NIU coach Thomas Hammock: ‘I’m just so happy Illinois got it right and was able to let these young men play football’

Northern Illinois football coach Thomas Hammock is no stranger to letting freshmen compete – after all, eight started the Huskies’ 2020 finale against Eastern Michigan, and 25 appeared on the two-deep roster in that game.

But 2021 is shaping up to be a challenge for that, with a handful of the Huskies’ high school recruits playing a spring season in Illinois.

The six-game high school schedule will conclude April 24, with summer workouts for the Huskies weeks later.

“We want to make sure we’re cognizant of making sure these guys can recover,” Hammock said. “It’s important for them to have a chance to compete and play and have that type of outlet. It’s been a tough year for everybody, and I’m just so happy Illinois got it right and was able to let these young men play football.”

There are five players from Illinois in the NIU 2021 recruiting class who haven’t enrolled early – Trevon Jordan, a defensive tackle from Sterling; Mason Pierre-Antoine, a wide receiver from Lincoln-Way East; Trey Urwiler, a wide receiver from Batavia; Ronde Worrels, a linebacker from Princeton; and Brian Whitsey, a linebacker from Solorio.

Ethan Hampton, a quarterback from Aurora Christian, already enrolled and is working out with the team and forgoing his senior year.

There also are Class of 2022 targets for the Huskies. Hammock said the team is waiting until the Illinois season is complete before making any big decisions.

“We’re kind of taking our time because we want to get the guys in Illinois to get evaluated,” Hammock said. “That’s the important thing to do for us. We know recruiting in-state is a big thing for us, and we want to make sure we give the guys in the state every opportunity to be evaluated and recruited. And for us, that may mean waiting until after April 24 to get an evaluation on guys.”

When the Mid-American Conference was exploring the option of playing football in the spring, Hammock said he was on a committee that explored the option. He said the piece from doctors about recovering between the spring and a potential fall 2021 season was key.

“In my opinion, I’m going to have the chance to talk to some more people, but if we push the summer back for those individuals, I think that will help them,” Hammock said. “Instead of trying to, ‘Hey, I want to jump in with the rest of my teammates,’ you just played six weeks ago or eight weeks ago. Give them time to properly rest and heal and recover.”

The incoming freshmen this year will have another obstacle that hasn’t really been dealt with before. The NCAA didn’t count the abbreviated 2020 season, in which the Huskies went 0-6, toward eligibility standards. So all those true freshmen who started for the team still are freshmen in the NCAA’s eyes.

Even under normal circumstances, keeping undersized freshmen is a priority, Hammock said, and this year is no different. He also said the jump this year’s freshman group is going to make is going to be bigger than normal, and he said the staff already has started to see it in workouts.

“I want to meet with some people and ask what the proper time frame is for these young men to recover,” Hammock said. “At the end of the day, we want them to be healthy, we want them in the right frame of mind, and I think it’s important they get an opportunity to play.”

Whatever the recovery window ends up looking like for incoming freshmen, Hammock said he’s going to make sure the Illinois players have the proper time to rest.

“I’ve gotten calls from parents asking me my opinion playing in the spring, and in my opinion it’s important for these young men to have an outlet to go play football,” Hammock said. “What we’re going to do is build a recovery window for these young men that are playing in-state.”