Football | August 19
DeKALB, IL – When watching a Northern Illinois football practice, it's pretty obvious to see that the offense is in white jerseys and the defense is in black. However, no matter which side of the ball a student-athlete is on there are two special jerseys each Huskie wants to wear in practice.Last season, head coach Thomas Hammock instituted "The Hard Way" Player of the Day red jersey to reward great play in the previous day's practice. He also brought a bright yellow "Juiced" jersey for a player that showed great work and energy in the previous practice.
"During COVID, we knew there wouldn't be any fans in the stands so we had to create our own energy and momentum," said Hammock. "The kids really took to it so we kept it going. It's a motivator. The guy that wins it had a good day of practice. For us as coaches, it's easy to recognize that guy who stood out in the previous practice when we go back and study the film. The people who get those jerseys were the top performers in practice."
For Tuesday morning's practice, safety Devin Lafayette (Brunswick, Ga./Brunswick) donned the Player of the Day jersey. According to him, a lot of people want to go after the Juiced jersey.
"If you come out to practice and make plays and work hard, you get the Player of the Day jersey," Lafayette said. "Most of the time, many people want the Juiced jersey. If you get that, you're expected to bring the energy in practice."
Redshirt-Sophomore fullback Brett Bostad (Kennedale, Texas/Kennedale) had the enviable task Tuesday of being the Juiced player. It was his second time to wear the bright yellow jersey since its inception.
"It's awesome to have that reward for coming out to practice and playing hard and bringing the energy," said Bostad. "It's important to have energy in practice and I'm glad Coach Hammock rewards it. It means a lot to us as players. We talked the other day about sudden change and riding that momentum. For example, if we caught a pick everyone gets juiced up for that change in energy from defense to offense."
Bostad was involved in all special teams segments of practice today, bringing the juice as the Huskies began their third week of preseason camp.
"I'm not rolling with the ones all the time, so to get the recognition shows how all three phases matter to this team and to Coach Hammock. Whether it's covering a kick or a punt, that's the difference in what we're bringing energy-wise and that's important. We're in the dog days of camp. We've been hitting for a while. Having that high level of energy and having that sense of purpose can put us over the top this season."
NIU practiced in full pads for two hours Thursday morning at Huskie Stadium in hot and humid conditions. The Huskies defense took the day, highlighted by an Eric Rogers (Burlington, N.J./Burlington Township) interception and a fumble recovery by Jalen Pinkney (Norcross, Ga./Norcross/UCF) in the final 2:00 simulation of the day.
"We try to work on different game situations every practice," Hammock said. "Today was the first time we worked on 2:00 offense in a live capacity. We're going to keep working on those situations to get our guys in the right mindset to execute in those spots."
NIU is back on the practice field Friday morning. 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.
NIU opens the 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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August 20, 2021 at 03:11AM
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Huskies Continue To Bring The Juice In 2021 - Northern Illinois University Athletics
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