RE: Trib: Former Lyons QB Tommy Fiedler walks onto good spot with NIU
Former Lyons QB Tommy Fiedler walks onto good spot with NIU
Four months after his final football game at Lyons, Tommy Fielder wondered if he would ever play again. After losing an opportunity at Yale, Fielder questioned his future in football. "At one point at the end of the recruiting process, I didn't know if I would have a chance to play college football," Fielder said. "I thought I was going to sign at Yale, but got the rug pulled up from underneath me at the last minute. There was a time when I had a lot of doubt if I wanted to, was good enough, or if anyone really wanted to take a chance to have me in their program."
Eight-plus months after accepting a preferred walk-on offer at Northern Illinois, Fielder became one of the most unlikely stories in college football in mid-November.
Fielder's surprising rise from unheralded true freshman walk-on to starting quarterback for Northern Illinois in the Mid-American Conference title game against Bowling Green on Dec. 4 is a rare occurrence for major-college football programs. In his first career collegiate start, Fielder was 12 of 28 passing for 152 yards and a touchdown, but tossed three interceptions and was sacked four times. Bowling Green scored 21 points in the first half to cruise to a 34-14 win.
"No one would've thought I would be in this position," Fielder said. "This has been like nothing else. I had expected to redshirt and was not on the travel roster at the start of the season. It's been pretty crazy. I don't think anybody expected to have this situation at the beginning of the season.
"The MAC (title) game was definitely one of the most exciting things in my life. I remember walking out of the locker room and on the field for the first time before the game to get a feel for the atmosphere and looking around (and thinking), 'Wow this is incredible.' Six months ago, I did not ever think this would be the situation I would be in."
The Huskies have become one of the best mid-major programs in the country after playing in six straight MAC championship games and landing in a school-record eight straight bowls.
Fielder was thrust into the starting position after injuries to the three players ahead of him on the depth chart — starter Drew Hare, backup Anthony Maddie and redshirt freshman Ryan Graham. The 6-foot-2 Fielder was promoted to NIU's travel squad for the Boston College game on Sept. 26.
After Hare was ruled out for the season with a ruptured right Achilles tendon, suffered in the victory over Toledo on Nov. 3, Graham played the rest of the game and also piloted the Huskies to wins over Buffalo and Western Michigan.
With the MAC West title at stake in the regular-season finale on Nov. 24 against Ohio, Graham injured his leg while being sacked in the third quarter. The left-handed Fielder vividly recalled his thought process while trainers attended to Graham.
"I remember sitting on the sidelines almost dead even where Ryan went down with his injury, and I kept thinking to myself, 'Get up. Get up now. Come on now,'" Fiedler said.
"I remember seeing that hit, and it reminded me little bit like Drew's when he went to the ground. There was that eerie sense of quietness when he went down. I got my feet wet early, and the first few series didn't go well, but after that it was just playing football again."
Fielder completed 11 of 17 passes for 142 yards and tossed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Golladay late in the fourth quarter in NIU's 26-21 loss to Ohio, snapping the Huskies' 22-game winning streak in games played in November. But the Huskies won their sixth straight MAC West title when Western Michigan defeated Toledo on Nov. 27.
A few days later, Fielder learned that he would be the starter for the MAC championship game against Bowling Green at Ford Field, the home stadium for the Detroit Lions.
Not only did Fielder have to prepare for the biggest game of his life, which was telecast on ESPN2, he had to study for his first college finals. Fielder said he even cracked the books for his finals on the bus ride home from the loss in Detroit.
"Once I found out in practice I was starting, I tried to watch as much film and get as much advice to catch up to speed on the whole offense and operating it during a game, the ins and outs that you normally would pick up with experience," Fielder said. "That whole week was pretty hectic with class and football. When I wasn't in the dining hall eating or in class, I was at the football facility studying film or studying for finals."
Fielder said he's not sure of his starting status for NIU's contest against Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 23, which will be aired on ESPN. Graham is questionable to return for the game, but Fielder is excited about his future, both immediate and long-term.
"There has been so much that I learned during this process," he said. "I can't believe how far I've come from (last year) and the situation that I'm in. (I've learned) just to keep my head up and never give up on a dream, because sometimes it works out for you."
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @bobnarang
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Trib: Former Lyons QB Tommy Fiedler walks onto good spot with NIU
