It’s tough to think that a 6-foot-4-inch defensive lineman weighing 250 pounds, played with a shadow cast over him last season, but that’s exactly what senior Brandon Bice dealt with.

After all, he played on the opposite end of Larry English, who became the first NIU football player to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft.

When English was drafted, Bice immediately became NIU’s sack leader thanks to his 6.5 sacks last season. The shadow was lifted.

But now Bice has a little convincing to do. Doubters will say Bice’s success last year was a direct result of having English garner all of the offensive lines’s attention, giving Bice an easier path to the quarterback.

“A lot of people said I did well last year because they double-teamed Larry so I was manned up,” Bice said. “But my personal goal this year is to get double-digit sacks, so I’m playing with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder.”

Head Coach, Jerry Kill would love nothing more than for Bice to accomplish that goal.

“We need him to take his game to another notch and that’s what he’s going to have to do and we’ll see how that works,” Kill said. “He certainly worked hard and I think he’s ready for his opportunity.”

Those are kind words from Kill considering that, by Bice’s own admission, the two butted heads when Kill arrived last season. But, just like Hollywood would have it, the experience brought them closer together in the end.

“Me and Coach Kill kinda got into it when he first got here,” Bice said. “But it’s really helped our relationship and now we have a great relationship. He knows how to make me play better and what to say when I’m not playing as well as I should. He really has re-energized my passion for football since he’s been here.”

And Bice’s passion is sacking quarterbacks. When the imposing figure, who said he eats between 5,000 and 6,000 calories a day in the offseason to help keep up with his weightlifting, lines up, there is a thought in the back of his head that no quarterback wants to hear.

“I always know that number two isn’t as good as number one,” Bice said, referring to the backup quarterback and the starting quarterback. “So anytime you can get number two in the game, that’s a pretty big deal...playing by the rules, of course.”

If Bice can do that enough times to help the Huskies maintain their top defensive ranking in the MAC, he will quiet the doubters.

And maybe even cast a shadow of his own.

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