NIU football: Players, coach Thomas Hammock expect energy, experience to bring success

DeKALB – As NIU football practice wound down Tuesday, the energy level surged.

Players on both sidelines were chanting “Ole Ole Ole” and the popular hook from “Seven Nation Army” as the team worked on third- and fourth-down situations. Then, when coach Thomas Hammock called the team in for the huddle, he said something happened that he hasn’t seen in 22 years around college football.

The players wanted more reps.

“When you have a group of guys that have put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into everything that’s happening and they are fully invested, they don’t want practice to end,” Hammock said later Tuesday at the schools’ fall sports media day. “I think as a coach that’s what you look for.”

After an up-and-down 2023 campaign, that maturity and energy will lead to more consistency, the sixth-year coach said.

After opening last year with a win at Boston College, the Huskies lost four straight – including to FCS school Southern Illinois. Hammock said it showed the team’s character that the losing streak didn’t spiral even longer, as the Huskies won their next four games.

After that came two more losses, then three wins to close the year - including the program’s first bowl win since the 2011 season.

“Now they understand we want to win the practice, or win the drill, or win the situation, whatever that looks like,” Hammock said. “In order to do that, you have to play with a level of urgency and a level of energy that’s unmatched. Football is a hard game that comes down to who wants it more. Today you had offense and defense, and they both wanted it, no matter if it was two hours in or the first five minutes of practice.”

Hammock said most of the team’s 32 seniors were on the team in 2020 when COVID-19 restrictions limited fans at games. The staff stressed “Bring Your Own Juice” as a way of producing energy at both practices and games.

NIU has 22 returning starters from last year’s squad, including special teams. The 32 seniors on the roster are sixth most in the country. Twenty of those seniors have spent their entire career with the Huskies, the third most nationally.

Hammock said the mental aspect of the game has been a focal point, and practice Tuesday showed progress.

Junior defensive end Roy Williams said he had one big takeaway from last year’s four-game losing streak.

“I guess the big one for me is to never let your mistake become your identity,” Williams said. “Once you make that mistake, you keep pushing, and the next thing you know you are going to improve.”

The Huskies finished last year 7-6 after beating Arkansas State 21-19 to win the Camellia Bowl. They were picked to finish third in the Mid-American Conference preseason coaches poll.

Senior offensive lineman Evan Buss said consistency is a mindset.

“Every session needs to be the same as the last one,” Buss said. “You don’t just throw all your marbles in one basket, then kind of mess off the rest of practice. It’s all got to be consistent every day.”

Buss, who started the first three games last year before missing the next seven, said staying excited in the face of adversity is important.

And the energy, like at Tuesday’s practice, will carry over into game situations.

“Losing sucks, everyone knows that,” Buss said. “It’s a lot more fun to win games. If you bring that energy, it’s a lot easier to win football games. Everyone has to remember how bad it felt when we lost and use that to drive yourself to push harder and win football games.”