NIC-10's 100 Greatest Football Players: No. 53 - Kevin Selover, Hononegah

The No. 53 player on our list was the battering ram that keyed the greatest rushing attack in NIC-10 history and then turned into a defensive building block who paved the way to Northern Illinois University's golden age.

At Hononegah, Kevin Selover teamed with quarterback Chris Finlen and halfback Matt Beachey to create one of the most dynamic offenses ever seen in the NIC-10. In 1995, the trio led the Indians to a 5-4 record. Finlen was second in the conference in passing. Selover had 468 yards rushing and nine touchdowns and, more importantly, was the lead blocker for Beachey, who was third in the conference with 731 yards and three touchdowns.

In 1996, everyone got better exponentially.

Finlen led the conference with 1,146 yards passing and 10 touchdowns. Selover finished seventh in the conference with 660 yards and 13 touchdowns and Beachey exploded for 2,350 yards and 25 touchdowns. No one has come close to his rushing totals since.

The Indians won the NIC-10 with an 8-0 mark and made it to the IHSA Class 5A semifinals before falling to Joliet Catholic. Hononegah averaged 37 points per game. The Indians haven't been back to the semifinals since.

The Indians used Selover exclusively on offense at the start of his senior year, but in the playoffs, needing to shore up its weaker defense, it began playing him more as a linebacker, foreshadowing where he'd make his future mark.

After the season, both Selover and Finlen signed with Northern Illinois University.

It was good and bad timing. The timing was good because NIU was terrible. The Huskies had suffered through five straight losing seasons under Charlie Sadler and turned to Joe Novak to turn things around. Instead, in 1996, NIU went 1-10, its worst season since 1976.

So the Huskies were desperate for players and Selover got to play right away. He took over a starting linebacker spot in 1997 and held on to it for four years. In his NIU career, he would wrack up 307 tackles, that remains the third most in NCAA Division 1 history by any NIC-10 player.

And NIU got better. His first year was a disaster. The Huskies went 0-11. It remains the only time in a full season that NIU went winless in NCAA Division 1. They improved to 2-9 Selover's sophomore year, then 5-6 in 1999 and finally 6-5 in 2000.

Beginning Selover's senior year, NIU would have winning records in 14 of the next 16 years and play in 10 bowls.

Kevin enjoyed his time in DeKalb so much it took him a long time to leave. After earning his degree, NIU hired him as assistant director of corporate sales and marketing. He stayed in that role until 2009 when he joined Medtronics Spine & Biologics in sales in the Chicago area.

No. 53 - Kevin Selover, Hononegah
Year	Level	School	Accomplishments	Points
1995	High School	Hononegah	Winning Team	1
			Honorable Mention All-Conf.	0.5
1996	High School	Hononegah	First Team All-Conference	2
			Playoffs	1
			Conference Champion	1
			Final Four	1
1997	College	Northern Illinois	Letter Winner for NCAA Div. 1A	3.5
			Starter	1
1998	College	Northern Illinois	Letter Winner for NCAA Div. 1A	3.5
			Starter	1
1999	College	Northern Illinois	Letter Winner for NCAA Div. 1A	3.5
			Starter	1
2000	College	Northern Illinois	Letter Winner for NCAA Div. 1A	3.5
			Starter	1
			Winning Team	1
Total				25.50

NIC-10's 100 Greatest Football Players