DeKALB – Northern Illinois special teamer Bobby Winkel played at Huskie Stadium three times before entering college, all as a budding prospect for the Tri-City Chargers.

His teams went 2-1 in league championship games at NIU. The heavyweight eighth-grade team that also included Huskies linebacker Michael Santacaterina did not qualify.

Stalking the stadium turf is much less of a novelty these days for NIU’s Tri-Cities connection, which also includes left tackle Ryan Brown, emergency quarterback Matt Williams and reserve fullback Jess Striedl. Sharing a huddle with grown youth football teammates, however, doesn’t seem to get old. If you’re going to represent your area code, why not a place like Miami for tonight’s Orange Bowl against Florida State?