Nov. 29, 2006

NOTE: This feature originally ran as the "Press Box" feature in the Nov. 17, 2006 (Central Michigan) edition of Huskie Illustrated, the official game program of NIU football.

by Donna Turner, Associate A.D./Communications

Northern Illinois wraps up its 2006 home schedule versus Central Michigan tonight, giving fans one last time to salute and appreciate the talents of 14 senior players who have given tirelessly of themselves to Northern Illinois University and to the Huskie football program over the last five years.

And while, to a man, they will say that their senior season has not gone according to plan, this senior class still has a chance to leave DeKalb as the winningest group to wear the Cardinal and Black since NIU entered the major college football ranks in 1969.

Since arriving at Northern Illinois as true freshmen in August of 2002, the 13 fifth-year seniors have been a part of 39 Huskie victories. Thirty-nine times, they have sung the Huskie Fight Song in the locker room following NIU wins. Last year's seniors compiled 40 wins in their five years; but with two games remaining in this 2006 season, this year's group has a chance to go one better.

In fact, if the 2006 seniors are able to collect two more victories, their total of 41 wins will have been surpassed only one other time in the 105-year history of Huskie Football. Forty years ago, the 1966 NIU College Division team won 42 games over a five-year period from 1962-66.

Perhaps the greatest tribute to the accomplishments of the 2006 senior class is that they have made winning routine and "expected" at Northern Illinois. They have been key architects of the winning tradition that is NIU Football today. Their legacy includes four consecutive winning seasons (with a chance to add to make it five straight), three Mid-American Conference West Division titles, and a victory in the 2004 Silicon Valley Bowl game, marking NIU's first bowl appearance in 20 years,

A small, but extremely dedicated and productive group, 13 of these seniors arrived at NIU in the fall of 2002 and have spent the last five years living, eating, sleeping and breathing NIU Football. Through 5 a.m. offseason workouts, countless stadium steps, meetings and practice reps, their commitment to the Huskie program is unquestioned.

The 2006 seniors include six offensive players, seven defenders and one special teamer. They came to Northern Illinois from near (Sycamore) and far (Sioux Falls, South Dakota). Six of the seniors remained in their native Illinois to play college football, while five came south to DeKalb from Wisconsin. Those 11 were joined by Minnesotan Jake Nordin, Missouri's Jarret Carter and eventually, transfer kicker Luke Biondi from South Dakota. All are on track to graduate and several will earn their undergraduate degrees just a few weeks from today.

When this class chose NIU in the winter of 2001-02 and arrived on campus in the summer of '02, Northern Illinois football was not yet on the map. Sure, the Huskies had posted back-to-back 6-5 seasons and even tied for the MAC West title in 2001, but the television games, the upset wins over BCS program and the national attention had yet to be realized.

Back then, this group put their faith in Head Coach Joe Novak and his staff, and believed that the Northern Illinois football team was on its way to becoming something special and that they would play a critical role in its development.

"This program is important to each and every one of these players," said Novak of this senior group, his 11th. "I'll remember their commitment and their genuine feeling for this program. I respect them all. I know what we ask of them. We ask for a real commitment, and they have given it. They have been a very dedicated group, and they have - to a man - played a lot of football for us."

The numbers bear that out. All you have to do is look at the Northern Illinois depth chart to see that 10 of NIU's 12 available (i.e. healthy) seniors are starting for the 2006 Huskies. In 2006, NIU has five seniors starting on offense - TB Garrett Wolfe, OT Doug Free, OT Matt Rogers, QB Phil Horvath and WR Jarret Carter - and five starting on defense - DE Ken West, NG Brad Benson, LB Keenan Blalark, FS Dustin Utschig and CB Adriel Hansbro. If not for the season-ending injuries suffered by TE Jake Nordin and CB Alvah Hansbro, that number of senior starters would be 12. Out of 13 possible seniors on offense and defense, that is an amazing percentage.

In all, the 2006 seniors have combined to make 275 starts. Ten members of the group are multi-year starters and ALL (except special teamer Biondi) have recorded AT LEAST eight starts during their Huskie careers. Free leads the way as the Manitowoc, Wisc. product has started all 46 games of his collegiate career, a streak which ranks tied for fifth in the country. Rogers, Wolfe, Nordin (before he got hurt), West and Adriel Hansbro are three-year starters, while Horvath, Alvah Hansbro (prior to his injury), Blalark and Utschig are two-year starters. Carter and Benson are in their first season as starters while defensive lineman Eric Pittman has made eight starts during his NIU career.

Novak also feels that leadership is a hallmark of this class.

"It's a good group of leaders," Novak said. "They're all fifth-year kids and with that extra year, they have made that much more of a commitment to the program. They have accomplished a lot, each one is on track to graduate and I'll hate to see them go. We'll miss them, we appreciate them and they've been an important part of this program.

The 2006 senior class, while small in number, has come up big in many ways - in their productivity on the field, in their leadership abilities and in their commitment to the Huskie program. Those qualities leave this group of seniors with just one title - winners.

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COACH NOVAK ON THE SENIORS

Brad Benson
"Brad is another walk on who we were happy to get here in our program. He came in as a fullback but kept getting bigger and stronger and became a defensive lineman. He practices like he plays and he has worked himself into a good football player for us."

Luke Biondi
"Luke is a transfer who came in as a back-up placekicker and this year has been a fullback on our punt team and who has done a good job in that role. He has embraced everything we have asked of him since he's been here."

Keenan Blalark
"He was a walk-on when he came here and worked hard to earn a scholarship and now a starting position for the last two years. He's a blue collar, hard-nosed, tough kid who has worked his way up the ladder."

Jarret Carter
"He has waited his turn behind some very good receivers here. He has been patient and stayed with it and he has been a great leader for our wide receivers this year as the only senior in that group."

Doug Free
"Doug is a four-year starter who was thrust into the picture when we lost Shea Fitzgerald in the accident. He handled that well and now may turn out to be the highest draft choice we've ever had. He's had a great career for us. "

Adriel Hansbro and Alvah Hansbro
"Five years later and I still can't tell them apart and I hate that. It's frustrating. They are good kids who have played a lot of football for us. They went through a lot when their mother was dying two years ago and I was proud of our university to see the way we handled that by making sure she saw them play in the bowl game. That meant a lot to her and to them."

Phil Horvath
"He's a kid who loves football and has worked very hard to make himself into a good quarterback. The kids on this team will tell you that Phil Horvath is the leader of this football team."

Jake Nordin
"Jake is a really good player who is pound for pound, one of the best players on our team and one of the best tight ends in the country. He's a tough guy who was a big key to our running game."

Eric Pittman
"Eric is a great kid who has worked very hard during his time here. I admire how he has done everything we have asked of him, from losing weight to getting stronger, to make himself into a better player."

Matt Rogers
"He's an offensive lineman who has played several positions for us in almost three years as a starter. He's had his ups and downs but he has played a lot of football for us and the game means a lot to him."

Dustin Utschig
"He came in as a back-up and got his first taste of playing on special teams. He blocked the punt that turned the bowl game around for us and has made himself into a good football player."

Ken West
"He's a team captain and a great kid. He's a hard-worker, is well-liked by his teammates and he loves this program - it's very important to him. "

Garrett Wolfe
"Besides his productivity on the field, to me, the greatest thing about Garrett has been how he has conducted himself off the field, and how he has represented this program and this university."