NIU Head Football Coach Thomas Hammock
DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University football team opens 2025 spring practices with a new energy fueled by six new assistant coaches, 19 new players, including 16 transfers, and after the departure of 18 starters from a year ago, new opportunities for players to step up and step into key roles.
NIU head coach Thomas Hammock begins his seventh season leading his alma mater after becoming the first head coach to lead the Huskies to two (FBS) bowl wins as NIU closed out the 2024 season with a 28-20 double overtime victory over Fresno State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
“We have a lot of new faces, a lot of new coaches and to me it’s a great thing,” Hammock said. “I couldn’t be more excited about the coaches we brought in the building. We have a bunch of hungry guys that are unafraid to prove themselves; a bunch of hungry coaches who are excited to enhance and elevate our program for next season. I think our players feel that energy.”
In addition to coordinators Rob Harley (defense/safeties) and Quinn Sanders (offense/quarterbacks), the Huskies added Cory Connolly (special teams coordinator/linebackers), Justin Robinson (defensive tackles) and Kai Ross (nickels) to the defensive coaching staff. Ty Boles, who made an impact on the Huskie staff in a graduate assistant role over the past two seasons, will work with the running backs. Boles came to NIU in 2023 after one season at Tennessee State and was a four-year letterwinner at Samford University at running back.
Connolly joined the Huskies after 10 seasons at Ball State, where he moved up from graduate assistant to linebackers coach and for the last three seasons, special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach. He helped the Cardinals to the 2020 MAC Championship and to the program’s first bowl win. Connolly played defensive end at Quincy University in Quincy, Illinois where he was a four-year starter and three-time team captain.
Robinson was named the 2023 NAIA Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) while coaching at Marian University in Indianapolis, where he served as associate head coach and defensive coordinator, helping the to a 17-4 record, a 2023 NAIA playoff appearance and back-to-back conference championships.
Like Boles, Ross was on the Huskie staff in 2024 as a graduate assistant where he helped tutor the NIU safeties. He spent the 2023 season on staff at McKendree University and also coached at Saddleback College in California, where he was a CCCAA All-American defensive back in 2019. He closed out his playing career at Lindenwood University where he was a first team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference DB in 2021 and a two-time CSC Academic All-American.
“Our staff has done a phenomenal job getting prepared, getting up to speed, making sure we’re all on the same page from a scheme standpoint, from an evaluation standpoint, from a competitive standpoint,” Hammock said. “With the new coaches, the great thing is, there is an unbiased perspective. How you compete and how you move forward will be evaluated by someone who comes in with no preconceived judgement.”
In terms of the players, Hammock said the Huskies have put in the work in the weight room and the classroom to prepare for the spring and the new players have made an almost seamless transition to NIU.
“I like where our guys are mentally and physically,” Hammock said. “We have a mentally strong group. We are excited to get on the field and have a chance to work with them. The great thing I’ve seen is you can’t tell who’s new and who’s not. That’s a testament to the culture in a building and to our older players. The [newcomers] have come in here and worked and put themselves in position to help our team. We’ve filled some needs from a depth standpoint, from a competitive standpoint. We look at production over potential. We want guys who have played, who know what it’s like to be out there in competitive environments. I’m excited to watch them compete.”
All four of the January transfers on the offensive side of the ball are wide receivers, while eight of the 16 players new to NIU this spring are defensive players, including five defensive backs. NIU also added four specialists, an area Hammock said must and will, improve.
Opportunities for the transfers, for the 34 players that spent a redshirt season in 2024 and for the 31 returning letterwinners, are plentiful. NIU returns just four players – two on offense and two on defense – who started six or more games a year ago. However, the group of returning letterwinners features a list of people with significant playing experience, including some in a starting role.
A new season full of new opportunities begins Thursday morning at 7 a.m. at NIU. The Huskies will practice on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and Saturdays at Noon with the annual Spring Showcase set for Saturday, April 26 at Huskie Stadium.
March 26, 2025
