Although there was tackling in the NIU Spring Football Game, many could have been fooled after watching Huskies running back A.J. Harris.

Harris, considered by many as the front-runner for the starting job, started the game going 65 yards untouched for a touchdown as the Huskies’ A-team (white) shut out the B-team (red) 38-0 Thursday at Huskie Stadium.

“You saw it tonight; he’s real explosive,” NIU quarterback Josh Haldi said.

Harris showed off his explosiveness again in the second quarter when he went untouched for a 70-yard touchdown run to give the A-team a 35-0 lead. He finished with two touchdowns and a game-high 157 yards on six carries.

Starters like Haldi and wide receiver Dan Sheldon did get limited playing time. NIU coach Joe Novak was more interested in seeing how his younger players could perform.

“I’m really excited about this football team; I really am,” Novak said. “We lost some good players, but we’ve got a lot of good ones back and some good young guys.”

One question mark heading into the offseason was the kicker position. Sophomore kicker Aleks Miskov made the only field goal of the game, a 20-yarder before halftime. Miskov and punter Anthony Gallagher also missed from 43 and 32 yards, respectively.

“Unlike last year with Azar, I don’t know who the hell our kicker is going to be,” Novak said. “It changes every year; that’s the exciting thing about college football.”

Sheldon led all receivers with 45 yards, all of them coming on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Haldi in the first quarter.

Quarterbacks Phil Horvath and Zach Ullrich scored the only other touchdowns in the game. Horvath’s was a 1-yard sneak, while Ullrich scrambled for 17 yards and dove head first into the end zone for his.

Devron Francis and Rob Lee each had an interception, the only turnovers of the game.