Among those in the stands for the NIU football team’s win over Maryland on Aug. 28 was one of NIU’s six current verbal commitments, Montell Clanton.

Clanton, a running back from Rockford Guilford, said he liked what he saw enough to turn down scholarships from several historically prominent football programs. He verbally committed to play football for the Huskies on Sept. 9, only a week after NIU’s victory over Maryland.

“I thought about Ball State, Minnesota, Wisconsin and a lot of the Big 10 schools,” Clanton said. “Minnesota offered me a scholarship Tuesday and Ball State had offered me one earlier.”

The 5-foot-9, 185-pound senior led the Northern Illinois Conference 9 in total rushing yards last year, and tops the standings this year with 678 yards in five games. Clanton also averages 7.8 yards per carry.

Clanton’s statistics don’t end there.

Last year, he broke the NIC-9 single-game yardage record by running for 318 yards. He broke his own record earlier this year when he rushed for 324 yards in a 53-12 victory over Rockford East.

To top off his accolades, Clanton also was given an honorable mention all-state selection by the Illinois High School Coaches Association last fall.

“He’s the best high school football player I’ve ever coached,” Guilford coach Mel Gilfillan said. “He’s got a combination of speed and power that makes him very coachable. On top of being a great athlete, he’s also a smart kid.”

Gilfillan said he encouraged Clanton to become a Huskie.

“He passed up some Big Ten schools, and we’re ecstatic,” Gilfillan said. “Why go to some other school when you have a program like [NIU] in your backyard?”

Gilfillan, who lives in Sycamore, said he had a good history with NIU’s coaches because of its high school football clinics.

Clanton agreed, saying his mind was made up when he met the coaches earlier this year.

“I like the coaches,” he said. “We just had a great bond that I didn’t feel anywhere else.”

While attending a football camp at Notre Dame over the summer, Clanton caught the attention of several scouts.

He was the fastest in the 40-yard dash with a time of 4.36 seconds, Gilfillan said.

Clanton said he was told he would be red-shirted his first year and would play in the fall of 2005. He plans to visit again in early December.

With running back Michael Turner playing his final season, NIU will be looking for a tailback to fill his place.

“Montell’s going to have to come in and prove himself,” Gilfillan said. “[Joe] Novak is a great coach, of a great program.”

Clanton said he wants to get into the program before trying to take Turner’s place.

“They’d be big shoes to fill,” Clanton said. “I’ll be lifting a lot more before the season because I’ll have to get bigger.”

Clanton joins several former NIC-9 standouts from last year. This year’s roster includes former Rockford Boylan players Adam Schroeder (freshman defensive tackle) and Joe Hilby (redshirt freshman cornerback), both of whom Clanton can recall playing against.

Schroeder, who is on the traveling team, remembered Clanton.

“He was a fast back,” Schroeder said. “He’s a great player and he has great character. He’ll fit in well here.”

Clanton, who was crowned Guilford’s homecoming king last weekend, looks to enjoy his senior year, win another rushing title and get ready to don a Huskies uniform next fall.