Mike Sabock always believed in Alex Kube.

A longtime assistant football coach at Northern Illinois and Western Michigan, Sabock never gave up recruiting Kube for the Huskies when he was a standout at Cary-Grove, even after Kube committed to Ball State.

Kube, a decorated linebacker at NIU from 2007 to 2010, died late Wednesday at Mercy Health in Rockford, where he was working as an assistant coach at Rockford East High School. He was 29.

Winnebago County Coroner Bill Hintz said the preliminary cause of death is pending further studies.

"We did the autopsy, but we didn't see anything from the naked eye," Hintz told the Tribune on Friday. "The next step is the toxicology and microbiology. The permanent cause of death is four to six weeks from the date of death."

Sabock said he had to persuade then-NIU coach Joe Novak to take one last attempt at getting Kube, a 2005 Tribune second-team All-State selection, to commit to the Huskies.

Alex Kube Terry Harris / Chicago Tribune

Cary-Grove's Alex Kube on Oct. 11, 2005.

Cary-Grove's Alex Kube on Oct. 11, 2005.

(Terry Harris / Chicago Tribune)

"Alex was a very good football player," Sabock said. "He could light you up. I saw that right away on film. The concern with Alex was (if) his grades were going to be what he needed to qualify. We loved him and had him high on our recruiting board, but Coach Novak didn't want to wait.

"I went to see Coach Novak, showed him his grades and that he was going to make it. I told him, 'I think I can change his mind.'"

After persuading Kube to switch his commitment and sign with the Huskies, Sabock said Kube always made a point to seek him out and thank him, even after Sabock took a job at Western Michigan in 2007 following Kube's redshirt freshman season.

"That was the kind of kid he was," said Sabock, now retired from coaching and living in Florida. "A lot of guys forget that stuff. He was happy to be at Northern Illinois — that's what he wanted deep inside. He was a tough, hard-nosed kid and a really nice young man. He had a great career at Northern Illinois."

A linebacker and safety on Cary-Grove's Class 7A runner-up team in 2005, Kube tallied 311 career tackles in 50 games at NIU, including 40 starts. The Sporting News named him a freshman All-American in 2007, and he was a third-team All-MAC selection as a senior.

Novak, who coached Kube for two seasons, said Kube was determined to succeed.

"Alex was a really good athlete, a very good player and very intense," Novak said. "He loved to play the game. He was a hard worker and very determined to make himself as good a player as he could be. His passion was what I remember."

After tryouts with the Vikings and Bears and a stint with the Chicago Rush in the Arena League, Kube started a sports performance training business in East Dundee called Elite 7 Performance. According to the Northwest Herald, Kube moved to Rockford last year when his wife, Elizabeth, took a job with a hospital there.

"Thoughts and prayers are with the Kube family," NIU coach Rod Carey posted Thursday on Twitter. "We have heavy hearts today. He will be missed as a husband, son, friend and teammate."

Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.

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