DeKALB — For years, NIU’s annual Spring Showcase has felt like more of a glorified practice. This year, it actually felt like a game — and it came down to the final play.
Trailing 17-10 with less than a minute remaining, sophomore quarterback Brady Davidson led Team Huskies on a last-gasp drive. Davidson completed a fourth-and-long pass to George Dimopoulos to keep the drive alive, then checked it down to running back Elijah Porter two plays later.
However, Porter’s decision to stay in bounds with no timeouts remaining kept the clock running, leaving time for just one final play. Needing a touchdown to stay alive, Davidson launched a deep pass from midfield toward the left side of the end zone, intended for JUCO transfer Tavaris Coles.
But Coles couldn’t bring it in, and the pass fell incomplete as time expired, sealing a 17-10 win for Team NIU in the program’s Spring Showcase on Saturday at Huskie Stadium — which featured a traditional game format in a change of pace from previous seasons.
“You like doing these scrimmages, because it sets up situational football that you can’t really mimic out there at practice,” interim head coach Rob Harley said. “I thought there were some good decisions; there were some poor decisions … but those are all learning moments.”
Quarterback Jalen Macon and running back Telly Johnson Jr. each scored on the ground for Team Huskies, while Coles caught the game’s lone receiving touchdown from Davidson. Both defenses made their presence felt, as Team Huskies cornerbacks Amari Williams and Yassine Falke each recorded interceptions. True freshman linebacker Jack Murray added a pick for Team NIU.
“You love that. We’ve had 26 takebacks in 13 practices, so about two a day, on all sorts of different things,” Harley said, “so it’s good they’re hunting the ball. They want those flame stickers on the back of their helmets.”
Saturday’s showcase also had no shortage of playmaking pass-catchers on display. Veteran wideouts DeAree Rogers and Kenji Lewis emerged as go-to targets for Team NIU, while Team Huskies leaned heavily on Dimopoulos and tight end Jason Fowler.
“That’s a great problem to have, and we do have a lot of weapons. People are going to have to be cognizant of where certain guys are on our offense,” Harley said. “How do you spread the ball around? Well, I think you’ve got to run the ball first and make people aware … and then we’re able to get the ball to those guys in space.”
Team Huskies got on the board first with a 37-yard field goal from kicker JJ Schlenhardt on the game’s opening possession. After taking a sack on the first play from scrimmage, Davidson settled in, completing his first five passes to put the offense in scoring position. A third-down pass breakup by Andruw Ellis forced the Huskies to settle for three and an early 3-0 lead.
Team NIU answered with a 72-yard scoring drive fueled by Macon, Johnson and Rogers. NIU converted two third-down attempts before Johnson finished the drive with a 1-yard plunge to take the lead. Davidson then led Team Huskies into the red zone with chunk passes to Fowler and Glen Weber. But Team NIU held firm on fourth-and-1, forcing an incompletion to give the ball back to its offense.
Not long after, Team Huskies came up big on defense. Williams ripped a would-be catch away from Lewis for an interception near midfield. Still, Team NIU entered halftime with a narrow 7-3 advantage.
Coming out of the break, Team Huskies picked up an early first down with freshman quarterback Bryshawn Brown under center, but safety Justin Harris broke up a third-down pass to force a punt. Charleston transfer Ean Hamric then piloted a scoring drive for Team NIU, with Schlenhardt ending the series with a 37-yard field goal — his second make of the day.
Team Huskies responded late in the third quarter, tying the game at 10-all with a Davidson scoring drive. The sophomore connected with Fowler for a key third-down conversion before finding Coles for a touchdown strike of about 25 yards.
The final quarter of action featured back-to-back interceptions. Falke picked off a halfback pass from Johnson before Lewis jarred the ball loose — only for Falke to recover his own fumble. The very next play, Murray corralled an interception off Davidson and returned it inside the Team Huskies’ 20-yard line.
Team NIU capitalized five plays later, as Macon scrambled to his left and dashed 10 yards for a go-ahead touchdown, making it a 17-10 ball game with under six minutes remaining.
The teams then traded three-and-outs before Team Huskies mounted another push. Dimopoulos kept the drive alive with an acrobatic catch along the left sideline on third-and-long. But the momentum didn’t last, as La’Don Bryant dropped an over-the-shoulder pass in the end zone, and the drive ended on downs.
After another defensive stop, Davidson and the Huskies offense got one final chance to tie the game with under a minute remaining. Davidson found Dimopoulos on fourth-and-long to move the chains. But on the game’s final play, Davidson’s deep shot toward the end zone slipped through the outstretched hands of Coles.
NIU has two spring practices remaining before officially joining the Mountain West Conference as a football-only affiliate on July 1. The Huskies open the 2026 season on Sept. 5 with a visit to the Big Ten’s Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City.
