Breakout day for NIU QB Harnish

DEKALB - You can't say redshirt freshman quarterback Chandler Harnish isn't a fast learner.

Early in Northern Illinois' 90-play scrimmage Tuesday morning, Harnish missed a sure 52-yard touchdown pass when he overthrew Nathan Palmer deep down the right sideline.

New coach Jerry Kill, overseeing everything from his spot right behind Harnish, didn't hesitate to get in the youngster's earhole.

"He said pretty emphatically, 'Never overthrow a deep route,'" Harnish said. "And I was so mad at myself because he was wide (open). I've just got to put it on him."

So what did Harnish do on his next snap? He noticed senior Matt Simon blowing past sophomore corner James Jefferies over the middle and put a play-action bomb right in his hands for a 65-yard score.

That highlighted a breakout day for the gregarious Bluffton, Ind., native.

Harnish completed 10 of 15 passes for 175 yards and 2 touchdowns, which should help quite a bit in his bid to catch fifth-year incumbent Dan Nicholson for the job.

"I think you can never get enough 11-on-11," Kill said. "It's easy to throw pass shell (7-on-7) when there's no other bodies in there."

While Harnish was asked to lead seven drives - switching between the first and second-team offenses - Nicholson ran just three series with the first-stringers before calling it a day. He hit 2 of 6 passes for 12 yards.

On the third play of the scrimmage, blitzing linebacker Josh Allen tipped Nicholson's pass to middle linebacker Tim McCarthy that became a 35-yard interception for a score.

"Dan's coming off shoulder surgery and he's been throwing for six or seven days," Kill said. "Right now, I think he's a little sore. We're not going to take any chances."

Junior defensive back David Bryant, who's playing his third position in as many years, read an immediate out pass by true freshman Brandon Rogers and picked it off for a 22-yard touchdown.

While NIU's opportunistic defense piled up 2 touchdowns and 9 sacks during the 22-drive, 91-play scrimmage, the offense rolled up 331 total yards, 3 touchdowns and 3 field goals.

Sophomore Ricky Crider led the running backs with 58 yards and 1 touchdown on 8 carries. Justin Anderson, who rushed for 1,245 yards last fall, received limited snaps like several other proven veterans and finished with 5 carries for 16 yards.

Simon, sophomore Landon Cox and redshirt freshman walk-on Willie Clark (Lake Park) led the receiving corps with 3 catches apiece.