A Few Stories from the Tribune, Sun-Times & Beacon News

Naperville's Horvath gets the Nod at NIU

Naperville Central graduate Phil Horvath has been selected to start at quarterback in Northern Illinois' opener Sept. 2 at No. 1 Ohio State.

Huskies OL grows into All-American candidate

Free then was a 6-foot-6-inch, 240-pound All-State defensive end with visions of his own, and they didn't include playing tackle. Novak correctly predicted Free, now 6-7, 302, would grow into an offensive lineman, but not necessarily one who could become the highest-drafted player in NIU history.

NIU #1 in Illinois

THE UNSUNG ONE

Who has the best team in Illinois? The experts say it's not the fellas from the buttoned-down Big Ten. Rather, it's the little guy peeking through the cornstalks in DeKalb.

Yes, Northern Illinois, the preseason favorite in the Mid-American Conference, stacks up as the best Division I team in the state.

Illinois, which is trying to wake up its own echoes, should take heart from the experience of NIU, which has become a MAC power since going 3-30 during Joe Novak's first three years.

Northwestern, which escaped the jaws of the Huskies 38-37 last fall, checked in as this year's preseason runner-up.

The Illini, meanwhile, should be glad that the directional state school that's coming to Champaign on Sept. 2 answers to Eastern rather than Northern. Maybe down the road ... when Zook has his pieces in place.

Freshmen have Impact

"Jason Onyebuagu (Indianapolis Warren Central) will be our backup center, Marcus Lewis (Gurnee Warren) will be in our wide receiver rotation, Tommy O'Brien (Tehachapi, Calif.) will be our long snapper and linebacker John Tranchitella (Addison Driscoll) will be in our rotation and play a lot," Novak said. "He could start at either one of our two outside linebacker positions."