Each week during the college football season, the Northern Star will recap the most interesting NIU grades published by Pro Football Focus, a sports analytics company that evaluates every player on every play of every game. Season and single-game grades are based on a 0-100 scale. To learn more about PFF’s grading system, click here.
The NIU football team is 1-0 to start the 2025 campaign after a 19-17 victory over Holy Cross on Saturday, but that win didn’t come without its frights.
While the defense looked as stout as ever, the offense and special teams — outside of a 96-yard kickoff-return touchdown — struggled to find consistency, allowing the Crusaders to take a fourth-quarter lead. But in the end, the Huskies did enough to successfully defend home turf and secure their fifth consecutive season-opening win.
So, without further ado, here’s a look at NIU’s five standout player grades from Week 1.
Chavon Wright (86.7 rushing): The transfer running back may not have put up the same eye-popping numbers he did at Charleston, but his NIU debut was impressive nonetheless. Wright earned the seventh-highest rushing grade in the country — and the team’s top offensive grade (87.0) — after finishing with 77 yards and NIU’s lone touchdown of the game on 11 carries. The 5-foot-8, 212-pounder also showed off his physicality, forcing eight missed tackles and picking up 71 yards after contact, including a 45-yard, defender-dragging run in the first quarter.
DeAree Rogers (83.4 offense): Like his teammate, Rogers shined in his first game with the Huskies. The Lenoir-Rhyne transfer was quarterback Josh Holst’s favorite target, catching six passes for 66 yards before Holst exited with an injury. Rogers later added a 7-yard catch from Jackson Proctor to finish with a team-leading 73 receiving yards. He finished behind Wright with NIU’s second-highest offensive and rushing grades (69.4) — the latter based solely on a single 22-yard end-around in the fourth quarter.
Evan Malcore (82.3 pass blocking): The veteran left tackle frequently earned high pass-blocking marks last season, and Saturday’s opener was more of the same. Malcore was immaculate in pass protection, not allowing a sack, a hurry or a quarterback hit. The rest of the offensive line also gave up no sacks but allowed one hit and seven hurries. Still, it’s a promising start for a unit that had to replace four of last year’s starters.
Marc Pretto (88.4 defense): The former Fordham linebacker only played 20 of 56 defensive snaps, but he finished as the Huskies’ highest-graded defender and right behind Roy Williams for the second-best pass-rushing grade (70.3). Pretto recorded three tackles, one assist and teamed up with Quinn Urwiler for a drive-ending sack in the second quarter — Pretto’s first sack in an NIU uniform.
Quinn Urwiler (90.3 run defense): In his first career start as a sixth-year senior, Urwiler was one of the top run defenders in college football. He is tied for the nation’s 13th-highest run defense grade and ranks second on NIU’s defense overall (83.7), while also owning the team’s best tackling (81.5) and coverage (71.3) grades. PFF credited Urwiler with seven tackles and a QB hit. He also allowed zero completions on two targets against him.
