By now, everyone who has anything to do with NIU has heard about starting quarterback Chandler Harnish.

Harnish’s ability makes him a key player the Black Knights of Army will try to contain this Saturday.

“He isn’t the entire storm, but he is certainly at the center of the storm,” said Army head coach Rich Ellerson.

Harnish is on the preseason watch list for the Maxwell, Walter Camp, and Davey O’Brien quarterback awards this year and is one of the most prolific passers in school history.

“Chandler’s a guy that has the ability to do a lot of good things on offense; he’s 23 years old, he’s very mature and carries himself well,” said NIU head coach Dave Doeren.

Huskies starting center Scott Wedige said Harnish is the unquestioned leader of the offense.

“His leadership has been there since day one,” Wedige said. “He’s an easy guy to follow. He does all the right things. Last year we got into it at Minnesota. He told me to be quiet, and we scored on that drive. He’s a smart guy, a guy that you need on the team and he’s a great asset to have.”

Preparing for Army’s unconventional double eagle flex defense will be important for the Huskies to overcome in order to win on Saturday.

The Black Knights’ defense will feature players lining up all over the place, with roving linebackers and complex mixed coverages.

“They call it a radar defense, a flex defense. They do a lot of different things,” Harnish said. “It’s not your basic 4-3 defense, we have to try to find tendencies that they have in certain formations or certain down and distances and exploit that.”