Forcing the action
Lightly recruited out of high school, NIU's Spann now piling up numbers
DEKALB -- Division I recruiters weren't wearing out a path to his home in Indianapolis, so Chad Spann knocked on their doors.
Five years later, the running back continues to force the action, piling up impressive numbers for the Northern Illinois football team as he shoulders the load with sophomore Me'co Brown on the No. 1 rushing offense in the Mid-American Conference (229.6 yards per game).
(AP File)
When: 5 p.m. today, ESPNU, WSCR-AM 670.
Records: Ball State 1-8, 1-4 MAC West; NIU 6-3, 4-1.
The story line: Fortunes have changed dramatically for the defending MAC West champs after QB Nate Davis left early for the NFL and coach Brady Hoke took the San Diego State job. Redshirt freshman and Davis heir Kelly Page will miss his third game with a thumb injury. The Cardinals will rely on the running of senior MiQuale Lewis and freshman Cory Sykes (Thornton), while NIU answers with league's top running game.
Making history: Lewis (301 yards) and Sykes (204) became the first duo from the same team at any NCAA level to top 300 and 200 yards rushing in the same game in a 29-27 win over Eastern Michigan.
By the numbers: Five of the Cardinals' losses have been by seven points or fewer.
Senior night: Northern Illinois will honor 17 seniors and is encouraging fans to wear black for "Black Out Night."
Spann leads the Huskies with 767 rushing yards after last week's career-high 175-yard effort in a 50-6 rout of Eastern Michigan that earned him his second straight MAC West Offensive Player of the Week honor.
He's topped the 100-yard barrier in four of the last five games and his 16 touchdowns (15 rushing) have him tied for third in the nation in scoring and first in the MAC.
"I came up here my junior year (of high school), came into the (football) office and introduced myself and gave them a highlight tape," Spann said.
After attending a Nike combine in the Chicago area, Spann and his mom also dropped off tapes at Illinois State and the University of Illinois. NIU assistant coach Jeff Phelps stayed in touch throughout his senior year, but could only offer Spann a spot as a preferred walk-on with the chance to earn a scholarship.
"I had no Division I offers," said Spann, who rushed for school records of 1,935 yards and 22 TDs as a senior at North Central High School.
He had offers from I-AA schools and Division II power Grand Valley State.
By then, he and his parents had made another trip to DeKalb to meet with staff in the NIU admissions office. They learned about the academic assistance offered athletes and their record in the classroom. NIU athletes have combined for a GPA of 3.0 or better for nine straight semesters.
"I also learned about the (running backs) history here with Michael Turner, Garrett Wolfe, Thomas Hammock and LeShon Johnson, not all guys who are very big. And I'm not very big either, about 5-foot-9," said Spann, an English major.
Invited to preseason camp by former coach Joe Novak, it didn't take long for the 185-pound Spann to impress.
"(Novak) actually put me on scholarship the second week when one opened up," Spann said.
He saw plenty of action on special teams but got only 11 carries for 61 yards as a freshman. Last year he had two starts for first-year coach Jerry Kill and was third on the team in rushing with 429 yards.
"This summer, I took a different approach," he said, crediting workouts under the guidance of strength and conditioning coach Eric Klein.
"It was a new commitment. The previous summer I spent more time at home. I spent my whole summer up here trying to get better."
He's gotten bigger (205 pounds), stronger and hasn't lost speed, which he flashed on his first two carries last week, running 65 yards and 79 yards -- untouched on both -- for scores. Six of his TDs have come on runs of 20 or more yards.
Spann and Brown (655 yards) give the 6-3 Huskies a formidable 1-2 punch as they host Ball State (the alma mater of Spann's older sister) in another Thursday night game on ESPNU.
"Early in the game, Me'co and I decide ourselves who will play," Spann said. "We usually trade off every drive and then coach Kill will tell us who he wants (in) at the end of the game."
It's keeping them fresh for what Spann hopes is a long run.
"It's very important we get that seventh win," he said. "Six gets you (bowl) eligible, but that doesn't guarantee you anything. ... The next game is the most important. We need that to move forward to our goals, which is a MAC Championship, bowl game, all that."
