Intra-squad scrimmages aren’t the best tools to judge players and teams, but there was plenty to observe at the second of three spring scrimmages for the NIU football team Friday.

Replacing Michael Turner will be quite interesting, in about the best way possible. Breathe easy, Huskies fans. A.J. Harris and Co. will be quite able replacements for the all-time NIU rusher. Harris isn’t flashy, but he’ll plunge into the masses and emerge five or six yards later with a nice gain. One word that best describes Harris: solid.

Garrett Wolfe made the biggest impression on this casual observer, showing off a plethora of moves and cuts. He showed the all-important ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, as well.

Adrian Davis didn’t break any big runs, but the 5-foot-5 back runs low to the ground and can be hard to spot for defenders. And at a robust 183 pounds, defenders will feel it when Davis runs into them.

Foster Chambers may be a bit of a dark horse, but the NIU coaches seem to be intrigued by him, as he had a heavy workload in Friday’s scrimmage. His blocking was impressive and he changes directions well.

Cas Prime is much like Harris, as he runs north and south and isn’t afraid of contact.

“You never know with our running backs,” wide receiver Shatone Powers said. “We’ve got power and speed.”

Powers still can catch just about anything thrown in his general direction. Powers should, and better, see an increase in passes thrown his way after P.J. Fleck’s graduation. Powers made two acrobatic catches in Friday’s scrimmage, including one where he was running toward the middle of the field but was forced to stop on a dime and dive back to the sideline. Powers made a fingertip catch that drew “ooohs” and “aaahs” from his offensive counterparts.

“I feel that if I touch the ball, it’s my job to make the catch for the team,” Powers said. “That’s what I try to do every time.”

Replacing Steve Azar will not be easy. Let’s just hope NIU’s kickers had a bad day on Friday because they made just 1-of-4 field goals over 20 yards. With no wind at Huskie Stadium to speak of, two consecutive 44-yarders were left far short. It was easy to take Azar for granted, but the Huskies won’t have that luxury next season. Finding someone to kick field goals may prove to be even more vital than replacing Turner.

There were no restrictions on hitting. Players were flying all over the field and laying the smackdown with regularity, including two vicious hits by redshirt freshman linebacker Ira Barry.