Adamski embraces leadership role

E-mail this story

Print this story

Share

For more NIU coverage, visit HuskieWire.com

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – One of the weirdest pre-game rituals fifth-year senior center Eddie Adamski has developed in his final season with the Huskies is smacking sophomore teammates Joe Pawlak and Adam Kiel before every game.

It’s Adamski’s way of ensuring the young right side of the Huskies’ line isn’t thinking too much, allowing them to get too nervous.

“You’ve got to keep them loose,” Adamski said. “You can let the nerves get to you.”

On Saturday, the trio were part of Northern Illinois’ (2-1) most successful blocking game of the season. Even more, it was one of the Huskies most successful blocking days of Adamski’s career.

They paved the way for sophomore Me’co Brown to run for a career-high 150 yards, Chad Spann to run for two more touchdowns and quarterback Chandler Harnish to pass for 174 yards. That all came against one of the biggest and most aggressive defensive lines the Huskies will see all season.

In all of the “boneyard” games – a designation reserved for the Huskies’ BCS conference opponents – that Adamski has played in, this is the first win.

“We’ve come close a lot of times but this time we were able to pull it out,” he said afterward, grinning ear to ear.

How it happened was a combination of reasons. But one of the main parts in the equation was the play of the offensive line, led by Adamski and left guard Jason Onyebuagu.

“Eddie is the captain of the offensive front, he’s calling out fronts and he’s calming guys down,” NIU offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover said. “That rookie right side, he’s working with them and just taken them under his wing like J.O. did with Trevor [Olsen] last season.”

The only downside to having a veteran player like Adamski is that next season he’ll be missed so much when he’s gone. That’s something Limegrover doesn’t want to even think about yet.

“Eddie and J.O., offensive line coaches are lucky to have guys like that,” Limegrover said. “They just know their roles. They’re smart football players, they know their roles, they’re intuitive and they make my job a whole heck of a lot easier.

“It will be a pretty sad day, whenever that day is, when I have to say goodbyes.”