Red may be the most fitting color for NIU’s newest football recruits. Head coach Jerry Pettibone has the luxury of 52 returning lettermen and expectations are high. So where does this leave the freshmen? In the red—as in red-shirt.

“The final decision has not been made and won’t be made until the second or third game into the season, but at this point, I anticipate that the whole freshman class will be red-shirted,” Pettibone said.

This year’s Huskie grid team is one of the most experienced group in NIU history. The Huskies lost only one starter on offense and four on defense. So while this experienced bunch mix it up on the field, the rookies will have to sit, watch, and learn.

NIU signed 16 recruits last year. The Pettibone recruiting machine mostly went after the skill positions, landing eight offensive backs, five linebackers, two defensive backs and one defensive lineman.

Although none of the coaches would concur, the biggest catch of last year’s recruiting may be Jason Keene, a 6-2 208-pound inside linebacker from Bloomington High School. Keene set a school season record with 149 tackles last year and made a record 369 career stops. He was named to the Chicago Sun-Times and Champaign News-Gazette First-Team All-State. He was also the first Bloomington running back to rush for 1,000 yards in back to back seasons.

“I’m pleased with all our recruits. They have shown a lot of promise and they are going to be players that are going to make contributions to this program during their careers here,” Pettibone said.

Out of the eight offensive backs recruited last year, three are quarterbacks. The Huskies now have nine quarterbacks on the roster. But not all of them can expect to remain quarterbacks.

Offensive Coordinator Mike Summers, the leg man for the Pettibone recruiting machine, explained last year that most high schools make their most talented players play the quarterback position. Being talented athletes, they are capable of playing other positions. But they all get a chance to play quarterback.

The main responsibility of these red-shirt freshmen will be playing on the scout team. These scouts will imitate the offenses and defenses of NIU opponents.

“The luxury we have this year is that we have so many returning players that very few freshmen are going to play a prominent role right away. Most of these guys fill a role for us right now, like on most developed teams, by providing offensive and defensive looks of teams we’re going to play,” Summers said.

“And by the time they’re ready to step in next spring and learn the offense and the defense, they’ll have the benefit of at least being on the field and not have the pressure of being pushed into a starting role.”