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2008 NIU Huskies Football Recruiting

Overview
While small in the number of players signed, new coach Jerry Kill's first Huskie class adds 13 players at nine different positions from nine different states as well as Washington, D.C. The Huskies signed seven defensive players, including three defensive linemen, five offensive players and one "athlete." Despite getting a late start in filling out the class following Kill's hiring on December 13, NIU found players from Illinois, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Washington, D.C. The Huskies lost only eight seniors from their 2007 squad.

Top Players

• Logan Pegram, OL, 6-3, 298, Silver Lake KS - Topeka Capital Journal's All-State Top 11 as a senior and All-State Top 33 as a junior; rated the #53 OG in the country by ESPN.com
• Adam Coleman, DT, 6-3, 259 Bettendorf IA - Ranked eighth in the Rivals.com Iowa Top 10... as a senior, was recognized by the Des Moines Register on its Elite All-State Team and on the Iowa Newspaper Association All-State First Team; ranked by ESPN.com as the #73 DT in the country
• Brandon Rogers, QB, 6-2, 210, Broken Arrow (Tulsa Union) OK - Oklahoma Football Coaches Association First Team All-State selection and named to the Tulsa World All-Metro First Team while earning Class 6A-3 Most Valuable Player accolades; threw for 2,565 yards and 25 touchdowns his senior year - selected to play in the Texas vs. Oklahoma Oil Bowl

Sleeper

• Maurice Coon, DE, 6-1, 238 Lakeland (George Jenkins HS) FL – Recruited by USF; captured all-county honorable mention honors as a senior and third-team all-state accolades as a sophomore; saw action at defensive end, tailback, and returned punts.

Final Analysis
While this may be a small class in terms of numbers, it is quite solid in terms of talent. There is a lot of quality players added that will help NIU forge ahead under the new coaching staff. There is not a lot of size but there is a lot of speed, which is always needed by MAC schools. Overall this class rates as AVERAGE compared to the MAC this year but it certainly looks like Coach Kill has made some strides for future recruiting pipelines.

Of Note:
NIU signed two JUCOs, one LB and one DB…Meco Brown earned a regional MVP award in Mississippi this fall, decommitted from Jackson State to sign with NIU…QB Brandon Rogers had a scholarship offer from Kansas fall through just two weeks prior to the national signing date… Kevin Sabock is the son of former Huskie assistant coach Mike Sabock, who spent 24 seasons coaching at NIU…Tommy Davis’ cousin is Peerless Price, wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills

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