NIU gets preseason nod in MAC West poll

Posted July 30, 2010 11:00 pm

By Lindsey Wilhite

If the Mid-American Conference media knows anything, then Northern Illinois ought to win its first MAC West division crown since 2005.

The Huskies received 15 of a possible 20 first-place votes in the media poll revealed Friday at the MAC media festivities in Detroit. The group also expects Temple to defeat NIU in the MAC title game.

Why are the Huskies so highly touted? They retain 101 of a possible 143 starts on offense. Their primary issue is finding replacements for all-MAC linemen Eddie Adamski (50 starts at center) and Jason Onyebuagu (38 starts at left guard), and settling on a quarterback.

NIU also retains 113 of a possible 143 starts on defense, though that's a bit misleading since returning linebacker Pat Schiller injured his knee at the end of spring and could miss all of the season.

As for quarterback, the coaches are expecting a three-way battle between incumbent starter Chandler Harnish, backup DeMarcus Grady (who went 4-0 as a starter last year) and junior-college transfer Casey Weston.

Harnish suffered a right knee injury midway through last season season and battled back to play the final three-plus games even though he wasn't healthy. Worried about Harnish's health, the Huskies signed Weston in February. Weston, who has three years to play two seasons, threw for 2,871 yards and 27 TDs in 9 games for Northwest Mississippi JC last year.

Head coach Jerry Kill's fall practices begin on Aug. 5.

"Will we have to make a tough decision?" Kill said Wednesday. "Yeah, but in some aspects, I think with what we're doing- at the quarterback position the last two years, we've scaled things down pretty good. We're not going to hold anything back. It's going to be the guy who can keep up with us (that gets the job).

"You've got to have that guy in this league that can make things happen and make plays."

MAC preseason football poll

WEST

1. Northern Illinois

2. Central Michigan

3. Western Michigan

4. Toledo

5. Ball State

6. Eastern Michigan

EAST

1. Temple

2. Ohio

3. Kent State

4. Bowling Green

5. Miami

6. Buffalo

7. Akron

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