DeKALB – NIU football head coach Thomas Hammock welcomed one freshman and five transfers to the 2023 football roster as the Spring 2023 semester kicks off.

The Huskies were able to find help at multiple positions on both sides of the ball. On offense, they added sophomore running back Gavin Williams along with senior wide receiver Davis Patterson. On defense, they added redshirt senior cornerback Gabriel Amegatcher, freshman cornerback Cam’Ron Dabney and junior linebacker Tyler Jackson. The Huskies also added recent Northridge High School graduate linebacker Ridge Howard.

Williams arrived at NIU after three seasons at the University of Iowa, where he sat atop the depth chart heading into the 2022 season before being sidelined by an injury suffered in fall camp.

“He (Williams) is a big, strong, physical one-cut runner with a lot of great football ahead of him,” Hammock said. “He’s a home run threat with the ball in his hands, also a returner on special teams.”

The addition fills one of many holes created in NIU’s running backs group by the recent departures of sophomores Harrison Waylee and Mason Blakemore, and freshman Jaiden Credle.

Patterson totaled 760 yards and six touchdowns after playing three seasons for the Notre Dame College Falcons. In Patterson’s most impressive season in 2021, the wide receiver recorded 629 yards along with six touchdowns on 39 receptions.

“He was injured last year but had a big year a season ago,” Hammock said. ”His upside is really high. You see the explosiveness, the ability to go get the ball on film. We want to be a big play offense and to have a receiver that can stretch the field vertically will make us more dynamic.”

Amegatcher recorded 22 total tackles, one interception and seven passes defended in his time for the Nebraska-Kearny Lopers.

Dabney did not record any statistics in his time with the University of Kansas Jayhawks. He was sidelined for the 2022 season, as the Jayhawks earned their first bowl game appearance since 2008.

Jackson totaled 142 total tackles and two tackles for loss for the Lamar University Cardinals while earning an All-Southland Conference selection.

“Middle linebacker is a spot we wanted to address because we wanted maturity at all three levels of our defense,” Hammock said.

The five transfers join junior college transfers running back Azhuan Dingle, defensive linemen Navaeh Sanders and tight end Grayson Barnes to round out the eight transfers joining the Huskies this spring.

Ridge recorded 158 tackles in his time for the Northridge Raiders, earning him all-conference and all-state honors in 2022.

The Huskies’ latest additions joins quarterback Mason Kidd, kicker Zach Gordon and defensive back Santana Banner, who Hammock said are all on campus and ready to compete.