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| Joe Novak |
Wrap up of Chat with Head Coach Joe Novak
Joe Novak joined us for a chat on Tuesday, April 17.
DeKalb, Ill - With spring practice winding down and the 2007 football season just around the corner, get the latest on Huskie football directly from Northern Illinois Head Coach Joe Novak on Tuesday, April
17 beginning at 1 p.m. (CDT) as Novak will chat on-line with Huskie fans right here at www.niuhuskies.com.
Coach Novak will be available for approximately 45 minutes to answer questions from fans. Fans can begin sending their questions now by clicking on the button below.
The chat will take place just days before the 2007 Spring Football Game scheduled for Saturday, April 21 at 1 p.m. at Huskie Stadium. Admission to the spring game is free.
Prior to the game, fans are invited to enjoy some great tailgating fare at the HASF
Tailgate Showdown, while Fatty*s Pub and Grille on Lincoln Highway will be the site of a post-game party, including an autograph session with Huskie greats, and a silent auction featuring one-of-a-kind NIU items as well as ticket packages and . Both events benefit the Huskie Athletic Scholarship Fund, the official fundraising arm of Northern Illinois Athletics.
For more information on the 2007 Spring Game, the HASF Tailgate Showdown and the Post-Game Party, call the NIU Athletics External Relations office at 815-753-1923.
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Moderator: Coach Novak has joined us and will begin answering your questions. We will attempt to get to as many as possible in the next 45 minutes. |
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| Mark (Chicago): How is the offensive line shaping up for 2007? With a lot of new coaches on the offensive side of the ball have you added new plays to the plays to the playbook? |
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Joe Novak: I've been very pleased with how the new staff has come in and how they are working together. The adjustment phase has been minimal. We are going to be a one-back team and there are so many plays that we run from that. For the average person, you probably won't see new plays, but the way the play develops as far as an inside and outside zone may be different. I am pleased with the progress of the offensive line. We are still searching for our top 10, which is what spring is for. We are not as mature as two or three years ago. I'd like to think we'll be improved but we have only one senior on the line next season and that is Chris Acevedo. |
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| Eric (Warrenville): Coach Novak,
There are a few key positions that need improvement or replacements -- Wide Receiver, Running back, and our Offensive Line. How are those positions looking and which players are standing out most at those positions? I can't wait for the 2007 season. Good luck and Go Huskies!!! |
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Joe Novak: You won't replace a Garrett Wolfe, but I am excited about Montell Clanton and Justin Anderson. David Bryant is a kid I am excited about after moving from linebacker. He was an excellent back in high school and has some good size and speed. We have depth there with Cas Prime and Ricky Crider. It may not be one guy carrying 40 times, but two or three carrying 15-20.
At wide receiver, we only lose Jarret Carter and we had a lot of sophomores last season. I am impressed with the potential of Britt Davis, Matt Simon, Marcus Perez and Greg Turner. I think we'll be able to spread the ball around instead of having a specific "go to" guy. |
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| Tim (Chicago): Hey Coach, just wondering your thoughts on how the end zone facility is coming along. Have you been impressed with what you have seen thus far? Also, how has the fan interest been for the upcoming Iowa showdown. Chicago area alum seem to be excited about it. |
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Joe Novak: The facility is going to be awesome. It will turn out to best one of the best, not only in our league, but in the country. It will be a factor once we can start walking people in there in July. It is exciting. As far as the Iowa game, I talked to our ticket manager this morning. We have sold 10,000 and have more to sell. I hope our fans and alumni will jump on it because I don't want to give those tickets to Iowa to sell to their fans. I think we can sell the game out and hopefully we can do it again [at Soldier Field] down the road. |
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| Drewzy - Chicago: How does our defense stack up this year. Could this be more of a defense squad in 2007, as opposed to the powerful offensive clubs of years past? |
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Joe Novak: Good question. This is going to be a different team from what we have had the past five or six years. We've been strong offensively, but the strengths this year may be on defense and in the kicking game. We'll see how the young guys progress. As of today, we only have three senior starters. This will be a young team that will grow with almost everyone back next year. |
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| Steve (Chicago): What is the depth chart at the QB looking like for the future? |
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Joe Novak: Good question. At this point, Dan Nicholson is our number one and he has shown we can win with him. As of today, Ryan Morris is number two. We'll look at the freshmen when they come in and one, maybe two, could work their way in as a backup. We'll keep our fingers crossed that the freshman can play with the potential we think they have. This is indicative of how things change. We had seven quarterbacks on scholarship two years ago. |
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| Phil (Raleigh, NC): Hi Mr. Novak, Which players that were not starters last year have particularly improved to the point where they could potentially be starting this year? Bonus question: How often do you hear from former Huskies that are in the NFL? |
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Joe Novak: I talked to Ryan Diem last week; he has a charity golf outing coming up. I talk to Justin McCareins and Brad Cieslak a couple of times a year - Brad stopped by a couple months ago.
I have been real pleased with our young safeties, Alex Kube, Justin Stewart and Mike Sobol. John Tranchitella at linebacker has really stepped up and we have six linebackers who I feel real good about. Brandon Bice at defensive end is going to be a real good player and if we had to line up today, he would start opposite Larry English. Tim Mayerbock on the offensive line and our young tight ends have stepped up. I anticipate Montell Clanton having a big year for us. |
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| evanston: are there any walk-ons ot transfers you guys are looking forward to checking out this 2007 season? and have there been any requests from anyone to walk-on or transfer. |
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Joe Novak: Anthony Mason, a cornerback from Valparaiso, was with us last spring and could work his way into playing time. Chase Carter also has had a good spring for us. Both provide more depth to our defensive backfield. |
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| Mark (Lindenhurst): Coach, what defensive adjustments do you plan on making with your linebackers and defensive backs when facing spread offense teams that throw the ball into the flats and force you into mismatches with our LB's versus their slot recievers and running backs?
#2-If you keep the linebackers in the game against the spread, do you have LB's that are better at covering the pass that might fit into a package you could sub in? |
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Joe Novak: We have more athletic ability in our linebackers than in the past. If your linebackers are having difficulty covering in the flat, you go cover two and roll up your corners. There are strengths and weaknesses with that. You have to have the ability to change up. If one is a weakness, than you make a change to make it a strength. It becomes a bit of a chess match. |
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| Dekalb: Montell Clanton is good but people just dont undertsand how good Justin Anderson is.Will it be a tough decision on who the starting tailback will be this season. |
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Joe Novak: Our running backs all have different strengths. Certainly Justin is one of the bigger and stronger backs. Montell is probably a bit better of a pure runner. I think David Bryant is someone people will get excited about. We also have Cas Prime and Ricky Crider. We'll ask our backs to do what they are best at doing. |
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| Scott-chicago: What's the early feeling on the new coaches. Especially P.J. how are the players reacting to him. I hear he is a very vocal coach out there. |
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Joe Novak: I think the new coaches we added may all be a bit more vocal. That is just their personality. A coach has to coach his personality. P.J. is an upbeat personality and that is how he coaches. I think he will be a great coach and will be an excellent head coach in the future at this level. |
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| dan-northbrook: If they remain healthy are the following players potential NFL draft picks by the time there done: Britt Davis & Larry English |
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Joe Novak: I don't think there is any question they can. Two more years of playing at this level is very important for them. I expect them to have great seasons for us and the talent is there for them to be NFL prospects by the time they are done here. |
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| Tim (Lisle): Coach; how are plans moving forward for an Indoor Practice Facility (donations, etc)? |
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Joe Novak: There is no question that we have a need for an indoor facility here. We were snowed out of a practice last week. But first things first, we need to get the Yordon Center taken care of. Then we can move on towards an indoor facility and when that happens, our facilities will be second to none. |
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| Johnny (Dekalb): How has the d-line been looking? and can we expect some bigs things from redshirt freshman Quincy Harris? |
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Joe Novak: I've been very pleased with Alex Krutsch and Craig Rusch. Mike Krause, a redshirt freshman, will play a lot. We are without Adam Schroeder and Zach Holycross this spring. I have been pleased with the progress Quincy Harris has made, but I feel he is probably another year away from seeing significant playing time. |
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| Matt (Washington, DC): Coach,
The program has had a rich tradition of former walk-ons developing into solid contributors. Can you talk about any players that have caught your eye thus far that we might want to pay attention to this coming season?
Good luck in '07, GO HUSKIES! |
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Joe Novak: Alex Krutsch, Craig Rusch, Ryan Morris are a few of the kids on our team who fall into that category. That is an area we tried to continue in our recruiting with six or seven "preferred" walk-ons. I can't talk about them specficially because they have not signed a letter of intent. If they do end up with us, then we will be excited about what they can do. |
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| Steve Hild (Plano): Hi Coach. What types of scheming techniques are we planning to employ with our front four to compensate for our lack of size? |
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Joe Novak: Whenever you lack size on the defensive front, you have to employ movement, blitzing, etc. in the scheme. We did some of that last season and we will do that again this year. Moving them around and employing a blitz package are two things to compensate for size and things we plan to use. |
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| Nick (Sycamore): Who are going to be this years starting safties? Also what are you expecting from Mark Reiter |
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Joe Novak: I think this is the deepest secondary that we have had for a while. The safety position is still up in the air. Mark Reiter has the most experience but is being pushed. I've been impressed with the young kids Justin Stewart, Mike Sobol and Alex Kube. They have good ability and I am excited about their potential. We also have five at the corners. Certainly Melvin Rice and Bradley Pruitt have stepped up but between Chase Carter, Anthony Mason and James Jefferies will also push for time. |
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| Aurora, Il: How are the Tight-Ends going to be this season with the absence of J.Nordin? It's going to be a young group I think with athleticism. |
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Joe Novak: In losing Jake Nordin, we lost a very talented football player and will miss his blocking ability. Brandon Davis and David Koronkiewicz have played a lot of football but are out this spring with injury. We've been able to look at Brandon Beal, Reed Cunningham, Bryan Beckner, and Vernon Sims. We've been able to get them good work this spring and they have really made progress. |
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| Neil - Elmhurst: With the large number of quality offensive linemen on the roster would you consider moving any of them to defensive line as Mike Krause did? |
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Joe Novak: Not with the ones we have. Usually the move goes the other way. On the defensive line you want guys that have good movement and we don't have anyone on the offensive line that we would want to move into that role. We are still sorting out our top ten, so I don't see us moving anyone to the other side of the ball. |
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| Mike (Elgin): Have you enjoyed watching the growth of the Huskie Nation since your arrival as Head Coach? |
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Joe Novak: I have been pleased. I think that comes with having some success. It's been exciting. Our first sellout against Maryland in 2003 was thrilling. I want everyone's expectations to be high, but realistic. We all take pride in how our program has grown over the years. I hope all the Huskie fans will come out in full force this fall, especially against Iowa. It means a lot to our team to play in front of a big crowd. |
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Moderator: We thank Coach Novak for his time in answering your questions. Sorry we were unable to get to everyone's question today. We hope to see you out at Huskie Stadium for the Spring Game this Saturday and throughout the fall. |
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