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Athlon Sports
Northern Illinois Football: 2024 Huskies Season Preview and Prediction
By Athlon Sports,
2 days ago
Last season’s 5-3 record in the MAC has Northern Illinois and coach Thomas Hammock back on the right trajectory. The Huskies need a quarterback to emerge to prevent defenses from loading up against the run. If the defense is near the top of the league again, a return to a bowl will be in the cards.
Northern Illinois' 2024 Season Preview and Prediction
Previewing Northern Illinois' Offense for 2024
First-team All-MAC running back Antario Brown is back for his senior season after amassing 1,296 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground last year for the Huskies. Brown has 2,523 career rushing yards and got roughly two-thirds of the carries last season. He will be leaned on to pace an offense that had a 56/44 run/pass ratio last season and was second in the MAC in rushing. Complementing Brown will be Gavin Williams, who had 488 rushing yards and 24 catches out of the backfield.
In front of Brown and Williams is an offensive line that lost two starters but has significant experience. The two “newcomers” are Logan Zschernitz, who has 33 career starts to his credit, and Evan Buss, who saw action in five games in 2023 and has 12 career starts.
Quarterback will be a question mark into the fall as NIU looks for Rocky Lombardi’s replacement. Ethan Hampton was the primary backup last season, but he is in a three-man battle with the athletic Jalen Macon and walk-on Josh Holst. Whoever wins the job will have a strong WR1 in senior Trayvon Rudolph, a third-team All-MAC selection. Tight end/receiver Grayson Barnes is also back after catching a team-high five touchdowns. From there, some younger players will need to step up.
Two of the four starting defensive linemen are back, but NIU used 8-10 players in its rotation last year and has plenty of experience. Devonte O’Malley is a two-year starter at defensive tackle, and Roy Williams is a potential breakout player at defensive end.
NIU plays a two-linebacker alignment, and Jaden Dolphin is back to man one of the spots after finishing second on the team in tackles. At the other spot, FCS Southeast Missouri State grad transfer Christian Fuhrman was running with the first unit in the spring.
In the defensive backfield, Javaughn Byrd is a standout at corner who will compete for first-team All-MAC honors. Jashon Prophete has earned the honored No. 1 jersey with his play and will be another key piece of a unit that led the MAC in passing defense a year ago.
Previewing Northern Illinois' Specialists for 2024
Both the punter and kicker will be back. Punter Tom Foley had a 40.6 average with eight punts of at least 50 yards. Junior Kanon Woodill went 11-of-17 last season on field goals, though he missed his final three attempts of the season. He was 2-of-5 from beyond 40 yards.
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