Carifio: 3 Huskies who could have an impact for NIU against Tulsa

DeKALB — Fresh off holding on for a 34-27 win to open the season at home against Eastern Illinois, the Northern Illinois football team heads to Tulsa to face the Golden Hurricane.

Using a proprietary scientific formula based off what I’ve seen in practices, games and heard from interviews with players and coaches, and a little bit of a gut feeling, here are three players I feel will have an impact against Tulsa on Saturday.

Rocky Lombardi, senior quarterback

I’ll start with the quarterback who’s going against a team that allowed 40 points last week. But NIU definitely wants to run the ball with Antario Brown, Harrison Waylee and Mason Blakemore all scoring touchdowns last week.

But should the Huskies fall behind, or find themselves in a shootout, which is likely against a Tulsa team that lost, 40-37, to Wyoming in overtime last week, Lombardi will have to step forward.

Lombardi was 14-of-22 passing for 192 yards and a touchdown against EIU. He didn’t throw an interception, but a couple of passes came close, including one that was a sure pick-six. If he makes a leap – assuming the Huskies even need him to – it will be a monster game for the senior.

Cole Tucker, senior wide receiver

Lombardi is going to have to throw it to someone. And although Shemar Thornton showed some signs of becoming a top-breaking, home run receiver last week, Tucker has been Mr. Reliable. He had four catches for 67 yards against EIU, and if practices count for anything, he has been, by far, Lombardi’s favorite target.

And the deep play is possible with him, too, as good as he is as a possession receiver. He caught an almost 60-yard pass in stride from Lombardi in full team drills in practice this week. Maybe he has 12 catches for 74 yards. Maybe he has 12 catches for 214 yards.

Whatever it ends up being, the DeKalb native is poised for a big game.

Jordan Gandy, junior cornerback

Sticking with DeKalb High School graduates, we’re going with Gandy. Tulsa likes to throw the ball. It has a lot of receivers who can make plays. And although Eric Rogers had a great game last week with two interceptions – NIU had three all of last year – someone else is going to need to step up.

Gandy has been a stalwart in the Huskies’ lineup since transferring in last year. To have success against the Golden Hurricane, the secondary is going to need more than Rogers making plays. And the secondary is very deep – a good thing given game time temps should be almost 90 – but Gandy seems ready to up his game and come up with a big play or two.

Last week

We went with: Antario Brown, Miles Joiner, Daveren Rayner

What they did: Rayner had the biggest game with a team-high 14 tackles and half a tackle for a loss. Brown had 70 yards on 13 carries and a score, while Joiner had one catch for 11 yards.