Rob Rugai jokes about it, but it`s a fact when he says, ”Staceys keep coming at me.”
The Northern Illinois junior quarterback played backup for two seasons behind Stacey Robinson, one of the college game`s best wishbone quarterbacks, and now junior-college transfer Stacey McKinney has beaten Rugai out for the starting role this fall.
First-year head coach Charlie Sadler made the decision after a team scrimmage Saturday. ”It`s not so much that Stacey surpassed Rob by a great measure, but it came down to how many game-breakers we have on our team, and there aren`t many,” he said. ”Stacey possesses those skills.”
McKinney, who redshirted last season after transferring from Taft
(Calif.) College, possesses 4.47-second speed in the 40-yard dash. He produced 1,641 total yards and 22 touchdowns in two seasons at Taft.
Speed merchants wanted: It appears as if junior tailback LaShon Johnson, upon whom Sadler was counting to be one of his game-breakers, is going to be academically ineligible. The speedster averaged 6.5 yards a carry last season at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Junior College.
Ouch: Starting nose guard Eric White is out a minimum of six weeks with a knee injury.
Basketball loss: Theo Stafford, a 6-foot-7-inch forward from Cowley County Community College in Kansas who signed a letter of intent with NIU this summer, left school to return home to Hugo, Okla. due to the recent death of his father.
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Digging in: The women`s volleyball team, led by sophomore captain Becky Ramsey, opens its season Friday at the Colorado State Invitational. The Huskies` home opener is at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.