Northern Illinois Huskies 2018 Football Preview

Five years ago, Northern Illinois rode record setting quarterback Jordan Lynch all the way to Miami’s Orange Bowl. But replacing the 2013 Heisman finalist has proven to be a challenge in recent years due to injuries: four season ending injuries to quarterbacks decimated the depth chart the last two years. Last season, fourth string quarterback Daniel Santacanterina (6’1” 205 lbs.) was pretty much all that was left by the season finale against Kent State.

The sole upside to injury problems is that younger players get experience. Junior Ryan Graham (6’1” 212 lbs.) started eight games the last two seasons, both ending prematurely as two of those season ending injuries. Last season, Graham completed 56% of his passes for 680 yards and eight touchdowns with six interceptions. Graham also rushed for 187 yards, averaging 4.2 yards per carry. Santacaterina completed 18 of 38 passes in his three games for 361 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. Graham looks like the leader going into the season, but I suspect that Santacaterina may push him for playing time. Or maybe it’ll be redshirt freshman Marcus Childers (6’0” 229 lbs), who might be too electric running the ball to keep off the field.

At running back, Jordan Huff split carries with now-departed Joel Bouagon to form a pretty solid tandem. Huff (5’11” 224 lbs.) returns for his senior season after rushing for 712 yards and five touchdowns in 2016. His 6.3 yards per carry average combined with just nine yards lost all season give you an idea of his consistency and dependability. After Huff, Northern Illinois will likely turn to either Virginia transfer Tre Harbison (5’10” 221 lbs.) or Indiana transfer Tommy Mister (6’0” 203 lbs.) to share the load this season.

It’s going to be tough for Northern Illinois to replace Kenny Golladay, who set the NIU career receiving record in just two seasons before being drafted by the Detroit Lions in the third round this spring. Senior Christian Blake (6’1” 181 lbs.) is the leading returning receiver, catching 34 passes for 457 yards and two touchdowns last season. Neither Blake nor senior tight end Shane Wimann (6’4” 248 lbs.) are particularly consistent receivers (combining for a 41% success rate when targeted, according to Bill Connelly’s advance stats), but it is worth noting that six of Wimann’s 24 catches were for touchdowns. Keep an eye on redshirt freshman Andrew Parchment (6’2” 176 lbs.), who might get a chance to fill the void this season.