Pat Schiller knows Miami is nice this time of year, and he hears it’s even better now with a rush of fellow Northern Illinois football alumni in town for tonight’s Orange Bowl.

Regrettably, the linebacker from Geneva won’t be one of them. He’s still sporting red, black and white for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.

Schiller, a practice squad linebacker, explored the idea of zipping to and from south Florida for the game with teammate Michael Turner, a Huskies running back in the early 2000s. Although the Falcons have clinched home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs and a bye from the upcoming wild-card weekend, the team still is practicing Wednesday morning, keeping Schiller and Turner at home for NIU’s New Year’s date with Florida State.