NIU hopes to build on success under Kill

In Jerry Kill's first season, Northern Illinois football staged a dramatic turnaround by tripling the number of wins from the previous year and earning a bowl berth.

The Huskies head into a new season looking for more positive steps with Kill increasingly comfortable at the program's helm and players more familiar with his system and philosophy.

"(Coaching) at Southern Illinois it took two years to get our feet on the ground and I think it will take two years here," said Kill, whose Northern Illinois team went 6-7 last year, including a 17-10 Independence Bowl loss to Louisiana Tech.

"But we do know our personnel better, I think we know which direction we need to go in recruiting."

The Huskies return a starting quarterback, capable runners and a solid offensive line. The defense features 10 veterans from a unit that was the Mid-American Conference's stingiest.

Sophomore quarterback Chandler Harnish topped the Huskies in passing (1,528 yards) and rushing (539 yards) last fall despite missing five games with a foot injury. He'll leave more of the running this fall to returning tailbacks Me'co Brown (510 yards), Ricky Crider and Chad Spann.

Veteran center Eddie Adamski has started 37 of the last 38 games and anchors the offensive line. Also back is starting left guard Jason Onyebuagu and left tackle Trevor Olson.

Northern Illinois has a flock of freshmen competing for wide receiver slots vacated by graduating starters.

The Huskies return only for starters to a defense that ranked among the top 20 in the nation in several categories last year, including total defense, scoring defense and pass defense. The team frequently rotated its personnel, though, so coaches are confident they'll avoid a significant drop off this year.

Northern Illinois will have to find a way to make up for the loss of defensive end Larry English, who became the first Huskies' first first-round NFL draft pick in April when he was picked by the San Diego Chargers.

"You don't replace a guy like (English), but what's happened is that he's made other guys better," Kill said.

Returning safety David Bryant led the Huskies with 83 tackles, including 46 unassisted. Also back in kicker Mike Salerno, perfect on extra points (34) while hitting 18-of-24 field goal tries.

Projected third in the MAC West, the Huskies have two Big Ten foes in the first three weeks, including trips to Wisconsin and Purdue.