NIU Football Position Preview: Defensive Line - Northern Illinois University Athletics

Football | August 16

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DeKALB, IL – The old adage in college sports is that the best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores. However, when it comes to college football in 2021, being a freshman is not what it used to be.
 
That is certainly true for the Northern Illinois University football team's group of defensive linemen. Of the 15 on the roster, 12 are either true freshmen, freshmen that got a year back due to the COVID-shortened 2020 season or redshirt-freshmen.
 
"They might be one of the youngest, but they're one of the most talented groups on our team," said head coach Thomas Hammock following Monday morning's practice. "You have guys all across the line that have played a lot of football. Don't look at the years in school because they're insignificant due to COVID. We have guys that have played and started multiple games. James Ester (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech) has played 10 games and he's a redshirt-freshman. We feel good about the d-line. If we can keep them healthy, they can be a great line of force for us up front and give everyone on the back end a better chance to play well."
 
Ester, along with redshirt-juniors in defensive end Michael Kennedy (Chicago, Ill./Mt. Carmel) and defensive tackle Jeffrey Griffin Jr. (Homewood, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) are the veteran presence on this defensive line group. Kennedy has played in 26 games in his career, with Griffin appearing in 16 games and Ester in 10. The trio each played in every game in 2020 with Ester starting four of six games at defensive tackle.
 
The Huskies will also look for increased production from defensive ends Raishein Thomas (Racine, Wis./Washington Park) and Pierce Oppong (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) in 2021 after strong rookie seasons in 2020. Both players started all six games a season ago with Thomas recording 20 tackles and Oppong making 16 with 2.5 tackles for loss. Redshirt-freshman Demond Taylor Jr. (East St. Louis, Ill./East St. Louis) also had double-digit tackles in 2020.
 
"The great thing about experience is nothing replaces it," Defensive Ends Coach Travis Moore said. Moore is in his third season coaching at his alma mater, where he was a defensive end himself from 2000 to 2004. "You have to go through something in order to get it. Our guys are stronger, bigger and faster and have a better understanding of the defense and the concepts of what we want to do up front. It comes down to the want-to and this group has it. It's our jobs as coaches between myself and Coach [Jordan] Gigli to get it out of them."
 
With all the youth in the defensive line corps, it's the attention to detail and the little things that could determine who gets on the field when the season opener comes on Sept. 4 at Georgia Tech.
 
"You want to focus on the details," Moore added. "At the end of the day, the details and the fundamentals of the position is going to outweigh the fatigue and put you in an opportunity to strain to win. You have to find a way to focus and finish through fatigue."
 
That attention to detail was worked on extensively in Monday's two-hour practice at Huskie Stadium. It was NIU's 10^th practice of preseason camp and a chance for Coach Hammock and his staff to show parallels between how his team practices and how that could show itself in a game.
 
"What happens sometimes is fatigue causes you to lose focus," Hammock said. "We're working on our focus, our discipline and stacking days. All of that is part of the process on getting ready to play. Today was a tough practice. You come out with pads on and you try to get after it, but you have to be smart. You have to know your assignment and execute it. We want to be brilliant in the fundamentals and if that happens that gives us a chance to execute the way we want to on offense, defense and special teams."
 
NIU will return to the practice field Tuesday night for a full-pad scrimmage. Practices are open to the public and fans in attendance are asked to remain in the West Stands and not to post any photos or videos of practice. For a complete preseason camp schedule, go to 2021 Camp Central on NIUHuskies.com.
 
The Huskies open the 2021 season at Georgia Tech on September 4 before welcoming fans back to the stands at full capacity in Huskie Stadium beginning with the home opener versus Wyoming on September 11. Kickoff for the game is at 12:30 p.m. (CT) and the game will honor First Responders and Health Care Heroes, while also serving as a Welcome Back Fans celebration.
 
Single game and season tickets, as well as mini-plans and Family Packs, are on sale for the six 2021 NIU Football home games with season ticket prices as low as $85. Purchase a minimum of four tickets for all six games via the Family Pack for just $90 per ticket (in sections B and F) or $66 per ticket (in sections A and G). Three-game or four-game mini-plans are also available with Mission's 3-Game Mini-Plan priced at $79 (including processing), while Victor E.'s 4-Game Mini-Plan is $107. Single game ticket prices vary depending on location and game (Saturday or MACtion). In 2021, the cost of parking in the NIU Convocation Center is included in the price of tickets, making Huskie Football tickets an even greater value than ever before.
 
To see all the ticket options and prices, and for more information on premium seating, see the Football Ticket Page at NIUHuskies.com. To purchase tickets, call 815-753-PACK (7225) or go to NIUHuskies.com/MyHuskies.
 
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