The Northern Illinois University football team wrapped up its third week of spring football practices Saturday with a two-plus hour workout in full pads on a sunny, 70-degree day at Huskie Stadium.

The Huskies spent most of the practice, including the final 35 minutes, scrimmaging with the offense starting from its 25-yard line. Earlier in the practice, NIU spent time in 11-on-11 red zone scrimmage periods. The competitive spirit on both sides was intense throughout the practice – almost too intense for head coach Thomas Hammock’s liking.

“It always gets a little more amped up on Saturday than during the week,” Hammock said. “I could certainly tell they have a fight in them, they’re physical and they’re not going to back down. They get competitive, but we have to make sure we’re being smart at the same time. That’s important for us, as coaches to get that message across.”

While the defense, which returns nine starters and a host of players with playing experience, still showing the ability to consistently make stops, Hammock said he has seen the offense make progress.

“The defense is playing well, but I think we are a lot more competitive on offense against those guys,” Hammock said.  “it’s probably a 60/40 split from a practice standpoint. Last year in particular it was probably 70/30. I definitely like that offensively, we’re getting challenged to execute, to be assignment sound every day.  For our team, it’s the best thing because it’s like going up against a Toledo or Miami (Ohio) every practice and I think that’s great for our whole team.”

During Saturday’s practice, Trayvon Rudolph had the biggest play of the day for the Huskie offense as he caught a strike in stride from quarterback Ethan Hampton and went untouched into the end zone for a 75-yard score. Tight end Grayson Barnes brought back memories of his Camellia Bowl touchdown with a grab in the back of the end zone from C.J. Jordan and Dan Pardridge scored on a short pass from quarterback Jalen Macon.

Rudolph brings by far the most experience to the wide receiver room as only one other wide receiver on the roster has more than 11 career catches at NIU.  Hammock said Rudolph leads a group of seven wide receivers who have executed well at the position.

“You’ve got Trayvon, Keyshaun Pipkin, Dane Pardridge and [transfers] Kenji Lewis and Andrew McElroy doing a good job,” Hammock said. “Kyle Thomas is doing a great job and then you can add Cam Thompson in that top seven. Those seven are doing a great job executing so we feel like we have some guys that can do a lot of different things. We’ve hit a lot more deep balls this spring than we have since I’ve been here so the quarterbacks are really giving those guys a chance to make plays, and those plays change games.”

The Huskies return to practice Tuesday morning to begin the fourth week of spring workouts. Spring practices conclude with the Spring Showcase and Victor E. Fan Fest on Saturday, April 27 at Huskie Stadium. For the complete practice schedule, see 2024 Spring Football Central on NIUHuskies.com.

NIU’s 2024 schedule includes six home games, five on Saturday, along with road games at Notre Dame (Sept. 7) and N.C. State (Sept. 28). Season ticket prices start at just $105 or get reserved West Side seats starting at $152. Discounts are available and parking is included. Season ticket members also receive additional benefits like invitations to special events and access to away game tickets. Go to NIUHuskies.com/myhuskies or call 815-753-PACK to create your account, renew or purchase new season tickets.