Three weeks to the day before the Northern Illinois University Huskies take the field at Huskie Stadium for the 2024 season opener versus in-state foe Western Illinois, head coach Thomas Hammock put his team through its most extensive scrimmage so far this camp Saturday afternoon.

The scrimmage included officials and for one of the first times this preseason, there were several “live” periods with the defense allowed to tackle ballcarriers, receivers and even quarterbacks. Hammock said the live periods provide the staff with an important evaluation tool.

“We have a one plus group and one plus means starters plus some others,” Hammock said. “Those guys are in a thud situation where we hit them high and keep them off the ground. With the live group, we really wanted to make sure the middle third of our roster got a lot of reps. I think it’s a very competitive roster from 60 to 85 and we want to make sure we get enough tape on guys to make sure we can make the right decisions of who’s going to help us the most.”

The offense started strong with quarterback Ethan Hampton leading the ‘one plus’ group on a 70-yard touchdown drive, including a first down completion to tight end Tristen Tewes to the 49-yard line and runs by Antario Brown, culminating in a Hampton to Cam Thompson three-yard touchdown pass. As the scrimmage went on, with approximately 70 plays run, Hampton and fellow quarterbacks Josh Holst and Jalen Macon each worked with different combinations of receivers, backs and behind the first and “live” group of offensive linemen.

“We rotated guys and rotated groups trying to give guys different looks,” Hammock said. “So that can hurt your momentum on offense. But [today] is a great evaluation tool for us and allows us to see what we need to do next Saturday [during the scrimmage] and what we need to get done in practice.”

Another goal of Saturday’s scrimmage was to get a thorough evaluation of the Huskies’ second offensive line, which has the challenge of going up against one of the deepest positions on the team as the NIU defensive line features 10 players with extensive experience.

“Our D line is deeper than our O line; even the second group play like starters,” Hammock said. “We know our top five [offensive linemen], and we’re trying to really get a good evaluation on six to 12 to make sure we have the right type of depth throughout the season. Hopefully we don’t need all six, but we may need one or two guys to fill in for spot duty at some point in time. In the end, it’s only going to make them better and I don’t get disturbed by the way it looks (during a scrimmage).”

Even with the rotating line-ups and the challenges the second offensive line faced playing against a deep defensive line, several players, along with the overall performance of the defense, impressed Hammock.

“I thought Antario [Brown] ran well, Jaylen Poe ran well and [quarterback] Josh Holst made some plays,” Hammock said. “Ethan [Hampton] operated the offense really well and I saw several receivers make some plays. Our defense is a physical group, they‘re excited and they work together which is fun to see.”

Playing in front of officials presented another challenge, one which Hammock said is another step in preparing the team for game situations, especially for the defensive backs and the offensive line.

“For the defensive backs and the offensive line, those two positions benefit the most,” Hammock said. “When you’re practicing with no officials, you get away with a lot of things that we’re not calling as coaches during practice. For the DBs, it helps make sure we’re teaching the right technique and for the offensive line, it’s about making sure you are keeping your hands inside up front.”

The Huskies return to the practice field on Sunday with the “young guys” slated to get the majority of the work.

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