Sports
Thursday, February 5, 2015
www.NorthernStar.info/Sports H @NSSports H 815-753-9637
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National Signing Day
Football refuels ‘lifeblood,’ signs 30 Recruits by position
Frank Gogola Sports Editor T @FrankGogola
Quarterbacks: 1
Tight ends: 2
Wide receivers: 3
1
Linebackers: 4
2
Defensive linemen: 4
3
Running backs: 4
Defensive backs: 6
4
Offensive linemen: 6
5
0
Recruits by state 12 10
Iowa: 1
Texas: 1
Arkansas: 1
Missouri: 2
Florida: 2
2
Alabama: 2
4
Michigan: 2
at NIU. Carey said it’s the first time in his three recruiting classes no incoming players will be on campus for spring camp. “It takes a special guy to do that because you’re kind of forgoing that last part of your senior year, which sometimes can be touchy,” Carey said. Carey declined to speak to how many true freshmen he expects to play and how many he expects to redshirt. He said he’d have a better idea in fall camp, but said there’s always some true freshmen that play; some years there are just more than others. “… I’m going to know a lot more
6 Minnesota: 2
to take the best players available to you. And, the biggest but — so you got two buts in there — the No. 1 thing that you have to have, and this [former head coach] Joe Novak instilled in me: When I first got the job I called him and he said recruit players that want to be at NIU.” Carey said he doesn’t distinguish between scholarship and nonscholarship — or walk-on — athletes “because these are all recruited players for us and we feel great about all these recruited players.” None of the recruits have enrolled early for the spring semester
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Wisconsin: 6
Nick Smith | Northern Star
Head coach Rod Carey talks about newly signed recruits Wednesday at the Convocation Center. The Huskies signed 11 recruits from Illinois, and Carey said, ”Illinois is and always will be our recruiting home … that’s what our backbone of our program is built on.”
Illinois: 11
DeKalb | Strength and speed: that’s what football head coach Rod Carey felt the Huskies needed and got with their 30-man recruiting class, which he announced Wednesday at the Convocation Center. Carey said the coaching staff concentrated on bringing in running backs, wide receivers, defensive backs and offensive linemen. Those four position groups account for 19 of the 30 recruits signed. “As a whole class it’s kind of split down the middle for me because I think the easy answer is speed,” Carey said. “But when you look at it, you look at the big bodies that we have coming in, it’s strength, too. And you have to have the upfront element in every team that you build.” The class is comprised of 16 offensive players and 14 defensive players. Carey said he would have liked to seen those numbers flipped because the Huskies have been thin on defense lately. “You got to be as close to center as you can, and our numbers quite frankly on defense we needed to get up,” Carey said. “And I think we’re getting really, really close to that split.” In terms of recruiting for positions of need versus trying to bring in the best players available, Carey said it’s a little of each, but the key is going after those players who want to be Huskies. “You have to fill — with [the] 85 scholarship limit — you have to fill the needs,” Carey said. “But — and this is a big but — you have
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0 about this class in three years than I do right now,” Carey said. “And I think that’s the true litmus test of a recruiting class. “We feel great about them. We have poured a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this class, and we feel great about where we’re at right now. But, I think that’s the true
test. And I think as you go forward with recruiting, recruiting is the lifeblood. It’s not a stop. It’s not an event. It’s not a milestone. It’s the lifeblood of your football program. It flows through it. And what it’s supposed to do is get results. And the way that we have recruited has certainly produced results… .”
Women’s soccer adds trio Men’s soccer signs 7 Steve Shonder Staff Writer T @NSSportsShonder
Steve Shonder Staff Writer T @NSSportsShonder
Michael Banas Garrett Culligan with a seven-player class, which head Chase Hermanson coach Eric Luzzi unveiled Wednes-
DeKalb | Women’s soccer signed
three players to the 2015 squad, head coach John Ross said Wednesday at the Convocation Center. The Huskies’ newest additions are Taylor Sarver, a forward from Rockford, Kate Sanfilippo, a midfielder from Florissant, Mo., and MacKenzie Lee, a goalkeeper from Aurora. While this incoming class is nowhere near the size of last year’s incoming class of 11, Ross said the players are going to fill major needs. “This is a small class, but this class packs a lot of punch,” Ross said. “With soccer, it’s about scoring goals and not giving up goals, and that’s what we’ve addressed this year.” Sarver and Sanfilippo are expected to add some much-needed firepower to an inconsistent attack that finished seventh in the MAC in goals scored with 21. “They have the ability to score goals at any level,” Ross said. “They’re scoring goals at high school level, at club level, and their clubs are playing at high levels. Every time I go watch those two
Freshmen signees
DeKalb | Men’s soccer added size
Suresh Vakati | Northern Star File Photo
Freshman goalkeeper Amy Annala (1) elevates to save a goal in an Oct. 10 game against the Buffalo Bulls at the Soccer and Track & Field Complex. Head coach John Ross said he expects newly signed goalkeeper MacKenzie Lee to push Annala for the starting job.
they’re scoring two, three goals a game. They have a knack. You give them two opportunities and one of them is in the back of the net, and they’re able to create those opportunities for themself and others.” As a prolific goal-scorer at the club and high school level, Sarver should give the Huskies a needed edge on breakaway chances, based on her speed. Sanfilippo, who also had great success scoring, can play a number of positions and is just as effective
at creating chances for teammates as she is at converting on them. Lee adds to NIU’s goalkeeping depth behind likely starter Amy Annala and backup Julia Poladian. “She’s a great goalkeeper, great hands,” Ross said. “She’s fearless. She’s unbelievable on breakaways, and that’s about sacrificing your body, getting your body in front of the ball. She does a great job with that.” Ross said he expects Lee to push Annala for the starting job.
day at the Convocation Center. The Huskies’ recruiting class consists of six freshmen and one junior, Zach Downing, who officially joined the team at the beginning of the semester. Luzzi said the Huskies were looking to add another element to their game with this class. “With this class we know that we needed to bring some height and some athleticism,” Luzzi said. “Over the last few years we’ve really gone out and gotten a lot of really, really good soccer players, but to be honest there were a couple games throughout the last year or two that we felt that we were physically overmatched. That was a huge priority for us with this class.” With NIU two years removed from its last MAC tournament appearance, there are a lot of expectations on this class, particularly on the freshmen. “We’re really, really pleased with these six guys, and I think they’re going to be perfect fits for our team,” Luzzi said. “They’re going
Noah Brodie Nixon Urrutia Noe Ochoa
to be exactly what we need to get us back to the place where we’re competing for trophies every year.” Two of the Huskies’ new additions, Noe Ochoa and Nixon Urrutia, are products of the Houston Dynamo Academy, which is one of the top academies in the United States. Luzzi said he also anticipates Noah Brodie, who played for Scott Gallagher Metro Academy, to be a key contributor for NIU early next season. Even with the academy players headlining the class, there’s depth that can crack the starting 11. “I don’t like to bring players in here that I don’t think can compete right away,” Luzzi said. “For us, I think it’s risky to bring in projects. … I like to get as many guys as we can that can push our current guys. … I expect all seven of these guys to be pushing all of our current players for time right away.” Luzzi said he expects to add two or three more players before August.