RB AJ Harris cut from CFL team

Per the Edmonton Journal:

Tailback A.J. Harris flew back to Illinois on Saturday with the knowledge he did all he could to impress the coaching staff.

Even so, the Eskimos opted to go with former Arizona Cardinal Damien Anderson as their starting tailback for the 2008 football season.

"I'm actually surprised," Harris said. "I know they had to pick someone, and I guess they thought they had a better match with D.A."

Harris hopes to catch on with another CFL team, or possibly land on the Eskimos practice roster. He carried the ball seven times for 40 yards against the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Thursday.

I'm pretty disappointed Harris (2004-05) didn't get a chance to show off his skills in the Canadian Football League this year, so hopefully he can latch on to another team and perform. Former Northwestern standout Damien Anderson is a hell of a player as well and its a shame the both of them had to butt heads.

More Early Recruitin'

Here is Tom Lemming's Top 30 Area Football Players in the Class of 2009:

Red is interested in NIU
Bold is used to be interested in NIU and verballed to another school.

No. Player, School, Pos., Ht., Wt.

1 Craig Drummond, Morgan Park, DE, 6-5, 245
2 Chris Watt, Glenbard West, OL, 6-4, 275
3 Jon Budmayr, Marian Central, QB, 6-1, 185 (Wisconsin Verbal)
4 Evan Watkins, Glenbard North, QB, 6-6, 225 (Northwestern Verbal)
5 Pat Ward, Providence, OL, 6-7, 270 (NIU Offer)
6 Mike Schofield, Carl Sandburg, OL, 6-7, 275 (Michigan Verbal)
7 Lendell Buckner, Leo, DL, 6-2, 320 (Illinois Verbal)
8 Leon Hill, Leo, OL, 6-4, 320 (Illinois Verbal)
9 Mike Buchanan, Homewood-Flossmoor, DE, 6-6, 225
10 Charlie Goro, Maine South, QB, 6-3, 182
11 Sean Cascarano, Glenbrook South, OL, 6-6, 260 (Virginia Verbal)
12 Darren Jones, Thornton, QB 6-3, 195
13 Mike Trumpy, Wheaton North, RB, 6-0, 197 (Northwestern Verbal)
14 Darius Moffett, Hubbard, LB, 6-3, 225
15 Anthony Wells, North Chicago, DE, 6-2, 229
16 Shaun Pratl, Richards, TE, 6-7, 215
17 Dominique Bell, Morgan Park, RB, 6-1, 190
18 Jake Juriga, St. Charles North, LB, 6-3, 205
19 Jamal Gray, Thornton, WR, 6-3, 190
20 Cody O’Neill, Marian Central, OL, 6-2, 294
21 Kyle Zelinsky, Bartlett, LB, 6-2, 220
22 Demitrius Carr, Mount Carmel, DB, 6-1, 200
23 Gus Handler, Barrington, OL, 6-3, 265
24 Marty Hopkins, St. Rita, LB, 6-3, 230 (NIU Offer)
25 Jordan Roberts, Aurora Christian, QB, 6-1, 205
26 Austin Baker, Driscoll, TE, 6-5, 210
27 Scott Covert, Lake Forest, DL, 6-3, 235
28 Darwin Rogers, Leo, QB, 6-4, 205
29 Jack Baucus, Carmel, TE, 6-6, 233 (Arizona Verbal)
30 Alex Smith, Barrington, LB, 6-2, 225

As you can see, I think we have a good chance at getting a few commits from the latter part of that list, while the Big 10/BCS schools take most of the top 15 or so.

Couple new offers

Jared Volk, OT

6'4" 286 lbs

Hartland (WI) Arrowhead

40 time: 5.25

Vertical: 28"

Bench max: 335 lbs

Squat max: 535 lbs

Dead lift max 535 lbs

Power clean max: 265 lbs

Rivals Profile

Other offers: Illlinois St

Recruited by: Matt Limegrover

#15 ranked player in Wisconsin

#5 OL in Wisconsin

Second offer for Volk (WSN)

Jarrett Fleming, WR

6'4" 185 lbs

South Bend (IN) Washington

Rivals Profile

Scout Profile

Other offers: Central Michigan and Bowling Green

New Scout.com sites, offers

Out of nowhere, we finally have a beat reporter for Scout.com. The NIU site is called HuskiePride.com, while Akron recently added ZipsReport.com as well.

HuskiePride has a knowledgeable staff and also have a Sun-Times prep reporter helping them out. Although I prefer the Rivals sites most of the time, if you're an NIU Huskie fan then I highly suggest that you subscribe to the Scout.com service.

And here are some offers to a couple guys from Wisconsin and one from the DVC.

Zach Anderson, DL/OL

6'3" 285 lbs

Ladysmith (WI) Ladysmith

Rivals Profile

Scout Profile

Other offers: South Dakota State

#14 ranked player in Wisconsin

#5 ranked DL in Wisconsin

Jayme Wells, DB/WR

5'10" 183 lbs

Kimberly (WI) Kimberly

Wells grabs two scholarships in one weekend

Recruited by: Matt Limegrover

#3 ranked DB in Wisconsin

Baseball HC Ed Mathey also extended Wells a baseball scholarship.

Jake Baratz, OT

6'5" 275 lbs

Naperville (IL) Naperville North

Rivals Profile

Scout Profile

Other offers: Arizona

Football Preview of the day: NY Times

The Quad Countdown: No. 109 Northern Illinois
By Paul Myerberg

The highlights:

The team numbers were not pretty for N.I.U. (94th in the F.B.S. in total offense, 97th in total defense), but a number of individual players had strong 2007 seasons, including running back Justin Anderson, offensive tackle Jon Brost and cornerback Bradley Pruitt.

Bradley Pruitt? Really? Looking it up he did get 92 tackles. When your 2 safeties are the top 2 players in tackles that is a problem, as it has been the last couple years. Hopefully that will change with our new defensive scheme.

Position battle to watch: With Reiter graduating and Kube moving to linebacker, the Huskies will be breaking in two new starting safeties in 2008. The sophomores Mike Sobol and Justin Stewart currently stand as the starters at the free and strong safety spots, respectively, holding off the junior Spencer Williamson and the redshirt freshman Tracy Wilson.

An excellent point right there. Our secondary has always underachieved in the last few year, and I can't wait to see what happens with Coach Kill.

Having said that, a difficult schedule will prevent the Huskies from achieving anything beyond a two- or three-game improvement; I think Kill leads the Huskies to a 4-8 finish in beginning to build upon the work done by Novak.

Dream season: The Huskies survive a bumpy start by winning four of their last six MAC games, finishing second in the West with a 5-3 conference mark and a 7-5 record over all.

Nightmare season: Key injuries reveal a lack of depth across the board, and the Huskies struggle through a 3-9 season.

Yeouch! These guys don't like us and the team ranked ahead of us is Duke. I'm pretty sure we'll be better than the perennial stomping grounds of the ACC.

K Chris Nendick lands backup job with the Rush

From the Chicago Tribune
By John Mullin |Tribune reporter

With the help of another familiar local name, the Rush are addressing their suddenly in-flux kicking game not once, but twice as they prepare for Sunday's game against the Dallas Desperados and the Arena Football League playoffs two weeks off.

The Rush are expected to sign former Philadelphia Soul kicker Todd France to replace injured ex-Bear Paul Edinger. Former Northern Illinois kicker Chris Nendick also worked out for the Rush Friday and impressed coach Mike Hohensee and his staff enough to be lined up as the first alternate in case something happens to France.

"I'm excited about the possibilities," said Nendick, who went undrafted but is expected to work out for the Minnesota Vikings next week. Nendick scored a point in every game of his career.

France, who played at Toledo, has had preseason stints with the Vikings, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

I'm really happy to see Chris latch on somewhere. There have always been those stories of Arena guys making it big in the pros...

Football Preview of the day: ESPN

Breaking down the MAC West
By Adam Rittenberg
ESPN.com

2007 overall record:

2-10

2007 conference record:
1-6

Returning starters
Offense: 9, defense: 9, kicker/punter: 1

Top returners
RB Justin Anderson, WR Matt Simon, RT Jon Brost, DE Larry English, SS Alex Kube, LB John Tranchitella
Key losses
LT Chris Acevedo, DT Zach Holycross, NG Adam Schroeder, SS Mark Reiter, PK Chris Nendick
2007 statistical leaders (* returners)
Rushing: Justin Anderson* (1,245 yds)
Passing: Dan Nicholson* (1,633 yds)
Receiving: Matt Simon* (969 yds)
Tackles: Alex Kube* (111)
Sacks: Larry English* (10.5)
Interceptions: John Tranchitella* and Chase Carter* (2)

Spring answers

1. Fueling the fire: The quarterback competition doesn't officially begin until the summer, when incumbent Dan Nicholson returns from a shoulder injury. But redshirt freshmen DeMarcus Grady and Chandler Harnish showed they'll be in the mix alongside Nicholson and Ryan Morris. Grady displayed top-shelf speed in the spring game, racing for a 57-yard touchdown. Harnish turned in an impressive spring despite struggling in the spring game itself (6-for-19 passing).

2. On the run: The team's streak of 1,000-yard rushers seemed to be in doubt last fall before Justin Anderson relieved the injured Montell Clanton and surged. This spring, Anderson guaranteed a 10th straight 1,000-yard performance from one of NIU's backs, an assurance that looks more and more promising. Anderson, Chad Spann and David Bryant all had their moments in spring ball, and with Clanton on the mend, the run game should once again be NIU's strength.

3. Quick start: Wide receiver Chase Mejia was the first freshman in coach Jerry Kill's inaugural recruiting class at NIU to enroll early in school. This spring, he showed why. As projected starters Matt Simon and Britt Davis sat out with injuries, Mejia turned heads with his ability to acclimate to the college game. "There's so much difference from high school to college, but the way he's picked things up is a tribute to his athleticism and work ethic," Simon told the Aurora Beacon News. "He's handled everything thrown at him very well."

Fall questions

1. Quarterback quandary: Despite handling most of the snaps last season, Nicholson will be playing catch-up in training camp after missing the spring with a shoulder injury. Challengers Grady, Harnish and Morris all showed positive signs during spring ball and will put pressure on Nicholson to retain his job. Incoming freshman Brandon Rogers also joins the mix.

2. Health watch: Kill got only a partial look at his new team because 22 players missed part or all of spring practice. Among those returning to the field this summer are Nicholson, Simon, Davis and league MVP Larry English. After injuries decimated the roster last season, Northern Illinois needs to go through training camp healthy, especially with new offensive and defensive systems to absorb.

3. Special deliveries: With nine starters back on each side of the ball, special teams will become a greater priority in training camp. NIU loses standout kicker Chris Nendick, a four-year starter who collected several league honors during his career. The spotlight shifts to junior Mike Salerno, who transferred to NIU from Winona State. Salerno drilled two 40-yard field goals in blustery conditions during the spring game and could step in nicely for Nendick. Several players will compete this summer for both the kickoff and punt return duties.

Kickin' it oldschool - CFN's Spring FB Preview

CFN's 2008 MAC Spring Preview - NIU

Northern Illinois
The early spring buzz ... The school isn't exactly thinking about football after the tragic killings brought the university to a standstill. Just getting the classes and the school rolling again is hard enough, much less getting the football team on track in a new era. The unfortunately named Jerry Kill takes over after the good, but disappointing Joe Novak era, and he plans on cranking up the offensive intensity and getting more out of the passing game.

The big spring question is ... Just how indicative of the talent level was the 2-10 season? Probably not much. NIU was one of the nation's most injured teams, with a brutal array of problems on the defensive front, while the offense never got on track thanks to an inefficient passing game. Nothing seemed to go right with turnovers, a poor return game, and every bad break going the wrong way contributed to the problems, but five of the losses came by seven points or fewer, including three by three or fewer. A little better luck, and a little more production will mean an instant turnaround.

The most important position to watch is ... Quarterback. RB Justin Anderson is a 100-yard machine and will be the centerpiece of the attack, but the passing game has to be better. Dan Nicholson is the team's best option, but he won't be ready until the summer after suffering a shoulder injury. Ryan Morris didn't show too much, but he has good experience and a nice upside. Chandler Harnish is an intriguing big bomber who'll get a long look. With a new coaching staff, the job might be open, and Nicholson might have to prove himself all over again in fall camp.

Spring attitude... Worst to first. All 11 starters are back on defense along with almost all the key backups, while nine starters return on offense, along with all the key reserves, so experience, especially after several players were thrown to the wolves, isn't going to be a problem. If the team is able to win almost all the close games, and the new coaching staff is able to bring a new fire an enthusiasm to a program that was stuck in a bit of a rut, hitting the ceiling time and again, this could be a very, very dangerous team.

Football Preview of the day: CFN

2008 CFN Northern Illinois Preview

The Highlights:

Marry Christmas, Jerry Kill.

Not a great way to start off the article...

The excellent former head man at Southern Illinois is walking into one of the best situations a first year MAC head coach could dream of. Not only is NIU a solid program, thanks to years of building by former head man Joe Novak, but Kill should be able to pull off one of the biggest immediate turnarounds in the country.

What to watch for on defense: Safety Alex Kube at strongside linebacker. The team's second best defensive player last year behind DE Larry English, Kube was a tackling machine as the last line of defense for the porous run defense. Now Kube will be closer to the line to use his toughness and tackling ability to add more overall production, but can he hold up? He's only 6-1 and 203 pounds.

This Daily Chronicle clearly states that Kube will weight anywhere from 220-235 lbs this season.

The team will be far better if … there's a little but of luck in the health department. It was easier to figure out who didn't get hurt by the end of the year than who was banged up, and it killed the season to have so many players have so many problems. If everyone stays healthy, or at least if most of the key players can stay on the field, this will be a potentially dominant team worthy of being considered one of the favorites for the MAC title.

The biggest head turner this spring was freshman Chase Mejia who was one of the first recruits of the Kill era and was able to get to school early to show what he could do. He's only 5-8 and 10 pounds, but he's a quick target with good hands. He can also grow into a role as a kick and punt returner.

10 lbs? Chase better hit up the weight room ASAP hahaha

2 New Offers to Florida kids

Phil Walker, OLB
6'1" 210 lbs
Weston (FL) Cypress Bay

40 time: 4.7 secs
Vertical: 36.5"
Shuttle: 4.56 secs

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile

Other offers: Kansas St & MTSU



Marques Aiken, DE
6'4" 230 lbs
Lauderdale Lakes (FL) Boyd H. Anderson

40 time: 4.7 secs

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile

Other offers: Colorado St, Florida Intl & North Carolina

Key WMU backup TE suspended for the year

TE Anthony Middleton has been suspended from the Western Michigan Broncos until January. Middleton didn't perform any serious crimes or anything like that, but failed to show up on time for team meetings, missing class, problems in the classroom, etc.

The 6'4" Middleton ranked highly coming out of high school in Florida provided the Broncos with one half of the top pass-catching duo of TEs in the country, which has since been broken up. Middleton is best known for making game-changing catches en route to WMU's upset of Iowa last year. I'm sure there are some OLBs out there that are sure happy they don't have to cover this guy next year.

'Enough is enough,' Western Michigan's Middleton out for 2008 season (Kalamazoo Gazette)

Cubit puts his money -- maybe literally -- where his mouth is with ouster of Middleton (Broncos Insider)

Broncos lose key TE (BroncosBlitz)

Kyle Stroup a no-go to become a Huskie

Oops!

Stevens and Feeney weren't the only players with NIU ties to get drafted. Fox Lake native Kyle Stroup was the last pick in the draft by the Boston Red Sox, and he has committed to play at NIU.

However, Stroup has informed Mathey that he won't be headed to DeKalb.

If he doesn't sign with Boston, Stroup will head to Chipola Junior College in Florida, where he will be eligible to get drafted next year.

If players attend a four-year school, they aren't eligible to get drafted until their junior year or when they turn 21. Players who attend junior college are eligible after their first year.

I'm really not surprised by his decision, because even if he went to Northern his eyes would always be looking towards the MLB. Stroup was drafted last in the draft (1,504th). He needs to develop his pro potential more and I feel the right choice to do that would have been to sign on with the Huskies instead of going to some JUCO for a year which is likely to happen. I don't see the Red Sox signing Stroup for 250,000 with their last pick of a HS Pitcher.

I also don't feel that it's trustworthy to sign a letter of intent to 2 schools and leaving the possible opening to burn both of them. This may be a common practice in College Baseball, but this is a big blow to our team for the next 3 years he would have played here and produced one of our highest draft picks.

First Verbal for Coach Kill

QB Jordan Lynch out of Mt. Carmel has made a verbal commitment to play for the Huskies today. He is being recruited as an Athlete and could possibly play WR, S or OLB if QB doesn't work out for him. Lynch has pretty good size and that he performed well enough at NIU's camp that they offered him a scholarship, which was his first offer. You can follow the 2009 rest of verbals by checking NIU's commit list on Rivals.com.

We have an excellent pipeline in to the very good Mt. Carmel program as we currently have WR James Jeffries, Defensive Lineman Ron Newcomb and incoming Fullback Connor Krisch hailing from the Caravan. He may not go directly to the defensive backfield like Boone Thorgeson did and get a few extra looks at QB coming in.


Jordan Lynch, QB
6'2" 205 lbs
Chicago (IL) Mount Carmel

Rivals Profile

Stats from his Junior year:

* 69-of-135, 1,120 yards, 15 TDs, 3 INTs; 94 carries, 486 rushing yards, 9 TDs.

Contrasting styles (Chicago Tribune)

"I like to run, and I like the contact," said Lynch, who orchestrates the 11-0 Caravan's option running attack. "I've always been fast enough to run away from people, but I don't mind running over them as well.

Football Preview of the Day: Rivals.com

109. NORTHERN ILLINOIS

COACH: Jerry Kill (First season; 104-57 in 14 seasons overall).

LAST SEASON: 2-10 overall, 1-6 in MAC (sixth in MAC West).

FINAL 2007 RIVALS.COM RANKING: 117th.

KEEP AN EYE ON: NIU seemingly always has a 1,000-yard rusher, and junior tailback Justin Anderson is coming off a 1,245-yard season. It was the ninth season in a row the Huskies had a 1,000-yard rusher. Anderson also is an excellent receiver. Senior offensive tackle Jon Brost played every offensive snap for the Huskies last season and is the headliner among four returning starters on the line. Brost, who's majoring in electrical engineering and is an excellent student, will be a four-year starter for NIU.

STAR POWER: Senior defensive end Larry English is expected to be the best pass-rusher in the MAC this season. He had 10.5 sacks last season, when he also had 67 tackles and 17 tackles for loss. English has 23.5 career sacks (the MAC career record is 38, by Western Michigan's Jason Babin) and five forced fumbles.

English

STRENGTHS: The running game should be strong, thanks to Anderson and a big, physical and experienced offensive line. The potential exists for a solid linebacking unit.

WEAKNESSES: The passing game needs to be overhauled, and NIU made too many mistakes in that area last season. The secondary was mediocre last season, and the best player – Alex Kube – was moved from strong safety to linebacker. It would help the secondary if someone other than English emerged as a pass-rusher. Four of the first five games are on the road.

THE BUZZ: Kill had a ton of success at Division I-AA Southern Illinois, but is taking over a program that has slipped noticeably in recent seasons. When Kill took over at SIU, he won once in his first season. But the Salukis were in the I-AA playoffs two seasons later. NIU's rushing attack is a given. Kill needs to improve the passing game and upgrade the defense. Expect growing pains this season, with noticeable improvement next season.

– MIKE HUGUENIN

Pay us to beat you

Colleges offering top dollar for non-conference home games (USA Today)

Wisconsin will pay "just under $1 million" for each of two home games against Northern Illinois, according to athletics director Barry Alvarez.

Non-conference foes earn almost $2M this season from UT

Northern Illinois will earn $725,000 for its Oct. 4 game in Knoxville

Not saying that's gonna happen, but let's not forget about what happened to Michigan last year. Now can somebody tell me where exactly does that money go?

FB Scholarship offers up to this point

Before I go out on this beautiful Saturday night, here are the young men in Kill's sights to become future Huskies (that have been reported):


Jordan Stepp, DL *** (Has since committed to Cincinnati)
6'0" 286 lbs
Indianapolis (IN) Ben Davis

40 time: 4.7 secs
Bench reps: 36
Vertical: 31"
Shuttle: 4.8 secs
GPA: 3.12
ACT: 24

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile

Other offers: Cincinnati, Indiana, Central Michigan & Ball St


Fritz Rock, ATH***
6'1" 196 lbs
Minneapolis (MN) Wayzata

40 time: 4.57
Bench max: 225 lbs
Squat max: 275 lbs
Vertical: 32"

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile

Other offers: Cincinnati, Indiana, Minnesota, Washington St & Western Michigan


A.J. Hill, QB*** (Has Since Committed to NIU)
6'2" 200 lbs
DuQuoin (IL) Du Quoin

GPA: 3.64

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile

Other offers: Eastern Illinois

A.J. Hill is brothers with former SIU QB Nick Hill, who is currently on the Chicago Bears roster.



Lawrence Barnett, CB
5'10" 180 lbs
Fort Wayne (IN) Bishop Luers

40 time: 4.5 secs
Vertical: 33"
Shuttle: 4.1 secs

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile

Other offers: Indiana, Wyoming, Ball St, Bowling Green, Central Michigan & Toledo


Deion Robinson, DE
6'0" 240 lbs
Chicago (IL) Morgan Park

Scout Profile

Somebody posted on the Dog Pound that Robinson has committed already. No official announcement though.


Michael Schofield, OT**** (Has since committed to Michigan)
6'7" 272 lbs
Orland Park (IL) Sandburg

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile

Other offers: Illinois, Arizona, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan St, Notre Dame, Penn St, Vanderbilt, Boston College, Oregon, Colorado, Virginia & Miami



Daniel Rodriguez, WR
5'10" 190 lbs
Miami (FL) Gulliver Prep

40 time: 4.47 secs
Vertical: 33.5"
Shuttle: 4.28 secs

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile



A.J. Klein, OLB***
6'1" 210 lbs
Kimberly (WI) Kimberly

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile

Other offers: Iowa St & Western Michigan


Austin Collier, QB (Has since committed to BGSU)
6'1" 188 lbs
Sterling (MI) Standish Sterling

40 time: 4.6 secs
Bench reps: 13
Vertical: 34"
Shuttle: 4.26 secs
GPA: 3.5

Rivals Profile

Other offers: Central Michigan


Jordan Lynch, QB (Has since committed to NIU)
6'2" 205 lbs
Chicago (IL) Mount Carmel

Rivals Profile



Martin Hopkins, ILB
6'2" 234 lbs
Chicago (IL) St. Rita

Rivals Profile

Other offers: Western Michigan


Rishard Anderson, CB***
6'0" 171 lbs
Miramar (FL) American Heritage

40 time: 4.62 secs
Vertical: 36"
Shuttle: 4.37 secs
GPA: 3.5

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile

Other offers: Rutgers, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Central Michigan & Western Kentucky


Jarvis Walker, OLB*** (Has since committed to Kentucky)
6'2" 202 lbs
Metarie (LA) Rummel

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile

Other offers: Kentucky, Tulsa & Louisiana Tech


Tyquan Hammock, ILB*** (Has since committed to Michigan State)
6'1" 220 lbs
Fort Wayne (IN) Bishop Luers

40 time: 4.7 secs
Bench max: 325 lbs
Squat max: 450 lbs
Vertical: 33"
GPA: 2.8

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile

Other offers: Minnesota, Indiana, Northwestern, Louisville, Michigan St & Miami OH

Tyquan is the younger brother of former Huskie RB Thomas Hammock, who is currently the RBs coach for Minnesota.



Patrick Ward, OT****
6'6" 295 lbs
New Lenox (IL) Providence Catholic

40 time: 5.3 secs
Bench max: 300 lbs
Bench reps: 21
Squat max: 540 lbs
Vertical: 26"
Shuttle: 5.0 secs
GPA: 4.86

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile

Other offers: Illinois, Iowa, Michigan St, Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin, Arizona, Vanderbilt, Stanford & Virginia


Now here's an offer to a player from the class of 2010:


Nick Jones, CB
5'8" 170 lbs
Duncan (SC) Byrnes

40 time: 4.7 secs

Rivals Profile
Scout Profile

Juicy MAC News

Akron Basketball (sort of)

Sophomore Guard Rydell Brooks has been expelled from Akron. Brooks hadn't even played a game for the Zips yet, as he was a transfer from Niagara and sat out last year. He wasn't even on scholarship.

After a routine traffic stop, he thought it would be smart to just start open fire on police officers. Luckily the officers were not hit and Brooks was arrested after a short pursuit on foot. He has a $1 Million bond in jail right now. Five guns, two ski masks and gloves were found inside the minivan.

He is facing charges for:

• Attempted murder
• Felonious assault
• Carrying a concealed weapon
• Driving on a suspended license
• Having excessively tinted windows

You can check out his mug shot if you'd like, but be forewarned he might haunt your dreams.


Now for the good stuff


Miami Football

Offensive Lineman Zachary Marshall was accused of going in to 2 unlocked dorm rooms and holding a pillow over the face of a female student sleeping in one of the rooms. The event happened May 21st @ 6 AM and was arrested Thursday, May 29th. He was released on bond by his mother for $26,000. He has since been suspended from the football team and the university. Zach, a Junior, was the expected starter at the Right Tackle position.

He is facing charges for:

• Aggravated burglary
• Bulglary
• Misdemeanor Assault

Now for his story:

Marshall was hammered after a night of drinking with friends, walked into the wrong dorm room and plopped down, thinking he was in his own bed, the attorney said.

“He flopped down on this girl, and she started screaming and kicking and hitting him,” Peeler said.

Ford told an officer that “both times the white male just stated, ‘My bad, wrong room,’ and left closing the door behind him,” a Miami University police report said.

Marshall had 14 beers and 2 potent mixed drinks. But then of course that's probably just a lot less to a college offensive lineman. Here is the woman's story.

It's quite the interesting story. Some things are fishy but realistically this could have happened to any enormous drunk offensive lineman.

A little housekeeping

Lately, I've been going through all the links on the right side of the page. Adding, deleting and re-labeling. Doesn't sound too exciting, but this allows you and I access to information about the MAC conference and other blogs a lot quicker and more efficiently.

It's surprisingly time-consuming. Check out the MAC Team "Enemy Links" for probably the most definitive links and resources to every MAC team out there that you can find on the internet. Just add these suckers to your favorites and you have the MAC in the palm of your hands.

Links for every MAC team:

Official Athletic Site
School Newspaper
Local Newspapers
Fan-Created Websites
Scout/Rivals Sites
Message Boards

Also the "MAC Blog List" has been updated and lists which blog has been updated the most recently now.

It's only June and I just wish it was August again. Sigh...

Phil Steele: The man, the myth, the legend

If you're going to pick up one preseason magazine, I beg you to choose Phil Steele's 2008 College Football Preview. Steele has the definitive pre-season mags that are the most accurate and stocked full of information every single year. I picked the mag up today with Colt McCoy on the cover since I live in Texas. It felt like waking up on Christmas and opening a present going in to that Barnes & Noble and grabbing this year's college football bible. This one:

Now on to the stuff pertaining to Northern. Phil believes that with 20 starters returning that we will once again bowl eligibility, effectively making Jerry Kill look like a genius. NIU can definitely be one of the surprise teams in the MAC this year.

Positional Rankings for NIU Players
Justin Anderson - #54 RB
Jon Brost - #45 T
Larry English - #26 DE
Tim McCarthy - #44 ILB
Alex Kube - #34 SS

2008's Most Improved Teams
Factored in are the -17 turnovers (#3 in the nation) and the 3 net close losses that we had last year. Not to the mention the 38 starts we lost last year from players injured or suspended (#6 in the nation)

NIU - #3

Phil Steele's 2008 All-MAC
1st Team: RB Justin Anderson & DE Larry English
2nd Team: G Jason Onyebuagu, T Jon Brost, DT Craig Rusch, LB Tim McCarthy & SS Alex Kube
3rd Team: WR Matt Simon & FS Bradley Pruitt
4th Team: TE Reed Cunningham, DT Alex Krutsch
HM: WR Britt Davis & P Andy Dittbenner

MAC West Projection
1. CMU
2. WMU
3. Ball St
4. NIU
5. Toledo
6. EMU

MAC East
1. Bowling Green
2. Miami OH
3. Kent St
4. Buffalo
6. Ohio
6. Akron

NIU's MAC Unit Rankings
QB RB REC OL DL LB DB ST CH
NIU 9 3 6 2 2 4 7 12 11

NIU 2008 Recruit PS Rankings
OL Logan Pegram - #168
DL Adam Coleman - #164
LB Kevin Sabock - #160
RB Meco Brown - #202
DL Brian Lawson - #256
DB Kiaree Daniels - #461 JC
LB Darnell Bolding - #461 JC
QB Brandon Rogers - #212
WR Chase Mejia - #320
DL Maurice Coon - #430
TE Dan Edem - #132
WR Tommy Davis - #391 RB
DB Jody VanLaanen - #456
DL Jason Schepler - #464
DL Bristan Kelley - #180 TE

MAC Conference Recruiting Rankings (Finally someone doesn't have us last!)
1. Miami OH
2. Temple
3. Toledo
4. Ohio
5. W Michigan
6. C Michigan
7. Ball St
8. Akron
9. N Illinois
10. Kent St
11. Buffalo
12. Bowling Green
13. E Michigan

Team Experience Rankings
9. BGSU
10. NIU
15. WMU
19. Ohio
23. Temple
40. Akron
56. Ball St
62. Buffalo
62. Kent St
94. EMU
99. CMU
104. Miami OH
108. Toledo

Power Poll Rankings
57. Western Michigan
59. Central Michigan
63. Ball St.
72. Bowling Green
76. Miami OH
79. N Illinois
82. Kent St
84. Temple
90. Toledo
92. Buffalo
104. Eastern Michigan
110. Ohio
111. Akron

2008's Toughest Schedules
72. Ohio
75. Toledo
79. Buffalo
83. C Michigan
87. Northern Illinois
91. E Michigan
93. Temple
96. Akron
101. Bowling Green
105. Miami OH
106. W Michigan
111. Kent St
112. Ball St

That was just a smidgen of the information available in Phil Steele's preview. Go pick it up. You will be satisfied if you do.

On NIU Baseball Recruit Kyle Stroup

Photo courtesy of Boston Globe

This Boston Globe article is mostly fluff, but a few of these quotes are pretty interesting:

Stroup said he had been told by several scouts that he was going to be picked somewhere in the top 10 rounds, or shortly thereafter, but the phone didn't ring.

He expected it was because he asked for too much money in the beginning, $250,000.

Stroup said he has a fastball that sits in the low 90s, but reaches 95, as well as a knuckle-curve, a changeup, and a splitter.

I'm assuming he stll attends Northern, since I doubt he gets the money he wants being picked 1,504th. This article says that he has to attend NIU for 3 years before regaining his draft eligibility. The 5th ranked recruit in IL could always go the JUCO route to be eligible earlier. Stroup makes our recruiting class ranked 1st in the MAC and 63rd in the nation. Good luck to Kyle on whatever choice he may make.

Cedric Benson's woes affecting Garrett Wolfe?

There's something I've respected Joe Novak (and hopefully Jerry Kill now) and the Northern Illinois football program for, and it's not letting players get in to off the field troubles. Not so is the case at other college programs doing whatever they can to get ahead recruiting questionable character players with high upside (*cough* DU of I *cough).

Sure there have been some minor cases like with the Ikegwuonu brothers or certain former players getting in to scuffles at fraternity houses causing one guy to wear a huge band-aid on his forehead all year. Overall, the discipline by Joe Novak's tenure at NIU has been exceptional.

At the pro level it gets worse for Cedric Benson. Boating while intoxicated...driving while intoxicated...the man does it all. He's staying this off-season too much here in my current town of Austin, TX trying to re-live his college days I guess.

Well now Cedric's released and any thought of Garrett Wolfe being cut from the bears gets diminished a little bit. Lovie Smith still has an infatuation with Adrian Peterson (no, not that one) and also 2nd round pick Matt Forte out of Tulane is getting the pub for the main guy running the ball for the Bears.

It still confuses me to this day why the Bears picked Wolfe so early (3rd round) and used him so sparingly last year. I hope the running back lacking in size but not heart gets a few more chances with Benson out of town.

NIU Baseball meets the big leagues

SS Bobby Stevens goes in the 16th to the Orioles, while RHP Trevor Feeney gets drafted in the 31st by the Detroit Tigers Friday in the MLB Draft.

HC Ed Mathey on Bobby's and Trevor's pro attributes:

"I am very happy for both Bobby and Trevor and it bodes well for Northern Illinois to have two players chosen in the draft this season," said Mathey. "It is a great honor for Bobby to be picked in the 16th round. He is a gifted athlete with the skills that scouts look for - speed, defense and the ability to hit for power - and he has done very well against some highly drafted pitchers. It was nice to see Trevor come back after being drafted last year, be our main guy on the mound, and improve his position in this year's draft. I think he has the chance to have a pretty good pro career."

On Bobby:

"Bobby has a high ceiling and a chance to do some things professionally," said Mathey. "At the same time, as a junior, he has some leverage in negotiations because if he comes back he can add to his number and be drafted even higher

"The Orioles called me in round 10 and said they were going to take me, then after not being picked in the next five rounds, I started to get a bit discouraged," said Stevens. "I got another call at the beginning of the 16th round and then four picks later I saw my name on the draft list. I was relieved and excited when it was all done."

That would be great if Bobby came back, but Feeney is a senior:"It's an honor to be picked up by the Detroit Tigers," said Feeney. "I am excited to get ready to start my pro career with the Tigers organization and continue on playing the game I have grown up loving to play."

...but don't count on Bobby Stevens in the Red & Black again:

“I had to wait for it but it was definitely unbelievable to see my name on the internet draft board,” Stevens, drafted No. 476 said. “Having my name called was the greatest feeling in the world. It was a dream come true.”

Stevens said he is 99 percent sure he will forgo his senior year and turn professional. He wants to improve his consistency and hopes the success he encountered on the field for the Huskies in 2008 will translate into a good start to his professional career.

If he indeed signs with the Orioles, Stevens said he has a personal goal to progress from Rookie Ball to Class A by the end of the summer to get a gauge on what he needs to work on over the winter to continue to improve. “I want to be more level-headed,” Stevens said. “I want to keep an even keel out there because I've learned in this game there are lots of up's and down's.”

Some interesting notes on some of Trevor Feeney's skillset:

“Every time Trevor went out it was on a Friday against the other team's best pitcher,” Mathey said. “As a junior, he was a five-, six- or seven-inning pitcher. This year he worked as an eight- or nine-inning pitcher. He showed he could hold onto a game and gave us a chance to win every time out.”

The transition to facing hitters with wood bats will also benefit Feeney, which Mathey said should allow the Channahon native to work the inner half of the plate with an increased frequency.

Although he doesn't project into a pitcher that can put up big strikeout numbers, with a heavy sinker, Feeney uses three pitches to keep hitters off balance.

“Professional hitters can get their barrels out to a ball on the outer half,” Mathey said. “Trevor has to continue to get stronger, which should help his velocity and stamina and allow him to be more assertive and pitch inside and jam some hitters.”

Feeney will be reporting to a Tigers Mini-Camp in Lakeland, FL next week and expects to be assigned sometime this summer to a minor league team.

In other Huskie baseball alumni news, LHP Reliever Matt German has been named to the Florida State League's All-Star team. That is a great honor to the only current Huskie in the afficliated minor leagues. German is currently playing for the Clearwater Threshers which is Advanced A ball. You can follow his minor league career either here or here.

Clearwater Threshers News

Mr. Irrelevant of the MLB Draft was actually an NIU recruit by the name of Kyle Stroup out of Fox Lake, IL.

Here's a kick-ass article about this guy by the Daily Herald. Our pitching staff is desperately going to need this guy next year.

NIU Baseball Round-Up

Where did we leave off...oh yeah

Postseason Game 2: NIU 6, Kent State 10
L / Box

Mathey-Speak:

"Our hitters did a good job against a first team all-MAC pitcher and we battled back and had some chances in this game," said head coach Ed Mathey. "We didn't capitalize on our opportunity in the sixth inning. Kent State is a good hitting team and they were up for the challenge tonight."

Top Performers:

1B Dave Reynolds - 2 for 3, HR, RBI, R, BB, E
LF Anthony Maziur - 2 for 4, RBI, R, 2 SB
CF Pat Minogue - 2 for 3, HR, RBI, R, BB
LHP Brandon Copp - 1.1 IP, 4 K's

Postseason Game 3: Ball State 5, NIU 6
W / Box

Mathey-Speak:

"It was a great finish and keeps us playing," said head coach Ed Mathey. "Our goal entering the ninth was to bring the tying run to the plate. Anthony [Maziur] and Bobby [Stevens] did a nice job getting on and we had a big at-bat from Jordin [Hood]. Then Danny [Reed] had a nice piece of hitting that brought home the winning run."

Top Performers:

3B Jordin Hood - 2 for 4, 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB, SB
SS Bobby Stevens - 2 for 4, R, SO, HBP, SB
RF Danny Reed - 2 for 5, GW RBI, 2 SO
1B Dave Reynolds - 1 for 4, HR, RBI, R, BB, SO

Postseason Game 4: Kent State 10, NIU 3
L / Box

Summary:

I don't know how Kent State didn't win the MAC, because their offense is absolutely dominant, while their pitching is good enough to keep them in games especially against us. One of these years we'll have a good enough team to match up with the best in the MAC, except this year wasn't the one.

Top Performers:

DH Justin Behm - 1 for 3, HR, 3 RBI, R
1B Dave Reynolds - 1 for 2, BB
RHP Dan Atkenson - 5.1 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 3 K's

Milestones Met

RF Danny Reed was named All-MAC Tournament after hitting .462, while slugging for 1.077. Ridiculous stats. Surprisingly, he didn't lead in either of those categories but was 3rd and 2nd respectively.

SS Bobby Stevens was hit by a record 27th pitch of the season, while setting the career record with 45 HBPs in his time at NIU.

NIU set a single-season record with a .963 fielding percentage surpassing the '59 and '07 seasons.

C/DH Justin Behm moved in to the 10th place on NIU's all-time HR list with his 17th dinger