Aug. 24, 2006

DeKalb, Ill. - After 23 practices, Northern Illinois head football coach Joe Novak senses that it's time to hit someone in a jersey other than Cardinal and Black after Thursday morning's session at Brigham Field.

"Practice was okay," Novak said. "It's gotten to the point where we've had a couple of days that have been okay. The rest have been real good. I think we're getting a little stale. I think every team at this point is. I think it's time to play a game. We still have some practices left and things to do, but we got some things done today."

"This is practice 23, and when you go that long without a game...spring ball is bad enough and there's only 15 of those," Novak continued. "We're already on 23 in two weeks. I think, and I'm sure Ohio State is the same way, we're all ready for a game. We still have some work to do, so we're going to keep pushing through."

While the Huskies may be looking for someone new on the other side of the ball, many new faces arrived on the DeKalb campus, as Thursday marked Move-In Day for returning students.

Freshman linebacker John Tranchitella (Addison, Ill.) was one of the lucky newcomers, as he was already living in Grant Towers, where the team stayed during camp.

"Today's move-in day, but I already was able to move into my dorm a couple of weeks ago," Tranchitella said. "I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like with all the new freshmen coming in.

"A lot of the other freshmen had to move, but I got to stay in the same dorm, so that was good."

Novak believes that Move-In Day will be good for his rookies.

"It's a good time for the freshmen," Novak said of Move-In Day. "It's kind of lonely around here. All of a sudden these other kids are going to be here and there's activity and classes starting. So they'll actually be college students. I think it's a fun time for them. I think their eyes start to spin a little bit. They've had the campus to themselves here for two weeks. So it will be a little different."

Thursday, however, doesn't bother Novak. When Monday, August 28th rolls around, he knows what's coming. But this season, the 11th-year head coach is prepared.

"What's a harder day to deal with honestly, is the first day of classes," Novak continued. "I've never been anywhere where the first day of classes where the practices were worth a darn. They're on their feet all day, they're walking around, everything is changing . They come to practice at 3:30 and it's not worth a darn. So this year, we're going to practice on Sunday night and Monday will be our day off."

The Northern Illinois - Ohio State game kicks off at 2:30 p.m. (Central) on Saturday, Sept. 2 from Ohio Stadium in Columbus. The game will be broadcast live by ABC Sports beginning at 2:30 p.m. (Central). NIU opens its 2006 home schedule on Saturday, Sept. 9 in Huskie Stadium versus MAC opponent Ohio in the first of three straight September home dates for the Huskies. Season and single game tickets for the 2006 campaign are on sale now through the NIU Athletics Ticket Office in the Convocation Center. Tickets can be ordered by calling Ticketmaster at 312-559-1212 or on the internet at www.niuhuskies.com.

-- NIU --