(04-23-2023 12:06 PM)randyfensfanclub1 Wrote:  

(04-22-2023 04:54 PM)epasnoopy Wrote:  Got myself a haul, now I can get rid of some of my old NIU gear.

Got four pairs of gym shorts, pair of sweat pants, baseball jersey, four zip ups, and brand new pair of Adidas shoes for $105 total.

Nice haul!

I didn’t want to just for that since weather looked sucky. And last time I got there like hr in and selection limited, especially seeing the people with like 2 dozen shirts and shorts lol.

Second guessing now.

It was worth it Randy. I mostly went just for the gear sale because most of my NIU gear is from when I went to NIU and is old. Plus all the nice Adidas gear in the NIU bookstore is so expensive. So getting quality Adidas stuff for $5 or $10 each was well worth it.

There were a bunch of tables setup with tons of clothing, shoes, cleats, racks with football/basketball/baseball/soccer jerseys on hangers. I showed up there like 5 mins after 10am and there were already a ton of people walking out with bags of merchandise. Guess I know next time if they say they start at 10am show up 30 mins earlier.

Anyone that was there yesterday have an update on Rocky? Heard he was throwing 7 on 7. Wonder if he looked limited or hobbled in anyway.

(04-23-2023 04:18 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(04-22-2023 10:07 PM)niu1980 Wrote:  

(04-22-2023 03:18 PM)NIUfilmmaker Wrote:  

(04-22-2023 11:40 AM)niu1980 Wrote:  I am here with a friend. Weather not good but the kids stuff is all indoors along with the gear sale. If you didn’t bring your kids or grand children you missed out. The gear sale is best ever. Sean stopped to say hello and chat with me and a number of different people as he always does. Other administrators did as well.

Looking forward to the practice. Forth time on campus in last ten days. Have met a lot of great students and other alumni and instructors.

Get out here and see for yourself what is going on. A lot of great stuff happening on campus.

Thanks for posting. What other campus items were looking up?

Great question.

In athletics there are number of things. The indoor tennis facility in Chick Evans Fieldhouse, thanks to some generous donors, may now be the best tennis facility in the MAC and the project isn’t even totally complete yet. The improvements to the baseball and softball stadiums are significant and are only phase one of three for each project.

The off campus nursing program building has been sold to the DeKalb School District. Nursing will be moved to a temporary facility until the new medical research building is completed on the west campus. The money for the new facility has been released by the state.

The state has also released funds for the new community sustainability research center on the west campus. Design work on the facility and building is now happening.

NIU has put in a bid to buy part of the vacant land east of Annie Glidden where the movie theatre and the Red Lion Club used to be. The intention is to build a facility that would be jointly used by all the Greek organizations including those that don’t have their own buildings. This is a first step in trying to improve and increase Campus Greek life. It also would be part of the city project of improving the northwest DeKalb neighborhood.

In the business school and Barsema Hall new research labs have opened or are under development focusing on things like business analytics and AI among other things that helps keep he students education up to date with today’s business trends.
The COB BELIEF program is one of my favorite programs supported equally by three constituencies:

Faculty for Ethics (FFE)
Corporate Partners and Advisory Board
Leaders in Ethics and Academic Discipline (LEAD)
LEAD is the student group that supports BELIEF. LEAD students meet weekly with the BELIEF director throughout the school year. LEAD procures speakers for Huskie Ethics Awareness Talks (HEAT) several times each semester. They also organize and run the NIU High School Ethics Case Competition (this year included 46 high school teams) and participate in intercollegiate ethics case competitions, including the Eller competition at the University of Arizona and the Templeton competition at Stetson University.

The business schools expansion into places like China and Bulgaria are also positive signs.

Work is being completed behind the scenes preparing for launching the university’s biggest fund raising campaign in history. Get your wallets out.

The DeKalb mayor is a Huskie and is working with the school on projects that will improve the city and university, student life and internship and employment opportunities. The increased traffic on Peace Road is a clear indication of the business development happening on the south end of DeKalb both on the north and south sides of I88.

Just recently the NIU Esports team won a tournament by beating U of I in the finals. I used to laugh at the concept but esports is big business when you factor in hardware and software development. Check out NIUs competition site in Altgeld Hall, impressive. By the way if you haven’t checked out Altgeld lately get inside there. It is the most beautiful building on Campus, totally restored, beautiful ballroom, cool art exhibit space.

Have you seen the renovations in the Holmes Student Center? Have you seen the night lighting on the tower celebrating athletic and other campus victories.

Just saw today the new signing on the front of the student recreation center. Not a big deal but a nice thing nevertheless.

The DeKalb downtown new development also continues. For example on third street one block north of Lincoln Highway a brand new luxury apartment building with first floor businesses including a new bar and restaurant is nearing completion. Built by a Huskie grad.

This post has to break some kind of community guidelines, right? Way too much positive.

LOL- both of these posts the best in a long time!

(04-23-2023 06:45 PM)JoeNovak Wrote:  Anyone that was there yesterday have an update on Rocky? Heard he was throwing 7 on 7. Wonder if he looked limited or hobbled in anyway.

I saw him during warm-ups. He wasn't doing much except throwing stance and RB handoff drills with all the other QBs. He would "hike" the ball to other QBs and lightly jog around to go get footballs from the field. He didn't seem limited but it was hard to tell because he wasn't doing anything strenuous or going hard.

I didn't stay the whole spring showcase because it was only Ethan and Nevan playing first and second string offenses and the passing offense was rather limited/unimpressive. Then after a while they let Lynch get some time with I assume third string and he didn't do much. I recall he threw an off-balance pass to the endzone that was nowhere near where his receiver could catch it.

I never saw Rocky play during the showcase. If he played, it was after I left.

I was at the Spring Showcase yesterday with a buddy and had a great time. Despite the cold spring temps, it was nice being back inside Huskie Stadium and watching football.

I thought the crowd was somewhat better than I expected. I'm guessing there were a few hundred people there. That's obviously not a lot but with the weather being so chilly I assumed that I'd be one of like 50 people there. Wasn't the case. There were definitely more family/friends of the team and diehards in attendance than I expected.

The merch sale looked awesome and I'm bummed out that I missed it. I wish they kept it "open" after the practice during the luncheon. They definitely could have sold more merch. Oh well. Kudos to those that got there early and came away with some cool stuff.

There were some bouncy houses in the indoor facility which was nice for the family's with children.

I didn't stay for the luncheon but it looked like they had a nice bbq spread and a cash bar. Hammock also spoke to the fans that stuck around. If anyone who stayed for this wants to chime in, please do.

As for the "game" itself, it was more of a practice but I thought the format was efficient. The team warmed up in position groups before doing a brief team stretch. Then they immediately got into the scrimmage part. As mentioned before, Rocky did not participate at all in the live scrimmage. Hampton was operating as the starting QB with the #1 offense and Nevan was the #2 QB with the #2 offense. I assumed that Lynch, when everyone is healthy, is the 4th QB. I do however think there's still a role for him on the team as he is still a powerful runner. I expect him to get some run this season on designed QB rushing plays.

Hampton looked OK in the scrimmage passing the ball but that has more to do with the defense than him. He is visibly bigger and stronger than he was in the past. He throws a beautiful ball and seems poised. He didn't complete passes at a high % in the scrimmage but like I said, the defense came out with some energy and they played pretty good coverage and got their hands on a lot of balls. I was pleasantly surprised by that.

It was supposed to be "wrap-up" with no tackling but the defense definitely made full on tackles a handful of times lol. I suppose that's bound to happen.

The running game should be a strength of this team. AB and Gavin Williams both looked good and will form an elite 1-2 punch in the running attack. Both very patient runners with good strength and size. Dozier definitely seems primed to play a role this year as a change of pace back. He offers some more burst and versatility from the position with his receiving ability.

The O line was the usual suspects with the exception of Zschernitz sitting out. He seemed to be moving about just fine. Not sure what his injury is but I'm guessing he will be back in the summer. Evan Buss is taking over at LT. He's definitely got the size and length to play that position. I believe Champe filled in for Z at guard with Lippe being the other guard, Nygra at C, and Potter at RT. This group should be solid this year. It is somewhat hard to provide any real analysis from the scrimmage because they definitely were not going 100% .

The D line is stacked. They have a ton of size and depth at this position. I'm not worried about the line on either side of the ball. The D line really got after it and caused some pressures. I was impressed with Crowell's size. He's big and strong. I expect him to play a role this year. Roy Williams is also a beast. Ripperda is beefed up and is a more athletic edge type of player. Behind the starters is a good group of young players that all seem more than capable of contributing this year. Jalonie Williams also looked to be in better shape and made a few nice plays. Reggie Jean is another name to keep an eye on. He was in on a few plays as well. The D line looks the part. Big and strong. Should be a good foundation for a hopefully improved defense.

It was somewhat hard to gauge the DBs because the defense was wearing the black jerseys without names on the back. I thought the DBs played solid coverage throughout the scrimmage. Jammeh made a huge hit on Lampe during the scrimmage.

The linebackers looked solid and should be a deep group. Buck Urweiller is strong as an ox and made some nice plays at MLB while he was in there. I don't recall seeing Dolphin out there? Maybe I couldn't recognize him with the names. Alvarado made some nice plays. Again, with no tackling it is somewhat hard to properly analyze their play but I liked what I saw. #44 Ryan King looked beefed up and was in on some plays as well. Whatever starting group they decide to go with I feel cautiously optimistic about the linebackers. Raynor will definitely start, if healthy.

At one point during the scrimmage they let Woodill attempt a handful of kicks from various spots. I thought he looked more than capable. I only recall him missing one. He probably made 5/6.

Halfway through the practifce they stopped the scrimmage and played 7 on 7 while the linemen did some drills on the opposite end of the field. I thought the offense looked good in this part. Hampton throws a nice ball and was hitting some nice passes. Rocky hoped in during this but looked a little rusty. He threw a beautiful deep ball to someone but they couldn't come down with it.

Mason Kidd is an athletic specimen. He's visibly big. He definitely looked like a freshman QB a handful of times. Hopefully he can develop into a nice player one day.

I thought Nevan had some good moments. He still telegraphs some passes, but he throws a nice ball with a quick release. He's also a better athlete than he appears and can scramble quite well. I think he's a fine 3rd string QB and wouldn't be surprised to see him develop into a solid MAC quarterback.

Obviously in a perfect world, Rocky starts every game this year and we don't need Hampton to play at all. However, if he's forced to play again I am confident in him. He's stronger, has a good arm, and seems to be a well-liked leader on the team. Yes, he didn't light up the world during the spring scrimmage, but it was the spring scrimmage... After another summer of development, I honestly believe he'll be a more than capable backup to Rocky.

#27 Pipkin is going to be a player. He's a very strong WR and was running with the #1 offense most of the day. Remember that name. I like this kid's game a lot.

Rut is Rut. He will do what he does this season.

The transfer WR #9 is a physical specimen. He had 2 pretty bad drops during practice, but also hauled in a few catches. Lets hope he gets the drops out of the way now while in practice. It's nice to have a taller WR in the mix.

#17 Eli Reed also looked pretty good and I think he'll be in the mix this season. He's another good looking young WR. I liked what I saw out of him.

The transfer TE #81 Barnes is tall and skinny. He still needs to beef up imo. He's definitely out there to help the team in the vertical passing game. He's not strong enough to help with the blocking. Overall, the TE group seems well positioned. Tewes is back and is a good vet to rely on. Gumbs looked huge and if he can catch the ball at a higher rate this year he will definitely play quite a bit. Ozoh is also a huge TE that seems to be involved more in the rushing attack. I'm not worried about this position.

I'll stop my rambling now lol. It was great being back in Dekalb and watching the Huskies practice. I'm optimistic that this team will have a nice rebound season. Obviously, staying healthy at key positions is crucial. But I have more faith in Hammock than some on this board.

The practice concluded with the fans being invited onto the field to circle around the team and listen to coach Ham speak to them, which I thought was a cool touch.

This team has a good core and foundation in place. I truly believe that. The championship DNA is still there. Last season was extremely flukey on many fronts. The HUSKIES will be BACK!!!

(04-23-2023 08:19 PM)Red Dog Wrote:  I was at the Spring Showcase yesterday with a buddy and had a great time. Despite the cold spring temps, it was nice being back inside Huskie Stadium and watching football.

I thought the crowd was somewhat better than I expected. I'm guessing there were a few hundred people there. That's obviously not a lot but with the weather being so chilly I assumed that I'd be one of like 50 people there. Wasn't the case. There were definitely more family/friends of the team and diehards in attendance than I expected.

The merch sale looked awesome and I'm bummed out that I missed it. I wish they kept it "open" after the practice during the luncheon. They definitely could have sold more merch. Oh well. Kudos to those that got there early and came away with some cool stuff.

There were some bouncy houses in the indoor facility which was nice for the family's with children.

I didn't stay for the luncheon but it looked like they had a nice bbq spread and a cash bar. Hammock also spoke to the fans that stuck around. If anyone who stayed for this wants to chime in, please do.

As for the "game" itself, it was more of a practice but I thought the format was efficient. The team warmed up in position groups before doing a brief team stretch. Then they immediately got into the scrimmage part. As mentioned before, Rocky did not participate at all in the live scrimmage. Hampton was operating as the starting QB with the #1 offense and Nevan was the #2 QB with the #2 offense. I assumed that Lynch, when everyone is healthy, is the 4th QB. I do however think there's still a role for him on the team as he is still a powerful runner. I expect him to get some run this season on designed QB rushing plays.

Hampton looked OK in the scrimmage passing the ball but that has more to do with the defense than him. He is visibly bigger and stronger than he was in the past. He throws a beautiful ball and seems poised. He didn't complete passes at a high % in the scrimmage but like I said, the defense came out with some energy and they played pretty good coverage and got their hands on a lot of balls. I was pleasantly surprised by that.

It was supposed to be "wrap-up" with no tackling but the defense definitely made full on tackles a handful of times lol. I suppose that's bound to happen.

The running game should be a strength of this team. AB and Gavin Williams both looked good and will form an elite 1-2 punch in the running attack. Both very patient runners with good strength and size. Dozier definitely seems primed to play a role this year as a change of pace back. He offers some more burst and versatility from the position with his receiving ability.

The O line was the usual suspects with the exception of Zschernitz sitting out. He seemed to be moving about just fine. Not sure what his injury is but I'm guessing he will be back in the summer. Evan Buss is taking over at LT. He's definitely got the size and length to play that position. I believe Champe filled in for Z at guard with Lippe being the other guard, Nygra at C, and Potter at RT. This group should be solid this year. It is somewhat hard to provide any real analysis from the scrimmage because they definitely were not going 100% .

The D line is stacked. They have a ton of size and depth at this position. I'm not worried about the line on either side of the ball. The D line really got after it and caused some pressures. I was impressed with Crowell's size. He's big and strong. I expect him to play a role this year. Roy Williams is also a beast. Ripperda is beefed up and is a more athletic edge type of player. Behind the starters is a good group of young players that all seem more than capable of contributing this year. Jalonie Williams also looked to be in better shape and made a few nice plays. Reggie Jean is another name to keep an eye on. He was in on a few plays as well. The D line looks the part. Big and strong. Should be a good foundation for a hopefully improved defense.

It was somewhat hard to gauge the DBs because the defense was wearing the black jerseys without names on the back. I thought the DBs played solid coverage throughout the scrimmage. Jammeh made a huge hit on Lampe during the scrimmage.

The linebackers looked solid and should be a deep group. Buck Urweiller is strong as an ox and made some nice plays at MLB while he was in there. I don't recall seeing Dolphin out there? Maybe I couldn't recognize him with the names. Alvarado made some nice plays. Again, with no tackling it is somewhat hard to properly analyze their play but I liked what I saw. #44 Ryan King looked beefed up and was in on some plays as well. Whatever starting group they decide to go with I feel cautiously optimistic about the linebackers. Raynor will definitely start, if healthy.

At one point during the scrimmage they let Woodill attempt a handful of kicks from various spots. I thought he looked more than capable. I only recall him missing one. He probably made 5/6.

Halfway through the practifce they stopped the scrimmage and played 7 on 7 while the linemen did some drills on the opposite end of the field. I thought the offense looked good in this part. Hampton throws a nice ball and was hitting some nice passes. Rocky hoped in during this but looked a little rusty. He threw a beautiful deep ball to someone but they couldn't come down with it.

Mason Kidd is an athletic specimen. He's visibly big. He definitely looked like a freshman QB a handful of times. Hopefully he can develop into a nice player one day.

I thought Nevan had some good moments. He still telegraphs some passes, but he throws a nice ball with a quick release. He's also a better athlete than he appears and can scramble quite well. I think he's a fine 3rd string QB and wouldn't be surprised to see him develop into a solid MAC quarterback.

Obviously in a perfect world, Rocky starts every game this year and we don't need Hampton to play at all. However, if he's forced to play again I am confident in him. He's stronger, has a good arm, and seems to be a well-liked leader on the team. Yes, he didn't light up the world during the spring scrimmage, but it was the spring scrimmage... After another summer of development, I honestly believe he'll be a more than capable backup to Rocky.

#27 Pipkin is going to be a player. He's a very strong WR and was running with the #1 offense most of the day. Remember that name. I like this kid's game a lot.

Rut is Rut. He will do what he does this season.

The transfer WR #9 is a physical specimen. He had 2 pretty bad drops during practice, but also hauled in a few catches. Lets hope he gets the drops out of the way now while in practice. It's nice to have a taller WR in the mix.

#17 Eli Reed also looked pretty good and I think he'll be in the mix this season. He's another good looking young WR. I liked what I saw out of him.

The transfer TE #81 Barnes is tall and skinny. He still needs to beef up imo. He's definitely out there to help the team in the vertical passing game. He's not strong enough to help with the blocking. Overall, the TE group seems well positioned. Tewes is back and is a good vet to rely on. Gumbs looked huge and if he can catch the ball at a higher rate this year he will definitely play quite a bit. Ozoh is also a huge TE that seems to be involved more in the rushing attack. I'm not worried about this position.

I'll stop my rambling now lol. It was great being back in Dekalb and watching the Huskies practice. I'm optimistic that this team will have a nice rebound season. Obviously, staying healthy at key positions is crucial. But I have more faith in Hammock than some on this board.

The practice concluded with the fans being invited onto the field to circle around the team and listen to coach Ham speak to them, which I thought was a cool touch.

This team has a good core and foundation in place. I truly believe that. The championship DNA is still there. Last season was extremely flukey on many fronts. The HUSKIES will be BACK!!!

Excellent report!

(04-22-2023 10:07 PM)niu1980 Wrote:  

(04-22-2023 03:18 PM)NIUfilmmaker Wrote:  

(04-22-2023 11:40 AM)niu1980 Wrote:  I am here with a friend. Weather not good but the kids stuff is all indoors along with the gear sale. If you didn’t bring your kids or grand children you missed out. The gear sale is best ever. Sean stopped to say hello and chat with me and a number of different people as he always does. Other administrators did as well.

Looking forward to the practice. Forth time on campus in last ten days. Have met a lot of great students and other alumni and instructors.

Get out here and see for yourself what is going on. A lot of great stuff happening on campus.

Thanks for posting. What other campus items were looking up?

Great question.

In athletics there are number of things. The indoor tennis facility in Chick Evans Fieldhouse, thanks to some generous donors, may now be the best tennis facility in the MAC and the project isn’t even totally complete yet. The improvements to the baseball and softball stadiums are significant and are only phase one of three for each project.

The off campus nursing program building has been sold to the DeKalb School District. Nursing will be moved to a temporary facility until the new medical research building is completed on the west campus. The money for the new facility has been released by the state.

The state has also released funds for the new community sustainability research center on the west campus. Design work on the facility and building is now happening.

NIU has put in a bid to buy part of the vacant land east of Annie Glidden where the movie theatre and the Red Lion Club used to be. The intention is to build a facility that would be jointly used by all the Greek organizations including those that don’t have their own buildings. This is a first step in trying to improve and increase Campus Greek life. It also would be part of the city project of improving the northwest DeKalb neighborhood.

In the business school and Barsema Hall new research labs have opened or are under development focusing on things like business analytics and AI among other things that helps keep he students education up to date with today’s business trends.
The COB BELIEF program is one of my favorite programs supported equally by three constituencies:

Faculty for Ethics (FFE)
Corporate Partners and Advisory Board
Leaders in Ethics and Academic Discipline (LEAD)
LEAD is the student group that supports BELIEF. LEAD students meet weekly with the BELIEF director throughout the school year. LEAD procures speakers for Huskie Ethics Awareness Talks (HEAT) several times each semester. They also organize and run the NIU High School Ethics Case Competition (this year included 46 high school teams) and participate in intercollegiate ethics case competitions, including the Eller competition at the University of Arizona and the Templeton competition at Stetson University.

The business schools expansion into places like China and Bulgaria are also positive signs.

Work is being completed behind the scenes preparing for launching the university’s biggest fund raising campaign in history. Get your wallets out.

The DeKalb mayor is a Huskie and is working with the school on projects that will improve the city and university, student life and internship and employment opportunities. The increased traffic on Peace Road is a clear indication of the business development happening on the south end of DeKalb both on the north and south sides of I88.

Just recently the NIU Esports team won a tournament by beating U of I in the finals. I used to laugh at the concept but esports is big business when you factor in hardware and software development. Check out NIUs competition site in Altgeld Hall, impressive. By the way if you haven’t checked out Altgeld lately get inside there. It is the most beautiful building on Campus, totally restored, beautiful ballroom, cool art exhibit space.

Have you seen the renovations in the Holmes Student Center? Have you seen the night lighting on the tower celebrating athletic and other campus victories.

Just saw today the new signing on the front of the student recreation center. Not a big deal but a nice thing nevertheless.

The DeKalb downtown new development also continues. For example on third street one block north of Lincoln Highway a brand new luxury apartment building with first floor businesses including a new bar and restaurant is nearing completion. Built by a Huskie grad.

Seems like a good start. If the Admin does not stop the 15 year steady decline in student population, all those things make no difference.

(04-23-2023 08:19 PM)Red Dog Wrote:  I was at the Spring Showcase yesterday with a buddy and had a great time. Despite the cold spring temps, it was nice being back inside Huskie Stadium and watching football.

I thought the crowd was somewhat better than I expected. I'm guessing there were a few hundred people there. That's obviously not a lot but with the weather being so chilly I assumed that I'd be one of like 50 people there. Wasn't the case. There were definitely more family/friends of the team and diehards in attendance than I expected.

The merch sale looked awesome and I'm bummed out that I missed it. I wish they kept it "open" after the practice during the luncheon. They definitely could have sold more merch. Oh well. Kudos to those that got there early and came away with some cool stuff.

There were some bouncy houses in the indoor facility which was nice for the family's with children.

I didn't stay for the luncheon but it looked like they had a nice bbq spread and a cash bar. Hammock also spoke to the fans that stuck around. If anyone who stayed for this wants to chime in, please do.

As for the "game" itself, it was more of a practice but I thought the format was efficient. The team warmed up in position groups before doing a brief team stretch. Then they immediately got into the scrimmage part. As mentioned before, Rocky did not participate at all in the live scrimmage. Hampton was operating as the starting QB with the #1 offense and Nevan was the #2 QB with the #2 offense. I assumed that Lynch, when everyone is healthy, is the 4th QB. I do however think there's still a role for him on the team as he is still a powerful runner. I expect him to get some run this season on designed QB rushing plays.

Hampton looked OK in the scrimmage passing the ball but that has more to do with the defense than him. He is visibly bigger and stronger than he was in the past. He throws a beautiful ball and seems poised. He didn't complete passes at a high % in the scrimmage but like I said, the defense came out with some energy and they played pretty good coverage and got their hands on a lot of balls. I was pleasantly surprised by that.

It was supposed to be "wrap-up" with no tackling but the defense definitely made full on tackles a handful of times lol. I suppose that's bound to happen.

The running game should be a strength of this team. AB and Gavin Williams both looked good and will form an elite 1-2 punch in the running attack. Both very patient runners with good strength and size. Dozier definitely seems primed to play a role this year as a change of pace back. He offers some more burst and versatility from the position with his receiving ability.

The O line was the usual suspects with the exception of Zschernitz sitting out. He seemed to be moving about just fine. Not sure what his injury is but I'm guessing he will be back in the summer. Evan Buss is taking over at LT. He's definitely got the size and length to play that position. I believe Champe filled in for Z at guard with Lippe being the other guard, Nygra at C, and Potter at RT. This group should be solid this year. It is somewhat hard to provide any real analysis from the scrimmage because they definitely were not going 100% .

The D line is stacked. They have a ton of size and depth at this position. I'm not worried about the line on either side of the ball. The D line really got after it and caused some pressures. I was impressed with Crowell's size. He's big and strong. I expect him to play a role this year. Roy Williams is also a beast. Ripperda is beefed up and is a more athletic edge type of player. Behind the starters is a good group of young players that all seem more than capable of contributing this year. Jalonie Williams also looked to be in better shape and made a few nice plays. Reggie Jean is another name to keep an eye on. He was in on a few plays as well. The D line looks the part. Big and strong. Should be a good foundation for a hopefully improved defense.

It was somewhat hard to gauge the DBs because the defense was wearing the black jerseys without names on the back. I thought the DBs played solid coverage throughout the scrimmage. Jammeh made a huge hit on Lampe during the scrimmage.

The linebackers looked solid and should be a deep group. Buck Urweiller is strong as an ox and made some nice plays at MLB while he was in there. I don't recall seeing Dolphin out there? Maybe I couldn't recognize him with the names. Alvarado made some nice plays. Again, with no tackling it is somewhat hard to properly analyze their play but I liked what I saw. #44 Ryan King looked beefed up and was in on some plays as well. Whatever starting group they decide to go with I feel cautiously optimistic about the linebackers. Raynor will definitely start, if healthy.

At one point during the scrimmage they let Woodill attempt a handful of kicks from various spots. I thought he looked more than capable. I only recall him missing one. He probably made 5/6.

Halfway through the practifce they stopped the scrimmage and played 7 on 7 while the linemen did some drills on the opposite end of the field. I thought the offense looked good in this part. Hampton throws a nice ball and was hitting some nice passes. Rocky hoped in during this but looked a little rusty. He threw a beautiful deep ball to someone but they couldn't come down with it.

Mason Kidd is an athletic specimen. He's visibly big. He definitely looked like a freshman QB a handful of times. Hopefully he can develop into a nice player one day.

I thought Nevan had some good moments. He still telegraphs some passes, but he throws a nice ball with a quick release. He's also a better athlete than he appears and can scramble quite well. I think he's a fine 3rd string QB and wouldn't be surprised to see him develop into a solid MAC quarterback.

Obviously in a perfect world, Rocky starts every game this year and we don't need Hampton to play at all. However, if he's forced to play again I am confident in him. He's stronger, has a good arm, and seems to be a well-liked leader on the team. Yes, he didn't light up the world during the spring scrimmage, but it was the spring scrimmage... After another summer of development, I honestly believe he'll be a more than capable backup to Rocky.

#27 Pipkin is going to be a player. He's a very strong WR and was running with the #1 offense most of the day. Remember that name. I like this kid's game a lot.

Rut is Rut. He will do what he does this season.

The transfer WR #9 is a physical specimen. He had 2 pretty bad drops during practice, but also hauled in a few catches. Lets hope he gets the drops out of the way now while in practice. It's nice to have a taller WR in the mix.

#17 Eli Reed also looked pretty good and I think he'll be in the mix this season. He's another good looking young WR. I liked what I saw out of him.

The transfer TE #81 Barnes is tall and skinny. He still needs to beef up imo. He's definitely out there to help the team in the vertical passing game. He's not strong enough to help with the blocking. Overall, the TE group seems well positioned. Tewes is back and is a good vet to rely on. Gumbs looked huge and if he can catch the ball at a higher rate this year he will definitely play quite a bit. Ozoh is also a huge TE that seems to be involved more in the rushing attack. I'm not worried about this position.

I'll stop my rambling now lol. It was great being back in Dekalb and watching the Huskies practice. I'm optimistic that this team will have a nice rebound season. Obviously, staying healthy at key positions is crucial. But I have more faith in Hammock than some on this board.

The practice concluded with the fans being invited onto the field to circle around the team and listen to coach Ham speak to them, which I thought was a cool touch.

This team has a good core and foundation in place. I truly believe that. The championship DNA is still there. Last season was extremely flukey on many fronts. The HUSKIES will be BACK!!!

Great post! Thank you!

(04-22-2023 10:07 PM)niu1980 Wrote:  

(04-22-2023 03:18 PM)NIUfilmmaker Wrote:  

(04-22-2023 11:40 AM)niu1980 Wrote:  I am here with a friend. Weather not good but the kids stuff is all indoors along with the gear sale. If you didn’t bring your kids or grand children you missed out. The gear sale is best ever. Sean stopped to say hello and chat with me and a number of different people as he always does. Other administrators did as well.

Looking forward to the practice. Forth time on campus in last ten days. Have met a lot of great students and other alumni and instructors.

Get out here and see for yourself what is going on. A lot of great stuff happening on campus.

Thanks for posting. What other campus items were looking up?

Great question.

In athletics there are number of things. The indoor tennis facility in Chick Evans Fieldhouse, thanks to some generous donors, may now be the best tennis facility in the MAC and the project isn’t even totally complete yet. The improvements to the baseball and softball stadiums are significant and are only phase one of three for each project.

The off campus nursing program building has been sold to the DeKalb School District. Nursing will be moved to a temporary facility until the new medical research building is completed on the west campus. The money for the new facility has been released by the state.

The state has also released funds for the new community sustainability research center on the west campus. Design work on the facility and building is now happening.

NIU has put in a bid to buy part of the vacant land east of Annie Glidden where the movie theatre and the Red Lion Club used to be. The intention is to build a facility that would be jointly used by all the Greek organizations including those that don’t have their own buildings. This is a first step in trying to improve and increase Campus Greek life. It also would be part of the city project of improving the northwest DeKalb neighborhood.

In the business school and Barsema Hall new research labs have opened or are under development focusing on things like business analytics and AI among other things that helps keep he students education up to date with today’s business trends.
The COB BELIEF program is one of my favorite programs supported equally by three constituencies:

Faculty for Ethics (FFE)
Corporate Partners and Advisory Board
Leaders in Ethics and Academic Discipline (LEAD)
LEAD is the student group that supports BELIEF. LEAD students meet weekly with the BELIEF director throughout the school year. LEAD procures speakers for Huskie Ethics Awareness Talks (HEAT) several times each semester. They also organize and run the NIU High School Ethics Case Competition (this year included 46 high school teams) and participate in intercollegiate ethics case competitions, including the Eller competition at the University of Arizona and the Templeton competition at Stetson University.

The business schools expansion into places like China and Bulgaria are also positive signs.

Work is being completed behind the scenes preparing for launching the university’s biggest fund raising campaign in history. Get your wallets out.

The DeKalb mayor is a Huskie and is working with the school on projects that will improve the city and university, student life and internship and employment opportunities. The increased traffic on Peace Road is a clear indication of the business development happening on the south end of DeKalb both on the north and south sides of I88.

Just recently the NIU Esports team won a tournament by beating U of I in the finals. I used to laugh at the concept but esports is big business when you factor in hardware and software development. Check out NIUs competition site in Altgeld Hall, impressive. By the way if you haven’t checked out Altgeld lately get inside there. It is the most beautiful building on Campus, totally restored, beautiful ballroom, cool art exhibit space.

Have you seen the renovations in the Holmes Student Center? Have you seen the night lighting on the tower celebrating athletic and other campus victories.

Just saw today the new signing on the front of the student recreation center. Not a big deal but a nice thing nevertheless.

The DeKalb downtown new development also continues. For example on third street one block north of Lincoln Highway a brand new luxury apartment building with first floor businesses including a new bar and restaurant is nearing completion. Built by a Huskie grad.

Love it, knew some of this but not all, thanks for posting so much positive news! Now let's win a bowl game, increase enrollment, and hire an actual effective President and AD!

If you couldn’t make the showcase this young man has you covered. Obviously a huge Huskies fan, this boy video’s his day at the spring game/showcase along with his player interactions. Nicely done!

https://youtu.be/oWz3T-tEUdQ

(04-25-2023 10:55 AM)Rabid Squirrel Wrote:  If you couldn’t make the showcase this young man has you covered. Obviously a huge Huskies fan, this boy video’s his day at the spring game/showcase along with his player interactions. Nicely done!

https://youtu.be/oWz3T-tEUdQ

That kid brings some major NIU mojo. Nice video, hope he does a homecoming version.....

(04-25-2023 10:55 AM)Rabid Squirrel Wrote:  If you couldn’t make the showcase this young man has you covered. Obviously a huge Huskies fan, this boy video’s his day at the spring game/showcase along with his player interactions. Nicely done!

https://youtu.be/oWz3T-tEUdQ

Very nice! Looks like the kid has some talent, too. Early commit??

NIU football puts on a show in Spring Showcase
Eyewitness News WTVO WQRF

NIU Huskies wrap up spring football practice on snowy Saturday afternoon
13 WREX

Nice videos. They all look like pros in practice, don't they? Means nothing other than the players getting in some practice. No matter how good they may look in practice, we won't know a thing about this team until the season opens in September. I remember how good they looked in practice last year. Somebody please wake me up towards the end of August!

(04-25-2023 10:55 AM)Rabid Squirrel Wrote:  If you couldn’t make the showcase this young man has you covered. Obviously a huge Huskies fan, this boy video’s his day at the spring game/showcase along with his player interactions. Nicely done!

https://youtu.be/oWz3T-tEUdQ

Young man did a nice job. Saw the video , a couple of comments. We have a big team....Saw the true Fr QB standing next to the Wr Pipkin who is 6'3 207. He made him look small. He is not as big as Rocky, hoping he can develop.

Im always surprised at our TE Drew Cassens he caught a TD pass. I know he is down the depth chart, but he is athletic, he was a HS QB...just surprised he hasn't earn or is more deserving of playing time. Are our other TEs that much better?
Evan Melcore RS Fr OT is HUGE. Our Dline has to carry us this year, looking at a similar formula as 21'...winning the close games, getting tough yardsout of the RBs.

(04-25-2023 10:55 AM)Rabid Squirrel Wrote:  If you couldn’t make the showcase this young man has you covered. Obviously a huge Huskies fan, this boy video’s his day at the spring game/showcase along with his player interactions. Nicely done!

https://youtu.be/oWz3T-tEUdQ

Awesome, thanks for sharing! Can't wait for football season.

(04-25-2023 12:37 PM)NIU05 Wrote:  

(04-25-2023 10:55 AM)Rabid Squirrel Wrote:  If you couldn’t make the showcase this young man has you covered. Obviously a huge Huskies fan, this boy video’s his day at the spring game/showcase along with his player interactions. Nicely done!

https://youtu.be/oWz3T-tEUdQ

Young man did a nice job. Saw the video , a couple of comments. We have a big team....Saw the true Fr QB standing next to the Wr Pipkin who is 6'3 207. He made him look small. He is not as big as Rocky, hoping he can develop.

Im always surprised at our TE Drew Cassens he caught a TD pass. I know he is down the depth chart, but he is athletic, he was a HS QB...just surprised he hasn't earn or is more deserving of playing time. Are our other TEs that much better?
Evan Melcore RS Fr OT is HUGE. Our Dline has to carry us this year, looking at a similar formula as 21'...winning the close games, getting tough yardsout of the RBs.

Agreed. I was at the showcase and #54 Melcore definitely stood out. That's a big hog. He probably has a future playing OT. I could see him stepping in next year to fill Potter's shoes. Nice length . Both also stood out to me. He looked big.

Cassens does a lot of things well but nothing spectacular. I think that's why he's such a steady special teams contributor. We are pretty deep at the TE position.

Anyone who went care to project the starting 22 coming in to summer camp?

(04-26-2023 08:46 AM)BigChilla Wrote:  Anyone who went care to project the starting 22 coming in to summer camp?

Offense:

Rocky
AB
Nygra
Lippe
Z
Buss
Potter
Tees
Rudolph
Rut
Pipkin

Defense:

Ester
O'Malley
Thomas
Oppong
Dabney
Byrd
Rayner
Dolphin
Hansen
Brown
Jammeh