NIU's Clanton cleared to play
The projected successor to Garrett Wolfe will be 100 percent when Northern Illinois opens preseason practice Monday night in DeKalb.
Junior tailback Montell Clanton was fully cleared by team doctors in June after his surgically repaired left knee limited him during spring practice. The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Clanton has averaged 6.2 yards a carry in 14 collegiate games.
Clanton was the only running back at Soldier Field on Wednesday for NIU's media preview of its season opener against Iowa, but he will compete with senior Cas Prime, sophomore Justin Anderson, redshirt freshman Ricky Crider and others.
"I feel like my old self again," Clanton said. "I did a lot of single-leg stretches, get my mobility back and my strength back in my knee.
"There's no telling who's going to be the guy, but my mentality is to go in, to be that guy, to be the one. Not to be the next Garrett, but to be the next Montell Clanton."
Standout defensive end Larry English is also ready to roll. English, a Marmion Academy product who tied the NIU single-season sacks record with 12 last year, hurt his knee in the Poinsettia Bowl and underwent surgery.
"I got cleared about a month ago," English said. "I'm glad it happened in Game 13 rather than Game 1."