Many say that football is a game of momentum. Sometimes the best way to swing momentum is with a turnover. The Huskie defense has put special emphasis on swarming to the ball in effort to make those big swings more common – and that starts with stopping the opponent’s passing attack.
“One of the first things that we (the safeties) talked about was being a group that takes the ball away from opponents – something we didn’t do our first three years well. The guys have been doing an outstanding job of it [this camp],” said Associate Head Coach/Co-Defensive Coordinator and Safeties Coach Derrick Jackson.
That was on display during 11-on-11 drills Friday as safety CJ Brown (Canton, Mich./Walled Lake Western), who led the Huskies in total tackles in 2021 with 109, snagged an interception and cashed it in for a touchdown and electrified the defense’s sideline.
“It felt great, just to put the defense up and uplift the guys – everybody got hype off it,” said Brown when asked about his pick. “To be able to hype up the offense is big too. You see the offense go out there and make a big play, so then the defense says, ‘hey, let’s go make a big play too!’ we just feed off each other.”
Jackson echoed the importance of those big turnovers and talked about how Brown’s interception in the 2021 Mid-American Conference Championship Game at Ford Field sealed NIU’s win.
“You just look at our MAC Championship game – CJ Brown had a pick-six which really cemented that game for us.” said Jackson. “And that’s what [getting a turnover] does – it creates energy and enthusiasm, then it gets the offense fired up because they know that the defense is playing at a high-level. More importantly, it builds confidence within our scheme. I think right now, our guys are playing with a ton of confidence,”
Brown isn’t the only safety getting in on the fun. The Huskies return four other safeties with starting experience under their belts. Devin Lafayette (Brunswick, Ga./Brunswick), Jordan Hansen (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey) and Jashon Prophete (Pompano Beach, Fla./Blanche Ely) all return for the 2022 campaign.
Plus, NIU is looking for some of the young guys to produce. Muhammed Jammeh (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) and Louis Frye (Teaneck, N.J./Paramus Catholic), who has starting experience, have caught Jackson’s eye.
“We’ve got some young guys who have done a phenomenal job – you look at Muhammed Jammeh who’s been working in there with our first group,” stated Jackson. “Louis Frye has also been working in there and is another guy who has done an outstanding job. Those are two guys that have played – Muhammed Jammeh played in four games last year and Louis Frye played in 10.”
Meanwhile, the Huskies added transfer student-athlete Jordan White (Havre de Grace, Md./Havre de Grace/Youngstown State) to add even more experience at the position.
“We had White transfer in from Youngstown State and he brings a lot of game experience,” Jackson said. “He’s played a lot of reps with our ones and twos [this preseason]. We probably have five or six guys that we can put out on the field at any time and feel confident that the defense can run at a high-level. More importantly, they have confidence in each other and that’s how you build success in the back end of the defense.”
NIU Head Coach Thomas Hammock also emphasized just how deep the Huskies are at the safety position.
“I love the safety position. I think we’ve got a lot of depth and a lot of competition. Guys are making a lot of plays, so it’s going to be hard for us to make the decision of who the two safeties are,” said Hammock. “This next week is going to be an important evaluation process to see if anyone can separate themselves. We feel like we’ve got six guys that can go out there and play – we’ve got more depth than we’ve ever had. It’s exciting to know that we’ve got guys on the backend of our defense that can get the ball down and can make plays on the ball. So, it’s certainly a group that we feel excited about.”
Preseason camp continues Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m. with a team scrimmage at Huskie Stadium. Position previews of the team continue throughout camp. Read them online and see the complete camp schedule on the 2022 Camp Central page on NIUHuskies.com.
Purchase NIU Football tickets now online at NIUHuskies.com or by calling 815-753-PACK (7225) during regular business hours. Ticket options include season tickets to see all six Huskie home games, Mini-Plans featuring either the All-Saturday ($90) or All-Weekday ($78) package, and single game tickets, priced from $18-$40 depending on the game. Season tickets provide the best value with prices as low as $14.67 per ticket with the Huskie Family 4 Pack (do not have to be related), $97 for East Side general admission seating or $144 for West Side reserved seats. Premium area tickets are also available on both a season and per game basis. For more information and to see all the options and prices, click here.