For Thomas Hammock, a return to Northern Illinois University is more than just a triumphant homecoming. For Hammock, accepting the job as the head coach at his alma mater brought an emotional sense of closure to a playing career than ended more than a decade ago.
"I never wanted to be a coach," Hammock said on Glenn Clark Radio Jan. 31. "I never wanted to coach guys like myself. I was difficult, I was hard-headed, I was stubborn, I was all those things."
Hammock racked up 2,432 yards on the ground for the Huskies from 1999-2002, good for 13th in program history. However, Hammock changed his views when a heart condition forced him to hang up the spikes before he graduated in 2002.
