Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Howling at the opportunity
Wolfe tries to make good after missed chance last season
Article by:
Ian Waddick - Assistant Sports Editor
• iwaddick@northernstar.info
Things were looking good for NIU sophomore Garrett Wolfe last spring.
The 5-foot-7, 172-pound running back moved to No. 2 in the depth chart
and followed with a 71-yard performance in the 2003 NIU Spring Football
Game.
Everything went downhill from there.
Wolfe found out on the day of his last final he was a credit short
because he dropped a class, which cost him his eligibility. He later
had surgery to repair an injury to his right ankle, which he injured
in the spring game. The operation ended his season and kept him looking
toward next year.
At the 2004 NIU Football Spring Game on Thursday, he will get a second
chance to claim his spot in the NIU running back depth chart. This time
will be different for Wolfe, who tries to fill the spot held by the
nation’s second-leading rusher the past two seasons in Michael
Turner.
“This game is most definitely very important because it can be
a coming-out party for me,” Wolfe said. “It’s going to
be great getting back out there.”
If Wolfe doesn’t win the job outright, he might wind up as part
of a platoon-backfield, NIU running backs coach DeAndre Smith said.
“Of course, the selfish side of me wants all the balls,”
Wolfe said. “But it is about being an adult and realizing that
this is a team.”
Wolfe’s 40-yard dash time, the second-fastest among the running
backs, has left his coaches talking highly of his playmaking ability.
“He’s picked up where he left off last spring,” Smith
said. “He’s a playmaker — a guy who can take it the distance.
I think the football community will really enjoy watching him play.”
Coach Joe Novak comments: He had a great spring last season and came
up on a fluke thing with academics. He’s probably the biggest big-play
guy of the group.
Year (2004): sophomore
Height: 5-foot-7
Weight: 172 pounds
40-yard dash: 4.47 seconds
Bench press: 370 pounds
Squats: 285 pounds
Power clean: 250 pounds
Career NIU rushing yards: 0
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