Hammock: ‘Cat and mouse game’ on tap for NIU spring showcase

Any game week is going to come with its fair share of secret plays, subterfuge and, of course, competition.

The NIU football preps for its spring showcase on Saturday, not even a technical game. But coach Thomas Hammock said both the offense and the defense are hoping to win the day on Saturday with fans in attendance at Huskie Stadium.

“There’s some cat and mouse going on with the offensive and defensive coaches,” Hammock said. “We had a bunch of new plays and different coverages on both sides of the ball to try to throw people off the scent. I think Saturday is going to be interesting.”

Obviously having practiced against each other for three weeks already - and still three practices left after the showcase - there’s not a lot the two sides don’t know about each other.

Not that that’s stopping the coaches from trying, Hammock said.

“They’ve got some new wrinkles that they’ve tried today,” Hammock said. “I’m curious to see what new wrinkles they’ll have for Saturday.”

Running back Clint Ratkovich, a senior transfer from Western Illinois, may be involved in some of those wrinkles. The versatile Ratkovich has lined up all over for the Huskies this year, either as a straight back or in the slot.

Hammock has seven said he has the ability to lineup at tight end or fullback should the situation call for it.

Ratkovich said when he found out he was getting an extra year of eligibility, he decided to enter the transfer portal and see what was out there.

“The whole COVID situation gave me an opportunity to grad transfer, kind of show my talents at a little bit higher of a level,” Ratkovich said. “I was able to get a hold of Northern when I entered the transfer portal, and I absolutely loved everything the coaches said. It was a pretty easy decision for me.”

That led him to the very young running back group with the Huskies. He’s the only senior, and the only other non-freshman is Erin Collins, a junior in his second year with the program.

The group also includes freshman Harrison Waylee, who established himself as the teams leading rusher last year, freshman Jevyon Ducker, who was hurt last year, and freshman Donovan Bieber in his first year in the program.

“It’s a really great group of players,” Ratkovich said. “There’s something different each one of us brings to the table. That helps us out a lot. They’re very welcoming. I compliment them in ways, and they compliment me.”

Ratkovich said he’s looking forward to Saturday.

“I’m expecting a physical and competitive day,” Ratkovich said. “We have pretty much our whole offense installed now. Pretty sure defense has theirs. So we’re just going to go out there and compete and let it fly.”

Senior linebacker Lance Deveaux, said it’s been an extremely competitive camp so far, and expects that to continue in front of the fans on Saturday.

“I expect a physical competitive practice, but at the same time guys want to go out there and have fun,” Deveaux said. “It will be fun to have fans out there again, give them a sneak peek of what to expect in the fall. I expect a good day on Saturday.”

Between the fans in the stands - about 150 showed up to an open practice last Saturday - and the possibility of rain on Saturday, Hammock said he’ll get a good feel of what his team can do outside of normal practice conditions.

“I just want us to progress forward with the physicality and the competition,” Hammock said. “I think on both sides of the ball has been good, very competitive. I think that has to continue, and it has to continue when people are watching. That little added sense of pressure, you want to see how guys execute. There may be rain in the forecast, can they operate in the elements? All these different things are training them to get ready for a game, get ready for a season.”

After the showcase there will still be three practices. Hammock said those will help the squad transition into the summer, when coaches can’t be around the players during the voluntary workouts.

“For us, obviously we’re going to have three more practices after Saturday,” Hammock said. “That gives us a chance to identify some things we need to clean up into the summer. It gives us an opportunity to get things in place for summer workouts.”