08-18-2008, 11:41 PM
http://daily-chronicle.com/articles/2008...792555.txt
Quote:The next few days don’t make or break the season, but don’t underestimate what they’ll mean to the beginning of the 2008 campaign.One thing seems to be clear, we are going to run the ball early and often this season.
This week is the last week of Northern Illinois’ preseason camp, and it will be the most important seven practices for the Huskies so far. The coaches have to pare down who will start and who will come off the bench for the season-opening game at Minnesota and, as coach Jerry Kill put it after Saturday’s scrimmage, “figure out what we do best.”
With that in mind, here are a few training camp items we’ll have our eyes on this week.
1. Who starts at quarterback?
Dan Nicholson hasn’t thrown in practice since Tuesday’s scrimmage because of a sore shoulder. Chandler Harnish seems like a good fit for the offensive scheme NIU wants to run but, as Saturday proved, makes young mistakes.
The hope out of NIU is that Nicholson hopefully will take reps on Monday. If it takes a few more days for that to happen, Harnish might win this quarterback derby by default.
2. How do the coaches parcel out time at running back?
Kill keeps saying defensive line is the strength of his team, and with Larry English there I can’t disagree.
But running back is starting to become one of the more crowded positions at Huskie Stadium. Justin Anderson should start, but Me’co Brown, Montell Clanton and now after Saturday, Ricky Crider and Chad Spann all can make legitimate claims for playing time. That kind of depth will keep Anderson and whoever the No. 2 running back is fresh in the fourth quarter.
3. Who are the safeties?
In my mind, David Bryant has earned his spot. His cover skills have been OK, but it’s his ability to find the ball and create turnovers that makes him stand out from the rest. This coaching staff has preached turnovers since stepping foot in DeKalb, and Bryant apparently has heard them loud and clear. On top of that, Bryant isn’t holding up on his tackling, as he’s been one of the biggest hitters in camp. That’s not bad considering he spent the spring as a running back.
As for the other safety spot, Spencer Williamson (6-foot-4) has the height advantage, Mike Sobol and Justin Stewart have both played well and freshman Jody Van Laanen has played well for his age. Junior college transfer Kiaree Daniels also has earned a few looks in the secondary.
4. Can the centers get the ball to the quarterbacks?
This is a minor thing, but for whatever reason, last week wasn’t a great one for the centers and it didn’t get that much better in front of fans on Saturday. High snaps, low snaps, wide snaps, it didn’t matter. It’s a little thing that NIU needs to get cleaned up this week.
“We had a few here and there,” Harnish said. “Those guys, they’re fine. I don’t have any worry whatsoever.”
Emptying the notebook
A few leftover thoughts from Saturday’s scrimmage:
The punt and kick returner jobs are down to wide receiver Marcus Perez and running back Me’co Brown. They have been getting the most chances in those situations and are the first two in line when the return drills start. I suspect we’ll see a combination of both to at least start the season.
Kill said the team handled the play clock much better than the first scrimmage on Tuesday. He also had an interesting take on how the new clock plays a factor in gameplans.
“There’s going to be less offensive football plays,” Kill said. “If you run the ball you can shorten the game. The strategy of winning is going to go into that clock because it’s going to be a shorter game.”
Finally, coaches and players have raved about the intensity of freshman defensive tackle Adam Coleman. So how strange was it to see him taking a few long snaps during special teams drills? That’s a position that takes way more hits than it dishes out.