NIU head coach Jerry Kill joked earlier this season that even he could line up and connect on a field goal attempt from a respectable distance.

Yet, the kicking woes that the Huskies have endured are certainly no laughing matter.

“We’ve struggled to put the ball through the uprights,” NIU special teams coach Jay Sawvel said. “The hardest thing about it is everyone else can do their job, and you just got to put the ball through the uprights.”

Earlier this season, it appeared NIU was going to use a kicker by committee method with freshman Mathew Sims and Illinois transfer Mike Cklamovski.

Sims has missed a pair of point after touchdowns while Cklamovski has connected on only one of his three field goal attempts.

Sawvel said that “consistency of technique” is inevitably what needs to be worked on by both kickers.

“If you’re off a fraction, it doesn’t take much to push a ball one way or another if you’re off just a little bit,” Sawvel said.

Cklamovski’s 48-yard field goal came this past weekend during the Huskies 28-22 loss to Illinois which was a major positive that Kill took away from the defeat.

“I’m excited that we kicked a 48-yard field there at the end and that might have been the most important play of the game,” Kill said. “Whether we won or lost, that’s a confidence builder.”

As for Saturday’s matchup with Minnesota, Cklamovski appears to have the nod and approval from the NIU coaching staff.

Cklamovski has shown the ability to drive the ball on kickoff with five touchbacks and in the event that the Huskies need a field goal from downtown, they’ll dial up his number.

“He’s continued to work and improve and we believe in him,” Sawvel said.

Sawvel also described that the team has somewhat of an odd situation at kicker.

“[Cklamovski] hadn’t kicked a lot in college games and [Sims] is a true freshman,” Sawvel said. “We’re working with them all the time and I trust them to improve.”

For Sims, he knows that he’ll have to work on being reliable on the practice field if his number is called again this season.

“I just need to work on it and just continue to get consistent,” Sims said.

Sims has the confidence in his kicking colleague to nail a game winning kick if needed.

“I think we are ready,” Sims said. “Mike is ready…he proved it, we needed that kick [against Illinois] and he nailed it.”