DeKalb| Last year, the kicking game for NIU football was nauseating.

Huskie kickers Matthew Sims and Mike Cklamovski connected on only 63 percent of their field goal attempts and hit on only 88 percent of their point after touchdown tries. It was a thorn in the side of an offense that ranked 12th in the nation in scoring and averaged 38 points a game.

Since Cklamovski was a senior last year and is now out of the picture, the competition has come down to Sims, junior college transfer Josh Gallington, and red shirt senior Ryan Fillingim.

To help motivate players to work hard for the starting job, head coach Dave Doeren held an open kicking competition during spring practices and summer camp sessions.

During the competition, the Huskies formed a large semi-circle around their kickers and then proceeded to yell, clap, stomp and raise their hands in the air in an effort to amp up the intensity and help the kickers get ready for game situations.

“Coach Doeren had the forethought to think of things like that to put pressure on the kickers,” said Eddie Faulkner, running backs coach and special teams coordinator . “If we can make it as hard as can be in practice, then the game will be easy, so we try to put them in as many pressure situations as we can.”

Other NIU players have reveled in their roles as distractors, trying hard to motivate the kickers to do well. In a game of inches and field position, field goals and extra points are invaluable, and players can get frustrated when a teammate doesn’t split the uprights.

“If they miss one in practice, then yea, we get on them a little bit,” said Huskie starting center Scott Wedige. “If they miss one during a game, then we try to cheer them up, tell them they’ll get the next one. It’s kickers; you don’t want to mess with their mentality because if they get into a bad psyche, then they might miss the next one too.”

The kickers have felt the heat as well. Sims split time with Cklamovski last year and struggled, going two for three on field goal attempts and four for six on point after tries.

With last year behind him, Sims is looking to refine his technique to get himself and NIU better results.

“I try to focus on my technique, because the distance doesn’t really matter,” Sims said. “If my technique is right, then I should make the kick.”

Doeren stated during NIU Media Day on Aug. 9 that the kicking chores would go to either Sims, Gallington or Fillingim.

With NIU’s 2011 season opener against Army a little over a week away, Sims is listed as the team’s No. 1 kicker on the depth chart, which was released earlier this week.

Sims has consistently made more field goals in practice than Gallington and Fillingim, which are listed as sharing second team duties.

The hope is that the place kickers find the stroke during games and start knocking down the treys.