NIU's Grady more than just a running quarterback

DEKALB – He may be considered a "running quarterback," but Northern Illinois sophomore DeMarcus Grady is showing he could be much more. His coach, Jerry Kill, has said he could throw.

He's beginning to prove it.

In Thursday's 50-6 win over visiting Eastern Michigan, Grady ran for more than 100 yards for the second straight week. And he only passed five times, completing four for 119 yards, but they accounted for two touchdowns and some big plays.

"(Eastern) did what I thought they were going to do," said Kill, who limited Grady to rollout passes and quick screens five days earlier when he led the Huskies to a win over visiting Akron. "They put them all on the line of scrimmage, and if they do that, you have to make them pay. DeMarcus did that and got that momentum for us."

Grady has been subbing for starter Chandler Harnish, who is out with an injured knee that required arthroscopic surgery two weeks ago. Apparently Kill added another route to his backup quarterback's repertoire as the Huskie burned the Eagles, who came in ranked fourth in the nation in passing defense, with three big plays.

All came on post routes.

The first two were for scores from 30 and 31 yards, both to Landon Cox in the first half. It left Grady with a quarterback rating of 686.20 at the break. He finished at 371.92. No stopping them In contrast to their pass defense, Eastern came in with the 120th rushing defense. It was evident as the Huskies ground out 418 yards in 54 carries.

In all six wins, Northern has had a runner top the 100-yard barrier. For the second straight game running back Chad Spann (174) and quarterback DeMarcus Grady (104) both topped the mark. Under Kill, the Huskies are now 12-0 in games they've rushed for more than 200 yards as a team. And when they're under 200, they are 0-10 in that period.

Milestone win

The win was the 500th in program history for Northern. The Huskies are now 500-454-51.

• With the win on ESPNU, NIU is now 62-64-1 all-time in televised games.

First time

• Former Kaneland standout Boone Thorgesen, a redshirt sophomore, made his first career appearance when he entered the game on a kickoff with 7:25 remaining in the fourth quarter. A defensive back, Thorgesen was greeted with a leaping body "fist" as he came to the sidelines by former Western Sun Conference rival and good friend, linebacker Pat Schiller of Geneva.

• Junior defensive back John Kremer of Oswego got some unwanted notice early in the game. Kremer was assigned to block one of the opposing team's "gunners" on the Huskie punt return team. He was turned on a short Eastern punt and had the ball glance off his leg. It was recovered by Eagles' backup linebacker Neal Howey, which led to the visitors' first field goal.

• NIU junior backup safety Garrett Barnas had the first interception of his career when he picked off a Kyle McMahon pass in the second quarter.

• The last time Northern topped the 50-point barrier was in a 59-38 win at Western Michigan Oct. 23, 2004.

• NIU's 37 points in the first half was the seventh most ever scored by the Huskies in a half and the most since a 38-point outburst in a 48-14 win over Indiana State on Sept. 23, 2006.