Friday, June 20, 2008

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

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