Eighty-five receptions, 1,105 yards, five touchdowns.

That’s what NIU has to replace at the wide receiver position this fall. Gone are the team’s top two leaders in receptions as well as yards in Marcus Perez (24 catches, 480 yards) and Matt Simon (24, 377 yards). Britt Davis, Greg Turner and Evans Adonis have also used up their eligibility.
“Those guys left a great legacy,” said junior Landon Cox, who will be a key receiver for the Huskies this coming season. “We really took a lot from them.”

Sophomore receiver Nathan Palmer, who figures to be another key part of the Huskies’ receiving corps, shares Cox’s sentiments about learning from the group of seniors.

“They kind of took us under their wing ever since we were freshmen,” he said.
Palmer had a great start to the 2008 season, with 170 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener at Minnesota and followed that up with four catches for 78 yards at Western Michigan the next week. But Palmer only caught five passes the rest of the season and missed time due to a foot injury and a high ankle sprain.

“The defenses started to make adjustments so I couldn‘t get the kind of routes I had the first couple games,” Palmer said. “It was a combination of me not being hungry to get better. I just settled for having those first two games and thought ‘Hey, it’s Nate Palmer, and it’s going to come to me.’ Instead, I should have been more hungry to get better.”

Both Cox and Palmer point out the fact that with the seniors gone, that leaves more reps in spring practice for both of them, as well as guys such as sophomore Willie Clark, junior Tyler Clasey and seniors Marcus Lewis and Preston Williams.

“It takes awhile to adjust to being the guy who gets all the reps,” said P.J. Fleck, NIU wide receivers’ coach. “Last year, all those seniors took most of the reps. Now they have to step up and be in that role of an every down guy. It takes awhile to develop that confidence. Hopefully we’re getting there.”

Fleck also pointed out the fact that Palmer, as well as the team’s other receivers, have been spending at least an hour in the film room every day, something that wasn’t necessarily the case last season.

“They’re a very close-knit group, so they kind of do everything together,” Fleck said. “[Last year,] they were probably spending 15 minutes when they were actually watching, 45 minutes talking to one another. Now I think they’ve really taken it upon themselves to have a serious role and take ownership of the group.”

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