Huskies hope their home remedy gives Zips a sick day
DEKALB, Ill. -- They may be dinged up a bit seven games into the season, but Northern Illinois starts a three-game homestand today that should be just what the doctor ordered.
In Akron, the Huskies face a team that's hurting even more.
The next two weeks, on successive Thursday nights, Northern Illinois entertains Eastern Michigan and Ball State. Those teams are bringing up the rear of the Mid-American West standings.
While NIU backup quarterback Marcus DeGrady is likely to get his second straight start in place of fellow sophomore Chandler Harnish (knee), the Zips will counter with their third quarterback of the season in true freshman Patrick Nicely.
Northern senior safety David Bryant suffered a knee injury last week at Miami and will miss the game, and the Huskies remain thin on the defensive line.
It could be worse.
This season for Akron coach J.D. Brookhart has unraveled much the same way NIU's season did in 2007 for former coach Joe Novak when the Huskies went 2-10. The Zips have lost 13 scholarship players for the rest of the season, most because of injury.
Brookhart was forced to take the redshirt off Nicely after No. 1 Chris Jacquemain was dismissed from the team for a violation of team policy and No. 2 Matt Rodgers suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Two weeks ago, linebacker Aaron Williams played the final 2½ quarters against Buffalo with a broken arm. The same week Brookhart lost a senior wide receiver (Deryn Bowser) to a broken leg.
''We are just doing what we are doing, next guy in,'' Brookhart told the Akron Beacon Journal, explaining that his team continues to fight. ''Their attitude is great.''
Depth, or lack of it, is a growing problem. Senior Andre Jones has started at safety, cornerback and wide receiver. And last week, he took snaps at quarterback in the wildcat formation.
Despite their struggles, the Zips have been competitive in their last three games, losses to Syracuse (28-14), Buffalo (21-17) and Ohio University (19-7).
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