Reviewing the 2017 Northern Illinois Huskies

Northern Illinois started the season with a 23-20 loss to Boston College followed by a 38-10 victory over 1-AA Eastern Illinois. Against Boston College, a seven win team that defeated Maryland in last year’s Quick Care Bowl, the two teams were tied late in the fourth quarter until the Eagles kicked a field goal with two minutes for a 23-20 victory. Junior Ryan Graham started that game, but suffered a sprained right elbow late in the game. Graham will be out for another couple of weeks, with sophomore Daniel Santacaterina replacing him while he’s out. Against Eastern Illinois, Santacaterina completed 23 of 34 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns with an interception. Graham is a more mobile threat, rushing for 99 yards against BC, while Santacaterina rushed for just 14 yards last week against Eastern Illinois.

Sophomore running back Marcus Jones leads Northern Illinois this season with 111 yards on 23 carries with two touchdowns. He’s been splitting carries with senior Jordan Huff, who has 16 carries for 97 yards. Senior wide receiver Chad Beebe, son of former Chadron State and NFL star Don Beebe, has returned from a knee injury that caused him to miss all of 2016 to lead the Huskies with 10 catches for 125 yards. Sophomore D.J. Brown is second on the team with nine catches for 119 yards and a touchdown; he’s also rushed three times on the sweep for 14 yards. Tight end Shane Wimann has caught five passes for 38 yards, with two for touchdowns.

Defensively, the Huskies are led by sophomore linebacker Kyle Pugh, who leads the Huskies with 22 tackles and an interception this season. Senior linebacker Bobby Jones is second with 19 tackles with two for a loss. Redshirt freshman Sutton Smith has six tackles for loss, playing as a small defensive end at 6’0” 225 lbs.

With Graham unlikely to play, it looks like Northern Illinois will probably look a lot like Arkansas State, trying to hit quick passes on the outside with Santacaterina. Husker fans will have to hope that Bob Diaco plays this style more aggressively in the first half. After the jump, we’ll repost the summer preview of the Northern Illinois Huskies.