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STORY OF THE DAY

The 7-on-7 and full-team sessions were littered with pass deflections and near-picks. Following a dominant year for the defense in 2017 led by All-American defensive end Sutton Smith, NIU coach Rod Carey said the group is ahead of schedule this spring.

Safety Mykelti Williams was a ball-hawk Saturday, deflecting all eight passes thrown in his direction. Albert Smalls was also impressive, disrupting a few passes and forcing a fumble by Liam Soraghan. The offense wasn't at full health with returners Mitchell Brinkman, DJ Brown and Spencer Tears sidelined. Still, the defense set the tone, which seems to be the theme for many spring practices.

DEPTH CHART NOTES

Offense: Marcus Childers is the clear starter at quarterback, followed by Anthony Thompson and Rodney Hall, while Ryan Graham continues to recover from his elbow injury. Childers conducted the first-string offense throughout the entire practice, while Thompson and Hall split time with the second-stringers with Thompson having a slight advantage. Carey said he's happy with the quarterback situation and how there is no controversy.

Hall still seems far from making an impact. During an early 7-on-7 session inside the red zone, he threw four straight incompletions, including a pair of overthrown balls into the deep right corner of the endzone.

Running back Marcus Jones and Tre Harbison split first-team reps. Jones finished with a few more carries than Harbison. Both have experience and neither should have a problem filling in for Jordan Huff. Jones averaged 4.2 yards per carry last year and Harbison tallied 5.3 yards per rush.

With Ryan Roberts and junior college transfer CJ Perez sidelined, the offensive line consisted mostly of left tackle Max Scharping, left guard Brayden Patton, center Luke Shively, right guard Dale Brown and right tackle Jordan Steckler with Isaac Hawn, Nathan Veloz, Jordan Steckler, Benn Olson and Ezekiel Gueths rotating in. Carey said the offensive line will be the most competitive position battle heading into the summer. Besides Scharping and Shivley, all other spots could be up for grabs.Seniors Spencer Tears and DJ Brown are the Huskies' top returners, but redshirt freshman Cole Tucker and sophomore Jauan Wesley could give them a run for their money.

Jordan Nettles also had a few nice moments. But with Tears and Brown sitting out of Saturday's session, it was the Tucker show – he had several nice catches as WR1, including a 20-yard touchdown off a corner route to conclude practice.

Defense: NIU's secondary no longer has explosive playmakers Shawun Lurry and Mycial Allen, however, this group should still be a strength in 2018. The secondary is anchored by Mykelti Williams, Trayshon Foster, Albert Smalls and Jalen Embry.

This crew dominated a younger receiving corps Saturday, allowing only one passing touchdown in team sessions. Tifonte Hunt and Jaquis Covington also proved their worth and freshman Antwain Walker and Devin Haney could be names Huskie fans might know more about come fall.

Next man up has always been the motto for the Huskies. It'll be in full effect with NIU's linebackers. The Huskies lost top tacklers Bobby Jones IV and Jawuan Johnson, but Carey remains confident with Kyle Pugh returning from injury. Pugh is surrounded by outside linebackers Lance Deveaux Jr. and Antonio Jones-Davis.

Special teams: Matt Ference had a nice day, pinning a couple 50-yard punts into perfect spots right down the sideline. Tucker handled a lot of kick returner responsibilities along with Embry, Smalls and Jordan Nettles. New graduate transfer kicker from Cincinnati, Andrew Gantz, had a so-so outing.

PRACTICE RECAP

Childers didn't complete a deep ball Saturday, however, according to him, he's completed between 60- to 70-percent of his passes 20-yards or longer. He had nearly a dozen attempts at the end zone, but threw only one touchdown. It wasn't his best showing, but you can tell Childers looks more composed in the pocket. Childers said the difference between last spring and this year will be day-and-night with him having complete control of the offense.

Brown and Tears didn't participate, but both were very vocal on the sidelines. After Wesley dropped a catch thrown right in-between his numbers, Tears barked at him to pick up his game. Wesley caught the next pass thrown his way.

Carey called Tucker the team's best route runner and it isn't hard to see why. The DeKalb graduate showed off his feet on several occasions, finishing with a handful of short and mid-yardage catches. He nearly had two touchdowns, but couldn't drag his feet on the first attempt. Tucker ended practice with an exclamation point, out-running the secondary on a corner route for a 20-yard touchdown.

Gantz began practice missing four of five field goal attempts from around 40-yards. He bounced back near the end with a pair of successful kicks from 37-yards out. Hayden Sak remains the team's long snapper, backed up by Vinny Labus and Ference takes over holding duties.

Sutton Smith nearly knocked over defensive line coach Walter Stewart during a position drill. Following the drill, the pair laughed about the moment and Stewart used Smith as a model in the group's next drill. It's probably safe to say Smith's explosiveness is still there.

Sophomore defensive tackle Weston Kramer was ejected from practice by Carey following a minor scuffle during a full-team session. It wasn't clear what warranted Kramer's early shower. Kramer appeared in all 13 games last year, finishing with 19 tackles.

INJURY REPORT

Saturday's inactive players included quarterback Ryan Graham, receivers Spencer Tears and DJ Brown, tight end Mitchell Brinkman, offensive lineman CJ Perez and Ryan Roberts, defensive tackle Jack Heflin, defensive end Quintin Wynne and safety Trequan Smith.

Tight end Daniel Crawford, who participated with the first-string offense, suffered a right leg injury midway through practice when he was setting a block down field. Crawford didn't return and struggled to put weight on his right leg. He had to be helped off the field by teammates and trainers.

Kyle Pugh got dinged up near the end of practice after making a tackle. It wasn't clear how Pugh got hurt, however, he removed his gloves immediately and favored his hand.