When Antario Brown signed with Northern Illinois in December 2020, he was joining a program with a proud tradition of great running backs. Garrett Wolfe, Michael Turner, LeShon Johnson and Brown’s head coach, Thomas Hammock, are among the players who helped the Huskies gain their reputation as a “Running Back U.”
Brown, a 5-foot-10, 220-pound senior from Savannah, Ga., is carving out his own place in NIU history, entering Saturday’s game at Ball State (2:30 p.m., ESPN+) with 2,977 career rushing yards — ninth in program history and four spots above Hammock (2,482).
“I know a lot of great running backs came through this school,” Brown told the Tribune earlier this season. “Two of the best on the rushing list (Turner, No. 2, and quarterback Jordan Lynch, No. 3) I see sometimes around at games and stuff like that. So just seeing that and knowing those guys pushes me and burns that hunger in my stomach to want to achieve what those guys achieved.
“Even Coach Hammock, with him playing here, he’s my coach and everything else, but he played in the same jersey that I have. It just drives me.”
A three-star recruit who initially committed to South Carolina, Brown spent his first two seasons in DeKalb backing up Jay Ducker and then Harrison Waylee. As a junior last fall, Brown rushed for 1,296 yards and scored 11 touchdowns to earn first-team All-Mid-American Conference honors.
He exploded into the national consciousness this season in the Huskies’ Week 2 upset of Notre Dame. Brown rushed for 99 yards on 20 carries and had another 126 yards on two catches — including an 83-yard pass play for the lone NIU touchdown in the 16-14 stunner.
In the Huskies’ other game against a Power Four opponent, a 24-17 loss at N.C. State, Brown rushed for a season-high 114 yards on 28 carries. He suffered an injury the next week against UMass and sat out one game before returning for last week’s 13-6 loss to Toledo.
Hammock said Brown’s role should expand this week after being “on a pitch count” against the Rockets. Iowa transfer Gavin Williams stepped up in Brown’s absence with back-to-back 100-yard rushing games against UMass and Bowling Green.
Brown’s relationship with Hammock has played a huge role in his development on and off the field. They’ve established the kind of bond that not only builds players, Hammock said, but also helps create young men.
By doing things ‘the hard way,’ NIU coach Thomas Hammock instills belief in the No. 23 Huskies
“We have a very unique relationship,” Hammock said. “I had a big hand in recruiting him, along with Nick McKissick, my running back coach at the time. We poured a lot into him.
“He’s a young man that it takes him a while to trust people and get to know people. I think I’m in one of his inner circles, and as a former running back, I’m happy with his development, the way he plays, the way he prepares.”
It was that relationship with Hammock — and a desire to build on what they started at NIU — that kept Brown from entering the transfer portal despite the allure a bigger program might have offered. Hammock was one of the first coaches to offer Brown a scholarship, and when he decommitted from South Carolina, his closeness with Hammock made NIU a natural landing spot.
When Brown was considering entering the transfer portal, he sought guidance from Hammock. The two had a heart-to-heart in December in which Hammock told Brown he would love and support him as long as he chose what was best for himself. Brown decided to remain loyal to NIU and Hammock.
“The history I have with this program my first three years … I just really built a strong relationship with all the coaches on the coaching staff, trainers and strength and conditioning staff,” Brown said. “Those guys have been with me at my lowest and throughout my career.
“The portal is something big going around in college football right now. I was like, ‘You know what? Let’s just finish it out. Let’s stay true to where we started. Let’s build your legacy here and pass it down to the younger guys under you.’
“You really take on that leadership role when you’re at a program for so long. And knowing the type of coach (Hammock) is just made me want to stay even more.”
Brown hopes to use his senior season to achieve another goal: playing in the NFL.
“That’s something that really drives me when I play,” he said. “I want to put my best play on tape every game. I don’t want to leave anything out there.”
When it comes to pursuing his dreams, Brown said he’ll continue to do it the Huskie way, the way of the running backs who came before him.
“We don’t take any shortcuts. We build it from within,” he said. “I just want to carry on that tradition. When you believe in something, all you have to do is just execute what you prepared for and what you did in practice and you’ll come out on top every time.”
Northern Illinois (4-3, 1-2 MAC) at Ball State (2-5, 1-2)
- Time/TV: 2:30 p.m. Saturday, ESPN+.
- Line: NIU by 12½.
- Series: NIU leads 25-24-2.
Facts & figures
The Huskies have won the Bronze Stalk Trophy in 11 of 16 meetings since its inception, but the Cardinals won it the last two years. … NIU leads all FBS teams in third-down defense (19.5%) and is third in total defense, allowing 258.1 yards per game. … The Huskies also lead the MAC with 3.14 sacks per game. Nine players have at least one of the team’s 22 sacks. … NIU has played 59 one-score games since the start of the 2016 season — the most in the FBS in that span — going 28-31 in them. … This is the Huskies’ last Saturday game until Thanksgiving week as they play three straight midweek “MACtion” games.
