Suited in shoulder pads and a helmet, his 6-foot-2, 220-pound rugged, muscular body portrays a fearless human being with a killer instinct. Yet inside he is very apprehensive.

As a high school senior wanting to play college football, he must start from scratch and regress to being a freshmen again at a school he knows little or nothing about. Even football players have the same anxieties, intimidations and questions about college as any other high school senior does.

The NIU prospective recruit now has 25 “attractive” female students about his age to turn to and ask questions. Over the last year, the Huskie football recruiting program has produced their version of the University of Florida’s Gator Getters and Oklahoma State’s Cowboy Coeds.

Now introducing … NIU’s Huskie Highlights. Directed by Jane Thompson, the Highlights have two main purposes. First they assist the NIU athletic department in football recruiting by giving orientation information to a recruit and/or his family about NIU, and the Highlights also help promote Huskie football.

“(The Highlights) are usually the first people to greet the potential Huskie athlete and his parents,” Thompson said, “Therefore (the Highlights) must be sensitive to the feelings of the athlete who is usually intimidated and overwhelmed about being at a university for the first time.

“She will be excited and enthusiastic. The enthusiasm is usually contagious which in turn anticipates questions from the prospective athlete.”

Going full-force this year, the Highlights have become an official non-paid organization. They are selected by a panel consisting of Thompson and eight other Highlights. While applicants must meet eligibility requirements—a full-time undergraduate student with a cumulative g.p.a. of 2.0—Thompson banks her decision on personality characteristics as well.

“We look for her to be excited about NIU, football and life,” Thompson said. “She should be vivacious and have lots of school spirit.”

And what do the Highlights get in return?

“Endless opportunities to develop their poise and self-confidence through representing her university,” Thompson said.”

Junior Karen Roepke, a member of the Highlights, said she became a Highlight because she sees a future in Huskie football and she wanted to be a part of it.

“Northern football is on the rise, and I wanted to be able to help out,” Roepke said. “Sometimes when the recruits feel like asking questions, they feel like talking to someone their own age. We’re there to show them a different side of NIU—we’re showing them the non-football side.”

But the squad can only show the potential recruits the “non-football side” during scheduled meetings and functions—no “after-hours” hostessing. In the past, college recruiting hostesses have been accused of being “overfriendly” to the players; however, Thompson said this will not be permitted.

“(The Highlights) may never go onto the hotel floors,” Thompson said. “Each athlete is assigned a host for the evening, and the hosts may participate in group events, but one-to-one dating is not appropriate.”

The Highlights also serve as a type of indirect communication from the coach to the athlete. Thompson said if one of the Highlights senses the athlete is leaning toward attending another school, she reports back to Thompson, who in turn relays the message to the coaches.

“Sometimes the athletes are more comfortable in sharing some of their doubts with (the Highlights), and then we can act on (their doubts),” Thompson said.

Russ Graham, NIU’s football recruiting coordinator, said he thinks the Highlights are a positive addition to the recruiting program.

“The more they get involved, the better,” Graham said. “They’ve been nothing but positive in the past, and they will continue to be more positive.”

Sometimes when the recruits feel like asking questions, they feel like talking to someone their own age. We’re there to show them a different side of NIU—we’re showing them the non-football side.”

Karen Roepke, Huskie Highlite