The NI-5: What to watch as preseason camp opens for NIU football

After an 0-6 showing in the abbreviated 2020 campaign, the NIU football team begins preseason practices Friday ahead of its 2021 season.

The season opens Sept. 4 at Georgia Tech before the Huskies home opener against Wyoming on Sept. 11.

As practices get underway, here are five things to watch for.

How is the running back room going to shake out?

It’s hard to know where to start when looking at the backfield, as more than half a dozen players seem capable of rushing for 1,000 yards in a season. You can start with the guy who likely would have hit 1,000 yards in a full season last fall, Harrison Waylee. The second-year true freshman ran for 100 yards in a game twice, and finished with 456 yards on the ground.

Throw in Erin Collins, a transfer last year from Hutchinson Community College who played in every game, had the second-most carries and led the team with four touchdowns. Collins also appears to have the first NIL deal among Huskie players.

Jevyon Ducker will fight for time in his true-freshman season. He didn’t play last year because of injury, so it will be interesting to see what he can do and how he fits into the rotation.

That’s not even getting into guys like Clint Ratkovich [put a pin in the Western Illinois transfer, we’ll get to him in a minute] and Antario Brown, who according to some services is the highest-rated recruit in school history.

We (probably) know who is throwing the ball. But who is getting the catches after Tyrice Richie?

This is where Ratkovich may have an impact. Richie had 53 catches last year for 597 yards, clearly the favorite target of Ross Bowers. But Bowers is gone and transfer Rocky Lombardi is expected to be the starter.

[ ‘We don’t need Superman:' quarterback Rocky Lombardi adjusting after first week of spring practice with NIU ]

Behind Richie, the next leading receiver was Daniel Crawford, who graduated. Although Crawford was a tight end and Ratkovich is listed as a running back, Ratkovich was used all over the field at WIU. He had 128 receptions for 1,204 yards and 10 scores in his 35 games there. NIU head coach Thomas Hammock has talked about utilizing his versatility in a similar manner.

Trayvon Rudolph (14-232) and Cole Tucker (13-136-2) were the next leading receivers and both are back. Tucker, a DeKalb grad, has been a safety valve for Bowers for years. Rudolph was a fierce kick returner and showed a lot of raw potential at receiver.

Hammock was very complimentary during spring ball of Fabian McCray, Messiah Travis and Mohamed Toure. All three are headed into their redshirt freshmen season, and if at least one of them can finish the year in the 40-50 catch range, that will bode well for the Huskies.

How will the team respond to an 0-6 season?

Sure, it was a half season. Sure, the Huskies were facing the opposition with more true freshmen than most other Football Championship Subdivision teams – something that will be true this year as well since athletes were granted an extra year of eligibility if they competed last year – but it still was a winless season. And the Huskies have been picked last in the MAC West by the media.

[ MAC Media Day: NIU picked to finish last in MAC West in preseason media poll ]

You take a team that’s young coming off of a bad season, and it feels like there’s a chip on their shoulder, and that could be the recipe for success. But you take those ingredients, add a slow start to the mix, and things could get sticky.

And a slow start is possible. The season opens at an ACC team. That Wyoming game a few years back was a doozie out there. This may come as a surprise, but it’s tough to win games at Michigan as well, as NIU heads there Sept. 18.

Then, after playing FCS foe Maine, NIU plays its first two MAC games against an ascending Eastern Michigan team and Toledo.

Just how good is this secondary?

Last year, the secondary wasn’t exactly consistent, but it was exciting. Freshman safety Jordan Hansen had two of the Huskies’ five interceptions. Another true freshman in Devin Lafayette had one pick, as did sophomore transfer Jordan Gandy, another DeKalb product.

Not only that, but Gandy and Lafayette led the team in tackles. Less than ideal, granted, but it also shows the play-making capability of the group.

If we’re looking at the secondary as a powerful weapon for this team in two months it shouldn’t really be a surprise.

Can Lance Deveaux Jr. and Kyle Pugh remain healthy through a 12-game season?

If they can, that’s a strong indicator that the defense did some big things this year. The two linebackers have been playing for NIU since 2016. They both get their bonus senior years. Both have been beasts when healthy.

[ Pugh: Hopefully NIU ‘back to what we’re traditionally known for, and that’s winning football games’ ]

Pugh played two games in 2019 and four in 2017 before suffering season-ending injuries. He did make it through last year’s mini-season unscathed with 36 tackles. Deveaux missed all of 2019 and then was hurt in the first game of 2020.

If they’re healthy, that’s two experienced linebackers roaming the middle of the field in front of an explosive secondary.