It’s remarkable how often a football team’s success is directly tied to the blocking ability of five rather anonymous blue-collar workers who toil from tackle to tackle on the offensive line.
At Northern Illinois, these glamorless grunts are tackles Jake VerStraete and Doug Free, guards Matt Rogers and Jake Ebenhoch and center Brian Van Acker.
These five average 6 feet 51 1/42 inches and 283 pounds per man. They are good students in football and in the classroom. They are quick and athletic for big men, and they are a major reason coach Joe Novak believes his 2004 Huskies can achieve the school’s fifth straight winning season and contend for the Mid-American Conference title and earn a bowl bid.
Of the five, only VerStraete had much experience before last season. Still, the 2003 Huskies stunned almost everyone except themselves by upsetting nationally ranked Maryland and Alabama. They finished 10-2 and rose as high as No. 12 in a national poll but weren’t invited to a bowl.
“The strength of our team this year is our offensive line,” said Novak, a former lineman and line coach. “Last year we were very inexperienced there. Now we have eight or nine good, experienced players.”
How important is the play of the O-line?
“Everything starts with the offensive line,” Novak said. “It’s the key to everything we do on offense.”
Novak’s offense also is stocked with stars at the skill positions.
Senior Josh Haldi has an 18-6 record over two seasons as the Huskies’ starting quarterback. He threw 25 touchdown passes and only nine interceptions last year. Receiver-return man Dan Sheldon caught game-winning TD passes last year against Maryland and Alabama. A.J. Harris heads a quartet of running backs that Novak expects to match or exceed the 1,648 yards gained by departed star Michael Turner.
Yet, the line remains the major cause for Novak’s optimism.
The 6-7, 315-pound VerStraete is the biggest and best of the linemen. Novak compares him favorably with Ryan Diem, a current Indianapolis Colts lineman and Huskies All-American in 2000.
“Jake and Ryan are like two peas in a pod,” Novak said. “Big kids, hardworking, both All-Academic engineering students and great offensive tackles.”
“Ryan was in mechanical engineering,” VerStraete said. “I’m in management technology. Ryan’s course is more math-intensive. Mine is more hands-on.”
Is there a correlation between engineering disciplines and the blocking techniques linemen need to learn by constant repetition in practice?
“There’s some,” VerStraete said. “But sometimes you’ve got to throw technique out the door and just try to hit somebody as hard as you can.”
VerStraete and his fellow linemates want to make sure their quarterback doesn’t get hit too hard this season.
“Josh [Haldi] took a lot of big hits last year when we were inexperienced on our line,” VerStraete said. “One of our big goals is to make sure nobody gets around Josh. If he gets a little more time, he can look from his first read to his second or third reads.”
VerStraete cited another way the offensive line can help.
“A lot of people say the best defense is a good offense,” he said. “If we can control the ball and eat up the clock, we can keep our less-experienced defense off the field and keep them well-rested so they can go full speed when they get in the game.”
Novak said Haldi “doesn’t always look pretty” as a passer. But he compiled some stats that Novak regards as sheer beauty.
“His 25 touchdown passes and only nine interceptions last year show Josh’s excellent decision-making,” Novak said.
“So does his record in the red zone. We scored 48 of 49 times, 98 percent of the time, when we got inside our opponents’ 20-yard line.”
Despite fine blocking up front, it will be tough for the Huskies to match or exceed last year’s offense unless people replace the production provided last year by tailback Turner, wide receiver P.J. Fleck and kicker Steve Azar.
Turner rushed for 4,941 yards in his Huskies career. Fleck caught 179 passes, 77 of them as Haldi’s go-to guy last year. Azar’s 73 career field goals rank No. 9 in college football history.
Novak thinks the Huskies can replace Turner’s rushing and Fleck’s receiving by committee.
Harris, a 219-pound former state sprint and hurdles champ from Wheaton North, gets the first call at tailback. Novak, however, also likes promising backs Adrian Davis, Garrett Wolfe and Cas Prime.
Sheldon, Sam Hurd and Shatone Powers are proven receivers. Four freshmen wideouts inject more speed on the edges.
The Huskies’ defense contains some big playmakers, especially middle linebacker Brian Atkinson, outside backer Javan Lee and safety Lionel Hickenbottom. Potential problems of inexperience and lack of depth exist on the defensive line.
“The experienced guys have to help the young guys on the D-line,” Atkinson said. “We have to encourage them, be their friends, make them feel wanted, get them to work harder and stay with it. We need them to win.”
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The Huskies
Home field: Brigham Field in Huskie Stadium, DeKalb (28,000).
Average home attendance: 23,575.
Surface: FieldTurf.
Head coach: Joe Novak, 38-52 in eight seasons.
2003 record: 10-2, 6-2 in Mid-American. Home: 7-0, road: 3-2.
Bowl game: None.
Key numbers: 48-for-49. QB Josh Haldi’s scoring success when NIU had the ball inside opponents’ 20-yard line (32 TDs, 16 FGs).
Bowl prospects: Good, because Huskies play host to MAC West toughies Bowling Green and Toledo.
Returning starters: Offense: 9, led by T Jake VerStraete. Defense: 6, led by MLB Brian Atkinson, Special teams, 1.
Schedule: First four games are very tough. Maryland and Iowa State seek to avenge 2003 losses in DeKalb. Division I-AA power Southern Illinois can make its season if it beats NIU.
Date / Opponent / Time
Sept. 4 at Maryland 5 p.m.
Sept. 11 Southern Illinois 3:05 p.m.
Sept. 18 at Iowa State 11:30 a.m.
Sept. 24 Bowling Green 6:05 p.m.
Oct. 2 Akron 3:05 p.m.
Oct. 9 at Central Florida 5 p.m.
Oct. 16 Central Michigan 3:05 p.m.
Oct. 23 at W. Michigan 1 p.m.
Oct. 30 at Ball State 4 p.m.
Nov. 9 Toledo 6:35 p.m.
Nov. 20 at East. Michigan, Noon
