The player that concerns NIU most heading into Saturday’s game against Toledo is its quarterback Aaron Opelt.

But after a report by The Blade, a Toledo newspaper, that quotes Toledo head coach Tim Beckman as downgrading Opelt from probable to questionable, NIU’s biggest concern may not be suited to play.

That would be detrimental to the Rockets. The senior signal caller has thrown for 1,784 yards and 14 touchdowns in Toledo’s pass-heavy offense.

If Opelt is unable to go, freshman quarterback Austin Dantin will take the snaps.

“The backup is from Tallahassee,” said NIU head coach Jerry Kill of Dantin. “I know a lot about him through the recruiting process. He can run and he can throw. It doesn’t matter who you put in there, they’re going to have a chance to be successful. We’ll have to prepare for both styles of quarterbacks. I still think they are going to do what they do. They may run a little bit more
with [Dantin].”

Dantin showed glimpses of why Kill was familiar with him during the recruiting process. After stepping in for Opelt during the second quarter in Toledo’s loss to Western Michigan, Dantin threw for 160 yards and three touchdowns.

“Aaron is our starting quarterback, but Austin Dantin is on scholarship and I think [he] did a good job coming in,” Beckman said. “Of course we would like to have Aaron in there, but our goal will remain the same and we’ll have to put the ball in Aaron’s hand.”

Dantin has plenty of help from wide receivers Stephen Williams and Eric Page, who have 81 receptions combined. Williams acts as the tall, deep-ball threat and Page, a freshman too, lines up in the slot and gets a lot of dump-off passes.

But counting out Opelt is still too premature. The senior has expressed his desire to play Saturday, and if his shoulder is ready, he will play.

Beckman and staff would love nothing more than that.

Some stat lines from this season: 423 passing yards and three touchdowns against Purdue, 319 passing yards and four touchdowns against Colorado and an insane performance against
Ball State which included 422 passing yards and five touchdowns.

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