Of the 24 players recruited by NIU after the 2003 season, 14 of them returned for their red shirt senior year.

The Northern Star breaks down these past high school athletes to see what the 2004 recruiting class has done during its time, and what they have done this season.

Evans Adonis: Wide Receiver

2008 Season: Adonis has participated, so far, in four games this season. The Miami native has two catches for 22 yards in 2008.

Career: In his tenure with NIU, Adonis has seven receptions for 72 yards. The wide receiver played a crucial part on special teams in 2007 for the Huskies, returning 26 kickoffs for an average of 18.8 yards per return.

Brandon Beal: Tight End

2008 Season: In 11 games this season, Beal has four catches for 49 yards.

Career: During his red shirt freshman and sophomore seasons, Beal saw action as a member of special teams. Last year, the St. Louis native played in 10 games as a tight end, including starting in two.

Jon Brost: Offensive Lineman

2008 Season: The Maple Grove, Minn. native has started every game this season. Brost has also been named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Team.

Career: Since his red shirt freshman season, Brost has started every NIU game except two (which were in 2006). The offensive lineman has also been named an Academic All-MAC athlete for the past two seasons.

Montell Clanton: Running Back

2008 Season: Clanton has seen action in only four games this season. In his 18 rushing attempts, the Rockford native has 113 yards and one touchdown. His 6.2 yards per carry is the best for NIU running backs.

Career: Clanton was named the starting running back in the 2007 season. In two games he had 140 yards on 26 attempts. The running back, however, suffered a knee injury in the second game of that season. That injury set Clanton out for the year, marking the second time that a knee injury limited Clanton to less than three games as a Huskie.

Britt Davis: Wide Receiver

2008 Season: A Rivals three-star recruit, Davis has played in every game except the NIU’s contest against Western Michigan. The Broadview native has 11 catches for 90 yards this year.

Career: In his red-shirt freshman season, Davis made the transition from quarterback to wide receiver. That year he had 441 yards on 42 receptions. The next year, 2006, the wide out improved, catching 57 balls for 731 yards.

As a junior, however, Davis suffered as the team did. The wide receiver missed three games due to injury, and saw a drop in his offensive production.

Larry English: Defensive End

2008 Season: The Aurora native leads the Huskies in sacks and tackles-for-a-loss, with eight and 14 respectively. English is also tied for a team-leading three forced fumbles.

Career: In 2007, English was named the MAC Most Valuable Player as he had 10.5 sacks. Overall, the defensive end has brought down quarterbacks 31.5 times, making him the NIU career leader.

T.J. Griffin: Linebacker

2008 Season: Griffin has 15 tackles, nine of which are solo. The Carol Stream native also has three tackles-for-a-loss.

Career: A running back in high school, Griffin was on the Area Top 100 lists for both the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune. After his red shirt freshman year, in which he participated in five games, Griffin missed action in his sophomore season due to injuries. He also missed his third season, and did not return to the team until January 2008.

Dan Keller: Offensive Lineman

2008 Season: A 6-foot-6-inch, 295 pound lineman, Keller has started all 11 games for NIU this season.

Career: The Racine, Wis. native had not started a game until this season. In 2007, however, Keller made the move to defensive line as the Huskies were without many of their defensive lineman due to injury.

Alex Krutsch: Defensive Tackle

2008 Season: A native of Schaumburg, Krutsch has 16 tackles this season.

Career: Krutsch was one of only 10 defensive players to see action in all 12 games during the injury-plagued 2007 season. He greatly increased his production during that season, making 44 of his 78 career tackles.

Tim McCarthy: Linebacker

2008 Season: The middle linebacker is fifth on the team with 44 tackles. A native of Neenah, Wis., McCarthy has returned from a knee injury last season, and is one of five Huskies with an interception this season.

Career: McCarthy had 100-plus tackling seasons during his freshman and junior years. A 2006 Honorable Mention All-MAC selection, McCarthy only had 12 tackles in 2007 as he was injured during the Huskies’ second game of the season.

Dan Nicholson: Quarterback

2008 Season: In his final year, Nicholson has made three starts for the Huskies. The quarterback has gone through rehab on a right shoulder injury, only to then suffer a left shoulder injury before the start of the season. Nicholson has completed 60.9 percent of his passes for 447 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions.

Career: During his red shirt freshman season, the Chicago native beat Toledo and led NIU to the MAC championship, as he filled in for an injured Phil Horvath. Horvath beat Nicholson for the starting job in 2006, but Nicholson once again finished the season for the Huskies as Horvath was injured late in the season.

A starter in 2007, the quarterback missed three games due to injury, but completed 60.9 percent of his passes for 1,633 yards for nine touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

Marcus Perez: Wide Receiver

2008 Season: The Elkhart, Ind. native leads the Huskies with 28 receptions and 400 yards. Perez has three touchdowns on the year, one of which came from a rush.

Career: Perez has done it all for NIU, as he’s caught, ran and thrown the ball. The wide receiver also returned kicks for the Huskies in 2006 and 2007. The wide receiver’s best year came in 2006, when he caught 30 passes for 406 yards.

Craig Rusch: Defensive End

2008 Season: The 6-foot-4-inch defensive end has 20 tackles this season. Rusch has also reached the quarterback twice this season.

Career: A native of Hilbert, Wis., Rusch suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Huskies’ third game of the 2007 season. Before that year, the defensive end was averaging 44 tackles and 5.5 sacks per year.

Matt Simon: Wide Receiver

2008 Season: Since the Huskies’ third game of the season, Simon has dealt with a foot injury. This hasn’t stopped the wide receiver from exploding against Central Michigan for 131 yards. Overall, the Farmington, Minn. native has 329 yards on 17 receptions.

Career: Simon made his first four starts in his red shirt sophomore campaign. With 20 receptions, the wide out picked up 314 yards. Simon exploded, becoming the Huskies’ leading receiver with 969 yards and five touchdowns on 52 catches.