DeKALB – As NIU waits to learn its bowl game destination, head coach Thomas Hammock built for his team’s future by signing 18 freshmen and two transfers on the first day of the early signing period Wednesday.
The 2025 recruiting class – Hammock’s sixth as NIU’s head coach – features seven defensive linemen, including Yale University graduate transfer Alvin Gulley Jr.
With NIU set to lose multiple experienced starters in the trenches to graduation, Hammock said the influx of young talent in the room is no coincidence.
“It definitely was a defensive line emphasis,” Hammock said. “When you look at our team and what we have coming back, we’ve still got quite a few guys coming back next year. We feel like this year is a bridge year for us, as far as being able to add a bunch of young kids and get them developed.”
The Huskies also brought in a trio of tight ends, among them being 6-foot-9 Caleb Haack from Marengo, Iowa. He will be the tallest player on NIU’s roster since offensive tackle Ohene Wiafe’Ababio in 2007.
“We’re losing a lot of tight ends in our program – guys that have played a lot of football for us,” Hammock said. “So it was extremely important to replenish the tight end room. We are a tight end driven offense.”
Sixteen of the 20 Huskie newcomers hail from the Midwest, coming from five different states throughout the region. The two incoming transfers – Gulley and McKendree University junior cornerback Keshawn Lyons – are among four Illinois natives in the class. Joining them are four Iowans, four Missourians, three Indianans and a Nebraskan.
“We rely heavily on the Midwest – within a six-hour radius – and some years are better than others in different states,” Hammock said. “But we’re going to try to get the bulk of our class from the Midwest, and then add a couple guys from distance, from Georgia and Florida.”
Though Wednesday’s signings are key to the roster-building process for next season, the Huskies aren’t done adding talent. Hammock said he will look to fill in positional needs when the transfer portal opens Tuesday, namely for quarterback and wide receiver.
“We’ll probably add two to three wide receivers, we’ll add a quarterback and we’ll add a couple other positions as we go throughout the process to make sure that we can maximize our team for the 2025 season,” Hammock said.
