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By PAUL BEITLER
Sports Editor
As the days and hours fly by, 2007 Norwell High School graduate Chandler Harnish is waiting to find out if he will be the starting quarterback for the Northern Illinois Huskies on Saturday.
The Mid-American Conference Huskies open their 2008 college football season against the Big Ten’s Minnesota Gophers at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Eastern time on the Big Ten Network.
During spring practice Harnish, a redshirt freshman, was able to see plenty of action along with DeMarcus Grady, another redshirt freshman, due to the fact that returning senior redshirt Dan Nicholson was recovering from shoulder surgery.
Like a crafty poker player, new Huskies’ head coach Jerry Kill is not going to show is hand and name his starter too soon. He doesn’t want to give the Gophers an upper hand.
Harnish, who is eager to get a chance to start, has confidence in himself and his teammates.
“I was able to learn a lot and just feel more comfortable coming into the fall. I think it just set me ahead so much more than what it would have if Danny would have been here,’’ said Harnish.
“Whatever decision (Kill) makes it’s going to be the right decision and I trust what he’s doing,” said Harnish. “Whoever is the best come Saturday — me or Danny — that’s who’s going to play. If Danny gets the start, then I’ll be happy for him and I’ll support him and just keep preparing.
“The opportunity is great. I’ve got a real good chance for my first collegiate game to be against a Big Ten team.”
Kill, who was the head coach at Southern Illinois for seven seasons (55-32), feels that Harnish is a complete package — a good person, good athlete and good student of the game.
“I think he’s had a very good camp and I think he’s worked very hard. From the spring until now, he’s gotten better every day. There’s been a few bumps and valleys, but you’re going to have that at quarterback,” said Kill.
Harnish has not only impressed him with his throwing ability but also with his ability to run and “make some plays with his feet.’’
Since spring ball Harnish has been throwing about 200 passes a day, five days a week.
“I thought it was going to be a lot more difficult. I thought it was going to be really painful on my arm,” said the 6-2, 210-pound right-hander, “but the strength coach here (Eric Klein) and my quarterback coach Pat Poore have done a great job in teaching me the right technique and right fundamentals to throw a football.
“I’ve been able to use my body more rather than just using the arm and I feel great,” he added. “I feel like I’m improving every day with the help of those guys.”
By working out with the first-team group, Harnish has developed a good relationship with the receivers.
“We’ve jelled into one unit and we’re playing really well right now and I think we have a lot of confidence going into week one,” he noted.
Although the Huskies finished 2-10 last year, Harnish and Kill are optimistic about the upcoming season.
Northern Illinois has 20 returning starters and 20 seniors, including defensive end Larry English, who was the Mid-American Conference most valuable player.
“We feel like we can do a lot of great things. I know we haven’t been ranked very high in all the magazines and all the media, but we feel like we’re as good as the next team,” said Harnish. “Our goal is to win the MAC Championship. It really is. We really feel like we can do it.”
Kill, a farm boy from Cheney, Kan., has been optimistic all his life.
“If you don’t have any optimism then you shouldn’t get up in the morning,” Kill added.
Faced with the challenge of opening a strong schedule against the Gophers, who won the first meeting 31-20 in 1988, Kill has a lot of faith in his team and believes that the Huskies can surprise the naysayers.
“There’s always a lot of unique stories in college football each year,” he said. “The great thing about it is that I’m out here, it’s not raining, and I’m sitting on a ledge looking at the stadium and I just got off the practice field with a bunch of good kids and it don’t get any better than that.”
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