No starts in Northern Illinois’s last 7 games.
Taron Dickens started Northern Illinois’s last game, L 24-31 at UNLV, Oct 31.
Northern Illinois’s next game: at San José State, Sat Nov 7, 4:00 p.m. ET
Northern Illinois is 0-8.
Played for two head coaches in three seasons at Northern Illinois. On tape: 17 passing yards against Iowa, Week 1, 2026.
20 passing yards · 0 passing TD · -1 rushing yards
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| Season | Team | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Northern Illinois | 5 | 13 | 38.5% | 20 | 1.5 | 0 | 1 | 36.0 |
| 2025 | Northern Illinois | 9 | 21 | 42.9% | 105 | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 100.6 |
| 2024 | Northern Illinois | 4 | 7 | 57.1% | 50 | 7.1 | 0 | 0 | 117.1 |
| Career | 18 | 41 | 43.9% | 175 | 4.3 | 1 | 1 | 82.9 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Northern Illinois | 10 | −1 | −0.1 | 0 | 6 |
| 2025 | Northern Illinois | 45 | 216 | 4.8 | 5 | 36 |
| 2024 | Northern Illinois | 5 | 27 | 5.4 | 1 | 9 |
| Career | 60 | 242 | 4.0 | 6 | 36 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
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| Wk | Opp | Grade | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | YPA | QBR | SK | RUSH | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 0-40@ No. 22 Iowa | 4/10 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1.7 | — | 1 | -4 | Season-high 17 yds | |
| Wk 2 | L 24-28vs Illinois State | Left in Q1 | 1/3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | -- | 1 | 3 | |
| Total | 5/13 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 1.5 | — | 2 | -1 |
Week 1 · 2026
L 0-40
at Iowa
17 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · -4 rush yds (8 car)
With J. Ference — 41.8 yards per punt · 11 punts · 49 long · T. Dickens — 96 yds · 0 TD · 1 INT
The plays that mattered most
| Stat | His | Nation | Mountain West |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | 20 | T-307th of 370 | T-19th of 26 |
| Yards an attempt | 1.5 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| Touchdown passes | 0 | — | — |
| Passer rating | 36.0 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| Completion percentage | 38.5 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| Rushing yards | -1 | T-300th of 370 | 21st of 26 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 0 | — | — |
Counting stats rank all FBS quarterbacks with a pass attempt; the rates rank those with at least 10 attempts a game. He has 13 attempts of the 80 needed after 8 games, so the rates are not ranked.
| Rk | Quarterback | Yards | TD | INT | Att | Y/A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Micah Alejado | 2,186 | 9 | 6 | 337 | 6.5 |
| 2 | Luke Weaver | 1,810 | 11 | 8 | 242 | 7.5 |
| 3 | Nathan Hayes | 1,710 | 13 | 8 | 228 | 7.5 |
| 4 | Jackson Arnold | 1,660 | 13 | 4 | 212 | 7.8 |
| 5 | Taron Dickens | 1,617 | 8 | 6 | 247 | 6.5 |
| 6 | Toa Faavae | 888 | 5 | 7 | 101 | 8.8 |
| 7 | EJ Colson | 687 | 7 | 5 | 99 | 6.9 |
| 8 | Carter Jones | 654 | 3 | 2 | 89 | 7.3 |
| 9 | AJ Bianco | 397 | 2 | 3 | 71 | 5.6 |
| 10 | Liam Szarka | 296 | 1 | 4 | 38 | 7.8 |
| 11 | Luke Duncan | 265 | 2 | 5 | 55 | 4.8 |
| 12 | Luke Moga | 248 | 3 | 0 | 38 | 6.5 |
| 13 | Daniel Rolovich | 193 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 7.4 |
| 14 | Evan Medders | 92 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 6.6 |
| 15 | Robert McDaniel | 48 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3.7 |
| 16 | Trey Drake | 35 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8.8 |
| 17 | Brady Davidson | 27 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4.5 |
| 18 | Braesen Leon | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22.0 |
| 19 | Jalen Macon | 20 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 1.5 |
| 20 | Josh Johnson | 20 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5.0 |
| 21 | Bjorn Jurgensen | 13 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1.6 |
| 22 | Alex Orji | 9 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1.8 |
| 23 | Preston Brown | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1.0 |
| 24 | Reeve Slone | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1.0 |
| 25 | James Laubstein | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 |
| 26 | Kemper Hodges | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 |
Sorted by passing yards. Gray: under 10 attempts a game, so not ranked on yards an attempt.
Rogers and Bryant saw 7 of the 12 charted throws.
| Receiver | Targets, caught | Targets | Catches | Yards | Throw depth | After catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeAree Rogers | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | — | |
| La'Don Bryant | 3 | 2 | 12 | 7.7 | 0.0 | |
| George Dimopoulos | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7.3 | 0.0 | |
| Glen Weber | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0.0 | 4.0 | |
| Telly Johnson Jr. | 1 | 1 | 1 | -5.0 | 6.0 |
Play by play: 12 passes, 5 caught, 20 yards; the box score counts 13 attempts. Throw depth: average air yards per target. After catch: average yards after the catch per catch. Bar: targets; the blue part was caught.
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 10.0 YDS/g, 0.0 TD/g, 1.4 YPA, 0.5 INT/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Rob Harley
Pass share
53.1%
266 pass / 235 run
Plays / game
62.6
8 games
Scheme: Balanced.
| Jalen Macon | Threw in 2 of 8 games · 5 of 13, 20 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT · 1.5 yards an attempt on 13 attempts · ran for -1 yds, 0 TD |
| Taron Dickens | Threw in all 8 games · 157 of 247, 1,617 yds, 8 TD, 6 INT · 6.5 yards an attempt on 247 attempts · ran for 64 yds, 0 TD |
| Brady Davidson | Threw in 1 of 8 games · 4 of 6, 27 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT · 4.5 yards an attempt on 6 attempts |
Box score. Every quarterback on the team who has thrown a pass this season.
Who threw in each quarter. Blue: Jalen Macon. Gray: Taron Dickens, Brady Davidson. From the play by play.
Player standing · 2026
Fewer passes and runs a game than most FBS quarterbacks who play every week.
Returning starter at quarterback for a 3-9 Northern Illinois team that went -15 in the portal.
2026 is in progress.
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Thomas Hammock → Rob Harley. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
