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MEET THE COACHES 2019 NIU FOOTBALL STAFF HEAD COACH THOMAS HAMMOCK First Season NIU (2002) | Third Season (Overall) at NIU Sometimes, you can go home again. always has been his ‘dream job’. On January 18, 2019, Thomas Hammock, a former Huskie player and “This has always been my dream,” he assistant coach, returned home to Northern Illinois University as the said. “When I was a GA at Wisconsin 23rd head coach in the history of the NIU football. A native of Fort [in 2003-04], I said I want to be the head coach at Northern Illinois Wayne, Indiana and one of the top football student-athletes in school University, because I knew what Coach [Joe] Novak did for me, and I history, Hammock returned to DeKalb after five seasons (2014-18) as want to do the same for others. It’s an unbelievable feeling to have the MEET an assistant coach with the Baltimore Ravens. opportunity to come home to a place that I love, to the school that has meant so much to me. This program has meant everything to me and He is the first African-American head coach in NIU football history, I will give it everything I have.” but perhaps even more importantly, he is the first alumnus to lead the Huskies as a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program. Now that he has his dream job, Hammock is of course, intent on winning and taking the program - which has enjoyed unprecedented NIU Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics Sean T. success since his days as a player - to the next level. Just as importantly, Frazier, whose relationship with Hammock extends back to their time he believes in developing players, attention to detail and demands at the University of Wisconsin, said Hammock’s desire to be the head accountability in the classroom. THE coach at his alma mater was no secret. “The reason I wanted this job is to build a legacy,” he said. “A legacy “The first time I met Thomas it was clear his goal was to be the is not what you leave behind. A legacy is what you leave within. All the head coach of Northern Illinois University,” Frazier said. “At that point, qualities Coach Novak instilled in me, I want to instill those in future I didn’t know too much about Northern Illinois University. Well I got players and the players currently in the program. to know about NIU quickly, because I knew this coach was going someplace. I can tell you, this is truly his dream job, “I think being a student-athlete is a privilege. I was a two-time Academic All-American, so when I talk to kids about going to class “To be able to bring back a part of our tradition and unite all of our and doing the things necessary to be successful, it starts there. If I Huskies, and to have someone who’s iconic in our history books as COACHES can’t trust you to go to class, it’s going to be hard to trust you on third a student and as an athlete - is fantastic. Thomas has always talked down. It’s just that simple, so that’s going to be the expectation and about NIU, The Hard Way, the tradition, the hard work, and the grit. that’s where we’re going.” All those things make it special to bring him home as our head coach.” To achieve his dream, Hammock put in the work, beginning with Hammock, now a 16-year coaching veteran, said NIU is now and two seasons at Wisconsin as a graduate assistant, followed by two NIUHuskies.com | Twitter: @NIUAthletics | Facebook & Instagram: NIU Huskies 11 2019 NIU FOOTBALL STAFF In 2018, the Ravens won the AFC North Division title with a 10-6 ABOUT HAMMOCK record and finished third in the NFL with 19 rushing touchdowns. COACHING EXPERIENCE Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh, one of Hammock’s mentors 2019- NIU (Head Coach) and a fellow MAC product, said the Ravens’ loss was NIU’s gain. 2014-18 Baltimore Ravens (Running Backs) 2011-13 Wisconsin “He’s a tremendous coach, great leader and great developer of • Asst. Head Coach/RBs/Recruiting Coord. (2012-13) players,” Harbaugh said. “He’s a smart game planner, a hard-nosed • Running Backs (2011) disciplinarian but a player’s coach at the same time. He relates to his 2007-10 Minnesota guys really well. He’s been a big part of our success.” • Running Backs (2007-09) • Co-Offensive Coord./Running Backs (2010) Prior to his five seasons in Baltimore, Hammock spent three years at 2005-06 NIU (Running Backs) the University of Wisconsin, where he was the running backs coach and 2003-04 Wisconsin (Graduate Assistant) assistant head coach. In 2011, Hammock’s first season in Madison, the POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE Badgers ranked 11th nationally in rushing, averaging 235.6 yards per 2018 NFL Playoffs (Baltimore Ravens) game. Hammock helped Montee Ball lead the nation in rushing yards 2014 NFL Playoffs (Baltimore Ravens) (1,923) and break Barry Sanders’ single-season NCAA touchdown 2013 Capital One Bowl (Wisconsin) record with 39 scores, including 33 rushing. Ball was a consensus first 2012 Rose Bowl Game (Wisconsin) team All-American and a Heisman Trophy finalist for the Badgers, who 2012 Big Ten Championship Game (Wisconsin) 2011 Rose Bowl Game (Wisconsin) finished 11-3 and played in the Rose Bowl. 2011 Big Ten Championship Game (Wisconsin) The following season, Wisconsin once again ranked among the 2009 Insight Bowl (Minnesota) 2008 Insight Bowl (MInnesota) nation’s elite rushing teams with an average of 236.4 rushing yards per 2006 Poinsettia Bowl (NIU) game to rank 13th nationally. Ball became the NCAA’s all-time leader 2005 MAC Championship (NIU) in rushing touchdowns with 77 and won the Doak Walker Award as the 2004 Outback Bowl (Wisconsin) nation’s top running back, as he gained 1,830 rushing yards to lead 2003 Music City Bowl (Wisconsin) Wisconsin back to the Rose Bowl. PLAYING EXPERIENCE In 2013, Hammock’s final season at Wisconsin, the Badgers set a 1999-2002 NIU (Tailback) school record with 3,689 rushing yards to rank eighth in the nation. James White and Melvin Gordon each earned second team All-Big Ten EDUCATION College B.S., NIU, 2002 M.S., Wisconsin, 2005 High School Bishop Luers (Ind.), 1999 PERSONAL Birthplace Jersey City, N.J. Hometown Fort Wayne, Ind. Family Wife, Cheynnitha, daughter Tierra; son Thomas Douglas seasons as an assistant at NIU under Huskie Hall of Famer Joe Novak (2005-06). Hammock then served stints as a college assistant coach at Minnesota and Wisconsin before joining the Baltimore Ravens organization in 2014 In five seasons as the running backs coach with the Ravens, Hammock helped Baltimore’s rushing attack finish in the top 11 in the NFL three times, including this past season when the Ravens had the second-best rushing offense in the league, averaging 152.6 yards per game. The Ravens made the playoffs twice in Hammock’s time in Baltimore. During Hammock’s first season in 2014, Hammock helped revitalize the Ravens run game that had finished 30th in the NFL the prior season. The 2014 Ravens finished eighth in the NFL in rushing, averaging 126.2 yards per game, as they posted a 10-6 record and reached the AFC Divisional Round of the playoffs as a wild card. Hammock helped mentor running back Justin Forsett to his first career Pro Bowl in 2014 as he rushed for a career-high 1,266 yards, fifth-most in the NFL. Baltimore fullback Kyle Juszczyk was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time in 2016 after he led the NFL in catches (37) and receiving yards (266) by a fullback. The Ravens run game finished 11th in the league in 2017 as they averaged 116.0 yards per game. Alex Collins had a breakout season Hammock was a 1,000-yard rusher for the Huskies in both 2000 under Hammock’s guidance, rushing for 973 yards while tallying 1,160 and 2001, while garnering CoSIDA first team Academic All-America yards from scrimmage. Collins’ 4.6 yards per catch ranks fourth among honors each year. running backs in the NFL. 12 NIUHuskies.com | Twitter: @NIUAthletics | Facebook & Instagram: NIU Huskies 2019 NIU FOOTBALL STAFF honors as the duo each rushed for over 1,000 yards. Gordon was a semifinalist for both the Maxwell and Doak Walker Awards; the Badgers finished the season with a 9-4 record. Hammock’s three seasons at Wisconsin from 2011- 13 marked his second stint with the Badgers program, having begun his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Wisconsin in 2003-04. During that time, UW played in the Music City Bowl (2003) and the Outback Bowl (2004). The former Huskie running back returned to DeKalb as an assistant coach for head coach Joe Novak for two seasons in 2005-06. In Hammock’s first season, NIU Hall of Famer Garrett Wolfe rushed for 1,580 yards and 16 touchdowns in just nine games as NIU won the MAC West Division and appeared in the MAC Championship Game for the first time. During the 2006 campaign, Wolfe rushed for an NCAA-best 1,928 yards as the Huskies reached the Poinsettia Bowl. Hammock helped Wolfe earn All-America and first team All-MAC honors in both 2005 and 2006. Wolfe was also the Vern Smith Leadership Award winner as the MAC’s Most Valuable Player in 2006. Following his two seasons with the Huskies, Hammock spent four years as the running backs coach at the University of Minnesota (2007-10), helping the Golden Gophers to the Insight Bowl in both 2008 and 2009.