DeKALB | With 20 scholarships available, the NIU football program set out to recruit the next generation of Huskies.

And after more than a year’s worth of work, 19 players signed with NIU on Feb. 7. The 19 recruits consist of four offensive linemen, three defensive backs, three quarterbacks, three linebackers, three defensive ends, two wide receivers and one running back.

The incoming class is comprised of all incoming freshman, except for one junior college transfer: Chase Carter from Coffeyville Community College.

NIU stayed local with its recruiting, as 10 of the 19 incoming freshmen are from Illinois. Three recruits come from across the border in Indiana, while two more are from Missouri. Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin each provided one future Huskie.

According to Rivals.com, NIU recruited all two-star players out of a five-star ranking system. Every MAC program except Ohio, Buffalo and NIU were able to recruit at least one three-star player.

As of Wednesday night, Rivals.com placed NIU’s recruiting class last in the MAC and 115 out of 125 in the nation.

But Novak understands his new class won’t rank high by many observers, as he isn’t receiving the “finished products.”

“We don’t get the finished product like Ohio State and Michigan,” Novak said. “To tell you how good they are, as every year, I’ll tell you in three to four years from now.”

One position Novak was hunting for in this year’s recruiting class was quarterbacks with more speed. Novak and his staff recruited three such players, although there is a chance Boone Thorgesen of Kaneland High School will move to the safety position.

Novak did lose one recruit late, outside linebacker Ben Johnson, to Northwestern. Novak was able to replace him with Pat Schiller of Geneva High School though.

“We weren’t recruiting [Schiller]. I went back and we were trying to get him to walk on,” Novak said. “He said you know something coach, I’ve always dreamed of playing for Northern Illinois. I don’t hear that very often.”