Return of the MAC: I Have Reason to Believe NIU RB Telly Johnson is on SOAP Watch
RB Telly Johnson got a late Christmas present this year, and CFFers would be wise to take notice.
Return of the Mack (Watch my flow)… Return of the Mack (Up and down)… Return of the Mack (Oh my god)
- Mark Morrison, musician
I’d expect that any CFF wiseman and/or CFB historian worth his salt will remember the infallible career of the great Garrett Wolfe. NIU’s workhorse between the years 2004-2006, Wolfe accumulated a pig-gasmic 807 carries over three seasons. Yes, you read that right.
And, just when you thought he was a one trick pony, this dude hits you with a career total of 58 receptions for another 588 yards to go with his 5100 rushing yards. Sigh… it was a different era of CFB, ladies and gentlemen, it was a different time.
They don’t make ‘em like this anymore. However, this NIU program has always been a bit of a throwback under head coach Thomas Hammock. I was reminded of this notion when I saw who Hammock decided to hire as his OC for the 2025 season. That man’s name is Quinn Sanders, and he was the head coach of Charleston, which is a Division II. school in West Virginia.
The great Garrett Wolfe came to mind when I decided to take a look at Charleston’s offensive output last season. I don’t know who Chavon Wright is, but I would have liked to have him on my fantasy team if Division II. players were eligible. We’re going to get more into this in the next section momentarily as you’d expect.
As far as the current version of NIU is concerned, they do actually return a pretty good RB in freshman Telly Johnson. Those who know me intimately are already aware that I have a particular proclivity for players from Florida and Georgia, specifically. Call it an internal bias I have.
Mr. Johnson is a peach state native, which is good news in my mind. This Mr. Chavon Wright character was an Opa Locka product… see where I’m going with this? A lot of ballers from these states, I tell you. And, as a wise man once told me “you’ll never go broke betting on players from Florida”.
I’ve taken that notion and extended it to Georgia, because, I think the state is equally fruitful. In fact, Johnson’s predecessor, the great Antario Brown, just so happens to be a Savannah, Georgia native himself. You just can’t make this stuff up.
Oh and by the way, if you’re new to the channel and don’t know what a SOAP is (you don’t have to admit this out loud), I recommend discreetly familiarizing yourself with this article:
Now, as promised, let us discuss this new OC and what he brings to NIU in 2025.
Coaching & System
RB1 PPG AVERAGE — HC: 141 (half ppr)
As mentioned, NIU’s new OC Quinn Sanders is coming over from Charleston. His RB1 last year, Chavon Wright, carried the football 355 times in 12 games. With those carries he amassed 2261 yards and 38 (holy shit) scores. The next closest RB had 84 carries for 334 yards.
The year previous Wright handled the football 271 times and rushed for 1611 yards and 20 scores in 12 games. The next closest runner had 98 carries for 769 yards.
However, Sanders’ first year as head coach wasn’t quite as fruitful. Wright still ran for over 1000 yards (1201), but it was with only 199 carries in 11 games, while the RB2 handled the rock 111 times for 506 yards in 10 games. Evidently (and disturbingly) this was a much more even split.
Prior to being promoted to the role of head coach, Sanders served as the OC at Charleston from 2020-21. In the 2021 season, there was a similar split to 2022, where the RB1 handled the rock 143 times and the RB2 handled it 113 times. Remarkably, the RB1 still managed 1110 yards (averaging 7.6 yards per carry) that season.
Sanders spent 2015-2019 in other roles, such as WRs and QBs coach at Charleston. But if we go all the way back to 2012-13, he was the RBs coach with the program, and the RB1 had 238 carries for 1631 yards and 18 scores (2012) and 152 carries for 829 yards and four scores (2013).
So this guy is a real mixed bag. However, I feel confident given the state of the current NIU RB depth chart that Telly Johnson will trend more towards the Chavon Wright variety rather than that of the committee variety we’ve seen (unfortunately) permeate the play calling of this great man, Quinn Sanders.
And, I got so excited about Sanders that I almost forgot to mention Thomas Hammock, who remains as head coach of NIU. Below you can find his historical numbers:
Hammock’s numbers certainly won’t blow you away. But it should be noted that Antario Brown, at various times, has served as a good RB in CFF. Albeit, he was inconsistent, but he did actually run for over 1000 yards on 212 carries in 2023. Hammock’s other 1000 yarder came in 2019, Tre Harbison, who ran for 1021 yards on 230 carries.
That’s why I focus primarily on the new OC, because that’s the important change here. We all knew Telly Johnson was an interesting and likely solid asset in CFF for 2025 already. The presence of Mr. Sanders—while not a guarantee of increased volume—elevates the profile significantly in my mind.
I don’t have seconds per play or tendency data on Sanders, but Hammock as you might expect averages a run-heavy offence with a 59/41 split. Hammock’s teams average anywhere between 68-71 plays per game, and approx. 28 seconds per play on average, which is on the slower end of the FBS average, but not among the slowest offences.
Telly Johnson (5’11, 205)
2024 RUSHING STATS: 103 - 480 - 4 (12.4 PPG)
Like so many players in GA, Telly Johnson looks to have been an under the radar gem. Our friend here played in a lower classification of Georgia high school ball (AAA), which might explain the lack of juice around his recruiting profile.
He was a two-way player, recording 79 tackles, a FF and a sack on defence, while also running for 1339 yards and 21 TDs on 169 carries. He carried (pun intended) his school to the playoffs of that classification as a senior in 2023.
His only other offer according to 247 was another MAC program, the Toledo Rockets, which also would have been a fun fit. He was not listed as a RB out of HS but instead labelled an ‘ATH’, and was ranked 239th at that position by 247 Sports.
His first collegiate action came on Oct. 26th vs. Ball State, where he carried the football six times for 48 yards. He then proceeded to go on a tear for the next two games carrying the rock 23 and 21 times, and accumulated 141 and 104 yards. He also scored twice.
In his next and final three games he carried the ball 15, 20, and 18 times, but failed to hit 100 yards again on the year. His passing usage was minimal to non-existent.
Overall, I’d say it was a good year for a true freshman. Especially so considering they already had veteran RB Antario Brown in the fold. Brown now moves on and the torch is firmly in the grasp of Telly J.
The good news is Telly J is sized appropriately to take on the workhorse role and that excites me about the prospects for 2025. As with all MAC players, returns will likely be minimal in September—in October we feast.
Oh, and here’s a fact that will blow your mind: Garrett Wolfe was only 5’7 and 177(!!) pounds when he played at NIU… It was a different time, I tell you. A different time. ◾
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Sample of 2018-2024 excluding 2020.
Eager to see your 2025 RB rankings!
In the interim, rank the following: Al-Jay, Baugh, Donelson, Bang-Man, Telly….. Lots of MACtion on this list… Who do you prioritize for supplemental draft?