2025 Northern Michigan Football Season Preview

Under third-year head coach Shane Richardson, the Northern Michigan Wildcats are eager to get back on the gridiron for the 2025 season. Northern returns three All-GLIAC Second Teamers in RB Jahi Wood, OL Daniel Babcock, and LB Jax Hertel. In total, the ‘Cats return 30 lettermen, with more than half of those being starters a season ago. Wood will lead a running back room that was third across the GLIAC in 2024, averaging 178.0 yards/game. Wood (668 yards), Vince Martin (346), and Nico Lukkarinen (258) all finished inside the top-20 in the conference and will be accompanied by redshirt freshman Noah Dobert, who scored three TD’s against Minnesota Duluth in the spring game.

Defensively, Hertel finished inside the GLIAC’s top-10 with 40 solo tackles last season. Joining Hertel is senior Mitch Larkin, who paced the conference in tackles in 2023 with 118 total tackles.

On the 50th anniversary season of NMU’s historic National Championship title in 1975 with QB Steve Mariucci, the 2025 Wildcats are hungry and ready to be aggressive and confident in their abilities. The Green and Gold will see their first test come on August 28 when they host Minnesota State Moorhead in the Superior Dome for Thursday Night Football.