First week of spring practice in the books

Injury Updates:

RB Justin Anderson - Non-contact throughout the spring (Torn PCL from last year)
RB Montell Clanton - Out for at least a month (Torn R ACL last year)
LB Tim McCarthy - Close to 100% (Torn MCL & PCL last year)

List of players limited to running from Friday night's practice:

QB Dan Nicholson (shoulder surgery)
RB Montell Clanton (ACL)
RB Ricky Crider (broken leg)
FB Anthony Antonacci (ACL)
WR Britt Davis (shoulder surgery)
WR Matt Simon (shoulder surgery)
TE Dave Koronkiewicz (dislocated elbow still?)
DT Craig Rusch (ACL)
DE Jake Coffman (foot injury)
DL John Hopkins (compartment syndrome still?)
DL DJ Pirkle
LB Jason Cruikshank
LB Tim McCarthy (MCL & PCL)
DB Chase Carter (dislocated shoulder)

Practice Highlights:

Wide receiver Marcus Perez had the catch of the day on Wednesday at Northern Illinois spring practice with a one-handed grab on a 40-yard pass from quarterback Chandler Harnish with a defensive back draped on Perez.

Perez must be getting a ton of playing time with both starting WRs Matt Simon and Britt Davis sitting out. Even though Marcus didn't shine in Novak's system, hopefully he has come far enough in his career to have a breakout season with all the reps he's getting this spring.

Hungry? Get an interception

Now here's some motivation:

Linebackers coach Tom Matukewicz is already by far my favorite assistant coach because of this article in the Daily Chronicle from Thursday.

"Tuke" says that any player that causes a turnover "Gets Candy"

Any fumble or interception, Tuke is gonna hook you up with a nice (hopefully right out of the freezer) Snickers bar. The toughest defensive player is going to get a huge crunch bar at the end of spring ball.

More Tuke goodness:

It's not the only phrase Matukewicz sticks with. A technique drill at Monday's practice that involved defenders moving and picking up a towel had Matukewicz repeating “Shake and bake” to his players.

“He just comes up with stuff off the top of the head,” Schiller said. “Him and (wide receivers) coach (P.J.) Fleck are probably the craziest guys out there.”

“A lot of humor, I can say that,” said linebacker Phil Brown. “They're making it fun around here. It's serious, but (Matukewicz) helps us understand that it's really a game.”

“As a defense, we've got to get that mentality that each play ends with a takeaway,” Matukewicz said. “Not a tackle, not an incomplete pass. It ends with an interception. It ends with a strip attempt. It ends with a fumble recovery. That's the mentality we've got to have.”

That's what we have lacked since before I even went to school here in '05: TURNOVERS


Could the 6'6" 244 basketball player Bristan Kelley play TE for the Huskies?

Kansas State, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin and Miami (FL) were all interested in Bristan while he was playing football at Lee Summit North in Missouri.

I think this is a GREAT idea. We're lacking in TEs this year and I think Kelley would be a great addition to this team. He gets 2 weeks to try out. If it works out, fine. If it doesn't then no harm, no foul. He's gonna be fighting to get any minutes at all next year in the fast-paced, guard-oriented offense that Kelley is just not built for, so perhaps he can make the complete transition and be a star.