This has got a chance to be a touchdown as long as Kanon doesn’t trip over his own feet: Inside NIU’s fake TD

MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Oddly enough, Rocky Lombardi knew just how fast his kicker was before his 32-yard touchdown run.

“I knew he was fast enough to outrun nobody,” Lombardi joked in the team’s postgame news conference.

What he might not have known in the postgame presser is just how much national attention his kicker got for scoring on a trick play to lead NIU to a 21-19 win over Arkansas State.

“We had a chance to have some extra time and do some studying of some things from a scheme standpoint, and we felt like it was a great opportunity, first of all to get the first down,” NIU coach Thomas Hammock said. “When they overloaded, I said, ‘This has got a chance to be a touchdown as long as Kanon doesn’t trip over his own feet.’ He did a great job.”

Woodill said that the team had practiced the play before the game, and that the team’s line and the toss from holder Tom Foley made for the perfect play.

“We rehearsed that a lot prior to the game, and it opened up exactly how it was planned,” Woodill said. “I didn’t have to do much guesswork. I just saw what I saw, and I hit it and took it all the way.”

The play was officially recorded as a 32-yard pass from Foley to Woodill, with Foley now boasting a 698.8 passer rating.

Hammock joked that it might have been the only touchdown of Woodill’s life.

“I can’t imagine you scoring too many touchdowns in high school,” Hammond said. “What a great opportunity. The guys executed their assignments to the best of their abilities and that actually was probably the game-winning play. That was our last touchdown.”

Despite being the team’s kicker, Woodill said that he played soccer and utilized speed training in the past before enrolling at Northern Illinois.

“Prior to coming to college, I did a lot of speed work,” Woodill said. “There’s a place in Naperville called Acceleration, and I did tons of plyometrics, tons of speed and I think my fastest sprint was for like six seconds at 22 or 21 and a half miles per hour.

“I know how to run. Maybe I don’t look like it, but I can run for short periods of time.”

The win for Northern Illinois snapped a seven-game losing skid in bowl games.

Lombardi, who played college football for seven seasons, said that seeing Woodill’s fake run was something he hadn’t seen often.

“I’ve had a long career, but I haven’t seen too many special teams touchdowns from teams that I’ve been on, at least,” Lombardi said. “It was cool to see. At first it was like, how long would the attempt have been? It wasn’t very short.

“I was like, ‘this is [gutsy], doing it from 50 yards you’re getting safe or something. You saw it open up and he was gone. I mean, there was nobody catching them. It was awesome, it was very cool.”

Junior defensive back Javaughn Byrd, who has played at Northern Illinois for three seasons, said it was the most exciting play he had seen as a member of the program.

“It was more than I expected if I’m being honest,” Byrd said. I saw a hole open up. It was a great fake, greatly executed. I saw Kanon hit the hole, and then I’m looking at a jumbotron and I see him keep running. I got excited on the sideline.”