Devereaux Peters and No. 4 Notre Dame were frustrated heading into Tuesday night’s game against Providence. Their exasperation only grew when they got off to a slow start. Eventually, they shook it off in a big way.When Chandler Harnish plays in front of a home crowd at Northern Illinois, his cheering section of family and friends usually consists of six to eight people.
It’s going to be significantly more when the Norwell graduate returns to his home state Saturday to play Purdue.
“I talked to my mom (Tuesday) morning, and she’s like, ‘I don’t mean to scare you, but we’ll probably have anywhere between 300 and 400 people, family and friends,’ ” Harnish said in a telephone interview Wednesday.
“We know a lot of people, and they’ll be there. But I don’t think that makes me any more nervous.”
Most of the contingent will come from Bluffton, Harnish’s hometown, but Harnish said he also has a cousin and uncle coming from Florida. Harnish isn’t sure whether his supporters will be in the same section – the tickets were ordered through Purdue – but they should be easy to spot.
It’s likely they’ll be wearing clashing gear.
“It’s kind of a cool thing because most people are Purdue fans, but at the same time, they’re Chandler fans, too,” he said. “So their loyalty obviously is going to be split. I think they’d like to see me do well, but deep down they probably want Purdue to do well also.”
There was a point when many thought there wouldn’t be split allegiances.
When Harnish was at Norwell, he always figured he’d play at Ross-Ade Stadium as a Boilermaker.
Harnish was heavily recruited by Purdue, though he was targeted as an “athlete” instead of a quarterback. Harnish said he didn’t mind that label and was willing to play any position. He just wanted to get on the field.
It was NIU that gave him that chance first.
Purdue was slow to offer a scholarship – Harnish said he was a “second-tier” prospect – but the Huskies wanted him to play quarterback. So Harnish signed with NIU and hasn’t regretted the decision.
“I was realistic with myself,” Harnish said in August. “I thought I could play MAC football earlier on in my career than I could Big Ten, just because it seems like (in the) Big Ten you have to pay your dues a little bit more and take your licks as a freshman, as a sophomore.
“I thought if I’m good enough, I felt like I could get on the field my sophomore year, junior year and senior year and play three years.
“Coming here was definitely a good choice for me just because I felt like I had an opportunity at a young age.”
Harnish has made good on that chance so far.
After setting the NIU record for total offense as a freshman, Harnish has settled into his role as the unquestioned starting quarterback and been solid. He’s completed 66 percent of his passes for 317 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions this year.
“He’s an all-around talented athlete, a guy who can burn you,” said Purdue linebackers coach Mark Hagen, who recruited Harnish. “He’ll be a load to handle on Saturday, I know that.”
