With inclement weather forcing changes in the practice schedule of football, the spring game turned into a loosely structured scrimmage on Saturday afternoon.

The Huskies got some rust out with all the players getting some time and repetitions in during the 75-minute affair.

Senior quarterback Jordan Lynch and last year’s backup, Matt McIntosh, took limited time under center, taking seven and nine pass attempts, respectively.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Drew Hare took the lion’s share of the snaps, as he completed 14 of 17 passing attempts for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Hare also added 20 yards on six rushes, including a touchdown dash.

Head coach Rod Carey liked what he saw from Hare, and believed he provided the best offense on the day. Despite that, he knows there is much to improve for all three backup candidates.

“I think they all do some good things, and they all do some bad things–how’s that for a politically correct answer?” Carey said. “Right now I don’t know who I’d give the edge to. The ball seemed to move today with Drew Hare a lot more than anybody else. That’s my gut coming off the field. I’m not ready to anoint anybody anything right now.”

Carey did not give a lot of time to Lynch, who threw for 48 yards and a touchdown, including a long pass to Da’Ron Brown to start the scrimmage. Carey believes Lynch did not need a lot of time in this scrimmage because he gets all the time he needs in practice.

The scrimmage was prefaced by the flag and ring ceremony for the Orange Bowl, where the players and coaches received their rings and the flag for the 2013 Orange Bowl was raised in front of the Yordon Center.

Lynch believes despite the accomplishment of getting there, the players have moved on from the game itself.

“I think a lot of us put that behind us,” Lynch said. “I haven’t even really thought about it yet. Ever since the game I gave it the 24-hour rule and moved on to this year.”

Carey thinks the rings may be symbolic of the goals for this season, as the rings do not have what actually mattered to the team on them.

“They’re awesome, they got the big orange right in the middle,” Carey said. “We’d like them a lot better if they said champions, but they don’t, so we’ll take them and work towards the next one.”

This year’s team is missing several of the big factors that led the team last season, including both starting defensive ends, two starting receivers on the offensive side of the ball, and several other integral members from last year.

Carey believes even with those returning, it’s a new team and no job is safe.

“We’re looking for a lot because it’s a brand new team,” Carey said. ”No matter how many returning starters and what the paper says, it’s a brand new team. We’re looking for a lot. We’ll go in and look at the film, and as soon as we look at the film we’ll make depth chart decisions every day.”

On the receiving note, standout individual performances included redshirt sophomore Angelo Sebastiano grabbing seven catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Brown caught four passes for 58 yards.

“We’re making good strides there with the receivers, we really are,” Carey said. “We lose a lot in Martel Moore and Perez [Ashford], but our guys are stepping up right now with Juwan Brescacin and AJ Sebastiano. Da’Ron Brown and Tommylee [Lewis] have played a lot of ball around here and they‘ve had a really pretty special spring. I’m really pleased with that group today.”

On defense, the biggest play of the scrimmage came from redshirt sophomore linebacker Boomer Mays, who blocked a Mat Sims field goal attempt and allowed redshirt senior cornerback Sean Evans to return it for more than 30 yards.

The scrimmage shows the infantile stages of a team with a lot to prove coming off of last season. With the scheduling changes to practice, NIU will practice four more times, including in the Huskie Bowl this Saturday.

Carey knows these scrimmages and practices allow him and his staff to see a lot, but actual action will be the biggest determinant.

“You aren’t ever going to know anything about your team until you take that first game…,” Carey said. “You get feelings, you understand and you make best decisions based on evidence you see on the film. But really, until you get out there, you don’t know for sure.”