DeKALB, Ill. – The most common question Northern Illinois University head coach
Rod Carey has been asked this offseason has been "who's going to be the starting quarterback?" Five days away from NIU's 2017 football season opener versus Boston College, the answer is not much different than the one he gave prior to spring ball - junior
Ryan Graham [Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South HS) or sophomore
Daniel Santacaterina (Geneva, Ill./Geneva HS).
The two, each of whom has started games for the Huskies – Graham in each of the last two seasons and Santacaterina as a redshirt freshman last year – have been locked in a battle for the starting job since spring ball with both making impressive progress, according to Carey.
"The whole group [of quarterbacks] have done really well, all fall camp," Carey said. "I've really been impressed with the progress they've made. The work they did in the summer, you can tell, put them on a platform to do what they've done in August."
First pressed into duty as a redshirt freshman in 2015, Graham has started eight games for the Huskies, with four starts in 2015 and four last year. He led NIU to wins over Toledo, Buffalo and Western Michigan to clinch NIU's MAC West title as a redshirt freshman, but was injured at Ohio and missed the MAC Championship contest. Last season, he claimed the back-up job and once again took over when
Drew Hare was injured in game two. He started the next two games, and then came back later in the year to start the Toledo and Eastern Michigan contests.
Carey said Graham's biggest improvement has been in eliminating negative plays.
"The biggest difference in Ryan has been the negative plays," Carey said. "That's the thing that plagued him and plagues young quarterbacks when they play early. In some cases he had the ability to overcome that [tendency] and win us games, and some he didn't. He's developed because he's taken that away, as camp has gone on it is to the point where the negative plays are few and far between."
Like Graham, Santacaterina was thrown into action as a redshirt freshman, taking over when Graham was injured in the Eastern Michigan game last year. He led NIU's comeback win in that contest, and to a victory over Kent State in the 2016 season finale.
"Daniel is further ahead than any sophomore we've coached, because he's started a game and played and won, so that's boosted his offseason, his spring ball, his summer, his fall camp," Carey said. "He's way ahead of the curve, so we've been really, really happy with him and what he's done."
By the end of spring practices, redshirt freshman
Marcus Childers (Adairsville, Ga./Adairsville HS) had worked himself into contention, but during preseason camp, the elder statesmen moved ahead, while fellow redshirt freshman
Anthony Thompson (Chicago, Ill./Mount Carmel HS) came on to challenge Childers for the third string job.
"Marcus has done a good job and I thought he snuck in to the battle coming out of spring ball, and then hit a freshman lull in the middle of fall camp," Carey said. "Overall, he's throwing the ball better, making quicker decisions and developing. AT [
Anthony Thompson] is the one who has popped up on the board. He really did a nice job early in camp and got himself into a position where he was rotating in with the third group, which was positive for all of us to see."
The final member of the quarterback group is true freshman
Rodney Hall (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech).
"Rodney is going to be a really good player around here, but he is a true, true freshman," Carey said.
"I really like all three freshmen and think they have bright futures here, they're just early in their careers. The other two have started and won games here."
PRACTICE UPDATE
NIU spent both weekend practices preparing for the opener versus Boston College with scout teams employed for the first time this fall. The Huskies practiced Saturday afternoon for 1:50 in full pads and Sunday morning for an hour and a half in shorts, shoulder pads and helmets. Special teams continued to be emphasized with multiple periods spent on kickoff return and kick coverage as well as punt coverage.
CAREY ON END OF CAMP AND MOVE TO GAME WEEK MODE
"I think we had a good camp, I think the effort and energy was constant, and the improvement came as a result of that. Now, we have to keep improving. We're not a finished product, you never are in football. We need to keep improving and I think that as long as they keep that effort and energy up we will improve. I've been very happy across the board with the competition, a lot of guys are competing for spots. We entered camp with depth and we've gotten deeper, it's been a good thing.
"Now, we're in straight BC prep and you've got to switch gears a little bit. There's still competition going on but it's really learning the game plan and executing the game plan becomes the focus and now games start to come one right after another so we've got to flip that switch and keep that focus."
The Huskies are encouraging all fans to wear black to the season opener at 8:30 p.m. Friday night with the goal to #BlackOutBC at Huskie Stadium.
Single game tickets for all six home games this fall are now on sale online at NIUHuskies.com or by calling 815-753-PACK (7225), including a $15 special for all DeKalb County residents for the season opener.
Season tickets offer the best value with options like the new $199 Family Pack featuring four tickets in sections A or G and a new, lowered $60 price for season tickets on the East Side with general admission seating. Reserved seats in sections A, B, F and G are just $115 for the season, a cost of less than $20 per game.
Three-game mini-plans, priced at just $40 and featuring two different options, are also available. Mini-plan purchasers receive all the benefits of season ticket members, including exclusive invitations to special events throughout the year. Check NIUHuskies.com for details.
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