DeKALB | And you thought the only shot-gunning you’d see at NIU football games would come from fans’ beverages during tailgating festivities.

But a new and potent wrinkle has emerged in the single-back NIU offense. The shotgun offense, usually reserved for a pass from senior quarterback Phil Horvath, now features running plays.

“Every time we went into the shotgun, everyone in the stadium knew we were throwing the football,” NIU coach Joe Novak said. “My wife told me, ‘that is all we do out of the shotgun.'”

Knowing this, offensive coordinator John Bond went into the Buffalo game determined to break the singular identity NIU displayed out of the shotgun formation.

Bond said it was tough to mess with any aspect of the NIU offense, considering the successful numbers the team has posted. But when you have the nation’s leading rusher in Garrett Wolfe, you want to get him the ball as many different ways as possible.

“We’ve been a top-15 offense,” Bond said. “But I know we have a glaring tendency to be in shotgun when we throw the football.

“We want to make sure we get ‘X’ amount of runs per week out of the shotgun. I’m the most hardheaded of the bunch when it comes to change, but we finally broke down and did it.”

The reaction of a defense from under center was also drastic to senior quarterback Phil Horvath.

“When we watched the film,” Horvath said. “I took the snap in the shotgun and all three linebackers from Buffalo took three steps back.”

The running lanes that opened up as a result led to Wolfe racking up 263 yards.

It’s good for an offense to keep a defense from getting into a rhythm, and this new approach adds another scheme to NIU’s repertoire that opposing defensive coordinators must plan for.

“It is hard not to know what is coming,” sophomore defensive end Larry English said. “Anybody can tee off on defense when they know what is coming. It adds another dynamic when a defense doesn’t know what is coming.”

So far the line has adapted well to running out of the shotgun. Wolfe has seen continued success and Novak says it is here to stay.

James Nokes is a Sports Reporter for the Northern Star.