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Huskies Close Out Spring Drills with Red-Black Scrimmage

April 26, 2008

Quote:DeKALB, Ill. - After battling snow, torrential rain and freezing temperatures during 2008 spring drills, it was only appropriate that Northern Illinois' final spring practice at Huskie Stadium, Saturday's Red-Black Scrimmage, be played in winds that gusted up to 35 miles per hour.

But new Huskie head coach Jerry Kill and his team took the weather in stride.

"A day like today just shows you that you had better be able to run the football," Kill said.

And it was a day for the rushers, even if the top runner was a quarterback. Redshirt freshman quarterback DeMarcus Grady (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids HS) led all rushers as he carried eight times for 118 yards with a bulk of his yards coming on a 57-yard touchdown run. Grady also completed four-of-seven passes for 36 yards. He hit tight end Jack Marks (Orland Park, Ill./Marist HS) with a short pass that turned into a 25-yard touchdown run and was intercepted once, by linebacker Josh Allen (North Chicago, Ill./North Chicago HS).

Fellow redshirt freshman Chandler Harnish (Bluffton, Ind./Norwell HS), who took the first snaps of the scrimmage, completed six-of-19 throws for 39 yards while junior Ryan Morris was six-of-12 for 28 yards as the wind aided the Huskie defense throughout the workout.

Kill said there was little significance to the order in which the Huskies took the field.

"All three quarterbacks have worked with the first group at one time or another this spring," Kill said. "Chandler came out strong at the start of spring and really did some good things and we threw a lot of things at him. DeMarcus started more slowly and we backed off with him a little bit and know he's come on late as we keep adding a few more things. Ryan's been consistent and he has the most experience of the three. It was good for them to get the work that they did this spring. Considering their lack of experience, and everything we threw at them, they did a good job.

"In addition, Dan Nicholson did a great job of teaching the young guys and being extremely unselfish. I think he did a great job of learning without actually playing and it may make him a better player."

Overall, Kill was pleased with the execution by the Huskie offense.

"One of the good things I saw was not a ton of balls on the ground, which can happen in the spring," Kill said. "There were a couple of turnovers, which I don't like, but I was happy for our defense because we need to create turnovers on that side of the ball. That is the biggest key to winning and losing games, taking care of the football and creating turnovers."

In addition to Allen's interception, the defense recorded three "sacks" although the quarterbacks were not tackled. The offense did not reach the end zone until the final third of the 75-minute scrimmage, but did record two 40-yard field goals by kicker Mike Salerno (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg HS).

Late in the day, tailback David Bryant (St. Louis, Mo./Ladue Horton Watkins HS) burst down the sidelines for a 33-yard touchdown run as he totaled 49 yards on five carries. The two primary workhorses at tailback for NIU on Saturday were junior Justin Anderson (Chicago, Ill./Steinmetz HS), who carried 13 times for 35 yards on the day, and sophomore Chad Spann (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central HS), with 56 yards on 10 carries.

Like the previous 14 days of spring practice, a large group of players were on the sidelines Saturday as they contine to rehabilitate from surgery. Among those sitting out this spring were 2007 MAC MVP Larry English (Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy), QB Nicholson (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice HS), wide receivers Britt Davis (Broadview, Ill/Riverside-Brookfield HS) and Matt Simon (Farmington, Minn./Farmington HS) and defensive lineman Craig Rusch (Hilbert, Wisc./Hilbert HS).

Kill said with those players sitting out, the Huskies used the opportunity to build depth for the 2008 campaign.

"As a group, we've created more depth this spring," Kill said. "We worked with what we had and who was healthy. We did learn a lot about the kids who were out there. My main concern is the health of our team on August 1. If we are healthy, then I think we have a chance to have a good football team. The guys that are out in August will have to learn fast, but I think they will [be able to] because they are older and they have played before."

Northern Illinois kicks off the 2008 season on August 30 at Minnesota with the first home contest Sept. 20 versus Indiana State. For ticket information, go to http://www.niuhuskies.com or contact the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-752-6800.

SPRING SCRIMMAGE STATISTICS

SCORING PLAYS
Mike Salerno 40 FG
Mike Salerno 40 FG
Josh Allen 40 INT return
David Bryant 33 TD run (Salerno kick)
Jack Marks 25 TD reception from DeMarcus Grady (Salerno kick)
DeMarcus Grady 57 TD run (Salerno kick)

PASSING
DeMarcus Grady 4-7-36-1, TD
Chandler Harnish 6-19-39-0
Ryan Morris 6-12-28-0

RUSHING
Justin Anderson 13-35
Chad Spann 10-56
DeMarcus Grady 8-118, TD
David Bryant 5-49, TD
Alan Smith 4-3

RECEIVING
Greg Turner 1-6
Nathan Palmer 2-16
Tyler Clasey 2-9
Jack Marks 2-36, TD
Willie Clark 2-7
Marcus Lewis 1-0
Reed Cunningham 2-14
David Bryant 2-10
Chase Mejia 2-15

139 Photos - http://s305.photobucket.com/albums/nn228...ll%20Game/

Some nice pics.

The most obvious player who stood out on offense was redshirt freshman QB DeMarcus Grady.

If Grady doesn't start then they have to do whatever they can to find a way to get him on the field at QB. I see a situation for him very much like how Florida used Tebow. His vision is very good for a QB running the ball. I think if you let him throw lots of dumps, screens, short and intermediate passes he would be fine. His arm strength seemed no worse than Ryan Morris'.

Quote:RUSHING
DeMarcus Grady 8-118, TD