Overheard at the Dog Park: What NIU players and coaches are saying ahead of Saturday’s home opener against Wyoming

Linebacker Lance Deveaux, one of two current Huskies to play in a 40-34 triple-overtime loss at Wyoming in 2016, on how much thought he’s given to that game heading into Saturday’s game against Wyoming at Huskie Stadium:

“Honestly, I haven’t even thought back to that game. I’m just kind of focused on what we got set and planned against Wyoming this week. That’s been my focus.”

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Tight end Miles Joiner, a transfer from Youngstown State, on making his first touchdown catch as a Huskie in NIU’s 22-21 win Saturday at Georgia Tech:

“Back in March, me and [quarterback] Rocky [Lombardi] went down to Arizona to train, and I was talking about it all the time. I cannot wait to contribute to the team. So when we got down [to Atlanta], they called my number and I was able to make the play. It felt great.”

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Coach Thomas Hammock on the role of Joiner and the other tight ends:

“We talk about our tight ends as beauty and the beast. What we mean by that is they have to have the ability to be great blockers, that’s the beast part. And the beauty part becomes what they do in the passing game. And Miles can do it all.”

Hammock on the status of safety Devin Lafayette, who left the game in an ambulance Saturday. The Brunswick (Georgia) News reported Lafayette had surgery after suffering a severe injury to his lower left leg:

“I just saw him this morning. He’s in great spirits and working himself back. He’s excited to get back to his teammates. That’s important. He’s a guy who’s invested in the program. It sounds like he’s going to have a speedy recovery, and we’ll get him up to speed when he comes back.”

Hammock on the time frame for Lafayette’s return:

“He’s going to be out. Time frame, he’s going to be out, and when he comes back we’ll be happy to have him.”

Joiner on how the team responded down a touchdown late to the Yellow Jackets:

“Even against Georgia Tech, we were down seven with four minutes, and everybody on the sideline still had the utmost confidence. Everybody walked about getting a three-and-out stop. Then we’re going to go down and score. Same way this game. If it’s close, the team that we have, the offseason we went through, we’ll be able to squeeze out those close games.”

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Hammock on why he doesn’t expect a letdown game at home against Wyoming on Saturday:

“We went a whole season and didn’t win a game. These guys have a chip on their shoulder. And if they don’t, we’ll play the next player. So the letdown performance I’m not really concerned about because we have a lot of competition on our team. If you don’t perform on the practice field and get yourself ready to play, we will play the next player. And we have enough talent to do that.”

Hammock on how the Huskies were prepared for everything thrown at them Saturday, including Georgia Tech’s comeback and Lafayette’s injury:

“I’m a big believer in being proactive, and I ... explained to them exactly how the game would be. About a week ago I explained to them, you guys are developing an edge you don’t even realize. [Monday] in our team meeting I said that edge is the hard way. When you embrace whatever comes your way, when you embrace whatever is in front of you, you are mentally and physically prepared to continue to move forward. And I think it clicked for them. Everything that they went through this summer, training camp, there’s no stress. There’s no pressure. Do the things you’ve done up to this point to perform.”

Hammock on the play of cornerback Eric Rogers, who had seven tackles and a fumble recovery in the win last week:

“I thought Eric Rogers played phenomenal. He’s a long corner. We thought he could play last year. I think with COVID, he had to quarantine three different times, which stunted his growth. But he’s a guy we believed in, he stayed committed, and he’s developed the right way. It’s a tremendous advantage to a defense that can have a guy who can be a boundary corner and come up and tackle. I think he had six or seven tackles before he cramped up a little bit.”