I don't know how common it is to do this mid-season. I do know they have a numbers problem at offensive line which could be acute for spring ball. There are currently 16 offensive linemen on the roster. Four will have used up their eligibility at the end of this season, leaving 12 for spring ball. If one or two of them decide to leave and others get injured they could easily have single digits available for spring, which would make it hard to scrimmage and impossible to do the double reps Coach Hammock prefers (Ones and twos scrimmaging at one end of the field, threes and fours at the other).
(09-30-2019 02:50 PM)NIU1981 Wrote: I don't know how common it is to do this mid-season. I do know they have a numbers problem at offensive line which could be acute for spring ball. There are currently 16 offensive linemen on the roster. Four will have used up their eligibility at the end of this season, leaving 12 for spring ball. If one or two of them decide to leave and others get injured they could easily have single digits available for spring, which would make it hard to scrimmage and impossible to do the double reps Coach Hammock prefers (Ones and twos scrimmaging at one end of the field, threes and fours at the other).
(09-30-2019 07:20 PM)NIU05 Wrote: I have never heard of this except for kickers or Texas A&M 12th man.
NIU's basketball team did this when I was a junior in the mid 70's. My roomate tried out, had a blast and did pretty well but alas and alak it ended all too soon for him.
Smart move, imo.
I assume there are some former high school players who attend NIU, but not as football players, who might view this as a sort of second chance. Coaches have no way of knowing who all is out there. And some walk-ons have gotten scholarships and turned out to be pretty good players. Why focus only on recruiting off-campus when you might also have 1-2 good people already there?
(This post was last modified: 10-01-2019 08:36 PM by pvk75.)
I find it hard to believe this is an attempt to address current gaps. I really believe this is another way for Coach Hammock and his staff to connect with students and to continue generating a buzz about NIU football. Let's face it, we're talking about this and the campus likely is as well. My guess is that tryouts will be open to media/public.....again generating a buzz.
I will be trying out as a rear end. I have the experience of being a big and talented rear end most of my life. I may be old, but with age comes experience. And no one is a more experienced rear end than I am. If I am signed and become a member of the team, you will notice a marked improvement in the rear end position. As an experienced rear end, nobody gets by me. I take my responsibility as a rear end seriously, and I feel like I'm the best. I may be an ass some of the time, but I am a proud rear end all the time.
My son tried out for the Windy City Thunderbolts a couple of years ago and two Barstool guys did the tryout. He said it was hilarious and the Thunderbolts coaches got a big kick out of it.