Northern Illinois QB Drew Hare finally has the keys to the Huskies' car.
The junior signal caller enters the 2015 season in DeKalb as expectations in the MAC remain high.
“Being the starter, it’s a whole different feeling then last year’s camp when I was battling with two other guys,” Hare told NIUHuskies.com. “It’s a little easier in that sense, getting better at my own skills.”
After leading the Huskies to a win over Northwestern early last season, Hare took command of the offense and ended the year with 2,322 yards and 18 touchdowns. Most importantly, however, he protected the football, only throwing two interceptions.
“It’s always nice when you have a quarterback coming back and you don’t have a quarterback battle,” said NIU offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bob Cole. “You’re pretty much way ahead from day one. That’s pretty much been the case through camp right now."
The matchup everyone in DeKalb has circled on their calendar is their September 19th showdown against the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes. While it'll be a daunting task heading into Columbus, Hare wants his teammates focused on the opening matchup against UNLV on September 5th.
“Everybody’s thought about it; I’ll say that,” Hare said at Huskies' media day. “But like coach said, we have had an open conversation about it, got it out there, let it get done. Since then, I really do feel like we’ve been focused on just week one right now.”