Oct. 6, 2008

DeKALB, Ill. - Northern Illinois senior defensive end Larry English (Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy) was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Defensive Player of the Week Monday after a stellar performance versus the Tennessee Volunteers in a 13-9 loss in Knoxville last weekend.

English collected two-and-a-half sacks in the game with each of those plays stopping a Tennessee drive. In the second quarter, English combined with John Tranchitella to sack UT quarterback Nick Stephens on third and nine from the Northern Illinois 15 yard line, forcing the Vols to settle for a 35-yard field goal.

English's second sack came on third and seven at the UT 23-yard line as the NIU senior dropped Stephens for a 14-yard loss and forced a fumble, which Huskie noseguard Mike Krause recovered, setting up Northern Illinois' final field goal.

In the fourth quarter, English got to Stephens again, this time for a 10-yard loss on third and goal from the Huskie four-yard line and UT once again had to settle for a field goal attempt, which was missed. That play kept Northern Illinois' upset hopes alive.

English finished the game with four tackles, 2.5 for loss, and the forced fumble as the Huskie defense limited the Vols to nine first downs, 69 rushing yards and only one touchdown on the day. Tennessee converted just three of 13 third downs.

The Aurora native leads Northern Illinois 3.5 sacks and six tackles for loss on the season and ranks second in the MAC in sacks and third in tackles for loss. His 27 career quarterback sacks rank second in NIU history and are eighth all-time in the league. He also has 46 career tackles for loss in just 42 career games to rank third in the Huskie record books.

English is a candidate for the 2008 Bronko Nagurski (defensive player), Ted Hendricks (defensive end) and Rotary Lombardi (down lineman) awards and was named one of just 30 candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.

The Huskies open a three-game Mid-American Conference homestand Saturday versus Miami (Ohio) with kickoff at Huskie Stadium scheduled for 3 p.m. (Central). Tickets are available for the Miami game or any game in the homestand over the phone by calling Ticketmaster at 312-559-1212, on-line at www.niuhuskies.com and at www.ticketmaster.com or at the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at the Convocation Center, 815-752-6800.

-- NIU --