DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University football team returned to the practice field Wednesday morning as the Huskies open 2023 spring practices at the Chessick Practice Center. NIU will practice 15 times between Wednesday and Saturday, April 22 when the team will hold its annual Spring Showcase.
The Spring Showcase will begin at Noon (CT) in Huskie Stadium and fans are invited to bring the family out to check out the 2023 Huskies, choose – or upgrade – season tickets and stick around following the practice to hear from NIU head coach Thomas Hammock and get autographs from the Huskies. A complete Kids’ Zone – with the Bounce House, Football Toss and more – will be set up in the North End Zone and concessions will be available for purchase.
Following the practice and autograph session, season ticket members are invited to enjoy lunch in the Barsema Hall of Champions (between the Chessick Practice Center and Yordon Center) and hear from Hammock as well as offensive coordinator Eric Eidsness and defensive coordinator Nick Benedetto.
NIU returns 36 players who started games a year ago and 13 who were starters during the 2021 MAC Championship season. Hammock, who begins his fifth season as head coach in 2023, said during Tuesday’s pre-spring press conference that a major focus this spring will be on executing.
“There were six games that we played last year where we had the lead or were tied,” Hammock said. “We looked at that to analyze where the breakdown was and what happened. It came down to we must execute better. That’s one thing we have been focused on throughout this offseason. How can we execute better? How can we perform better in critical situations to get back to where we want to be?”
Forty-nine different players started games on offense and defense for NIU in 2022, including 27 on offense. The Huskies started four different quarterbacks and five tight ends during the course of the year. Twenty of the 27 offensive players who started at least one game are back in 2023, and the Huskie defense has 16 players who started games returning, including three players – Ray Thomas, James Ester and Devonte O’Malley – who combined to make 32 of 33 starts on the defensive line.
In addition to the emphasis on executing, Hammock and the coaching staff instituted changes in the way NIU will split practice reps during the spring with a focus on developing players who can succeed in any situation when their number is called.
“Last year, we left a really good football team on the practice field. That’s unfortunate, that happened. We’re not going to do that this year. A lot of guys got valuable playing experience last year and that’s something they can build upon going into spring practice,” Hammock said. “We have more depth on our team than we did a year ago because so many guys played. Now these guys have to make more jumps to put themselves into position to execute better so we can win more games.
“We’re going to try to develop the middle third of our team. That’s important because if there are injuries during the season, that is the group that needs to be ready to play and ready to contribute. It’s important to give those guys as many reps as possible during the spring.”
NIU will also approach the competitive aspect of practices differently in 2023. Rather than score each practice as offense versus defense, the complete team will work together to hit metrics established by the coaching staff.
“We’re going to build our team, we’re going to work our team, sharpen each other and make offense, defense and special teams as good as we can be and execute at a really high level,” Hammock said. “We are competing against our own standards. We have standards, we have expectations of what we want to do, how we want to practice, how we want to execute and that’s going to be daily. Our players have bought into that. We are trying to be more efficient, be more effective and we’re trying to execute at a high level as one NIU Huskies football team.”
During his pre-spring press conference on Wednesday, Hammock addressed these themes and more, including the progress of quarterback Rocky Lombardi and wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph, the running backs and more. Watch the press conference and see coverage through the spring on the NIU Athletics Official YouTube Channel. Find links to the coverage, the spring practice schedule and more at Spring Football Central on NIUHuskies.com.
NIU Football 2023 season tickets are on sale now at NIUHuskies.com/MyHuskies or by calling 815-753-PACK (7225). Through the new Build Your Membership plan, NIU fans can customize their game day experience by adding parking, hospitality passes and more to their season ticket orders on an a la carte basis. Premium seating opportunities – including in the chairback section and the SkyBox – are available. Find information on the opportunity to Build Your Membership or to directly support NIU Football through the Huskie Athletic Fund click here.
Football season ticket prices for NIU’s six-game home schedule in 2023 are unchanged from a year ago, beginning from as little as $97 annually (less than $11/month with the nine-month payment plan) for general admission (East Side) tickets. Reserved seat pricing on the West Side is still set at $144 (sections A, B, F) and $162 (sections C, D, E) annually or $16/$18 per month with the nine-month payment option. Purchase four season tickets with Huskie Family 4 Pack for even greater discounts.
To review all the ticket options, including a new West Side general admission section, go to NIUHuskies.com/tickets.