English effort an award-winner

On Dec. 19, 2006, Northern Illinois defensive end Larry English tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while playing in the Poinsettia Bowl.

On Saturday at Idaho, English finally felt good enough about his knee to ditch the brace he wore all summer and fall.

What happened? English performed like a wild man and earned the Nagurski Player of the Week award that goes to the nation's finest performer according to the Football Writers Association of America.

The lifelong Aurora resident racked up a career-high 12 tackles, including a school-record 5 sacks, and he scored his first touchdown when he caused a second-quarter fumble and recovered it in the end zone.

He also recorded a sack on the game's final play as Idaho threatened in the Huskies' red zone to save NIU's 42-35 nonconference victory.

"I was fortunate to get some sacks last week, but it wasn't just me doing the work," English said Tuesday during NIU's weekly news conference. "I really tried as hard as possible to give it everything I had because we really needed a win."

"He had been a little tentative early in the year," Huskies coach Joe Novak said. "I think he's really starting to get a little confidence in the knee."