt in all of MAC basketball, so this game was difficult for our big men. We got out-rebounded and out-shot, especially from the 3-point line.

No point in to going through all of the stats, but you have to look at some things in this game. Player of the game has to be Jake Anderson, who had 16 points and 8 boards! Can somebody please explain how one of our guards is leading the team in rebounding? It's just ridiculous. Sure, Sean Smith scored 19, but he only grabbed half of Jake's total, with 4 for the night. And Sean Smith has almost a half a foot on Jake.

Michael Patton did not have one of his best games, going 1-10 from the field including 0-7 from beyond the arc. Shaun Logan puts his effort in to every game, but was only 1-5 with zero rebounds. Ohio has a lot more depth than what we have right now.

Ohio shot an amazing 48% for the game and getting the early 40-20 lead at half-time was the difference. Attendance was good with 2,324 for Alumni Day.

And if you like fluff, here are some Chronicle articles to take a glance at:

Hart glad to be a Huskie
Huskie Notebook: Phillips mum on Northwestern AD opening
Viewpoint: Kill works hard on recruiting

Also, here's an update on Doug Free for your Super Bowl Sunday:
Rookie season is learning experience for Free