Coming off their second Big Ten West championship in three years, Northwestern has their sights set on celebrating on the turf at Lucas Oil Stadium with purple and white confetti falling come December 2021.

The first step to that goal was their 15 spring practices that just wrapped up on Saturday.

Ryan Fieldhouse was about as secure as the Pentagon this spring, though, with closed practices and just a handful of press conferences. Little to no information made its way to Wildcat fans over these last eight weeks, save for what they could discern from the videos or Instagram posts the football program put out.

But we still managed to piece together 10 lessons from one of the quietest springs in recent memory.

Head coach Pat Fitzgerald is notorious for his secrecy and prefers not letting too much information about his program reach the general public. He was pretty successful in that regard this spring -- although COVID restrictions helped him lock things down this year.

All practices were closed, with the exception of the final practice, where select media members were allowed but not permitted to report what they saw. There were only four media availabilities, and half of them weren't even directly about spring ball (defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil's introductory press conference and pro day).

Northwestern opens the 2021 season against a Michigan State team they are very familiar with and lost to in each of the last two seasons, so maybe Fitzgerald is hoping to have a few surprises in store for the Spartans on Sept. 4.

Northwestern's defense in 2020 was one of the best in the country. The man pulling the strings was none other than "the G.O.A.T.", Mike Hankwitz. Hankwitz is currently enjoying his much deserved retirement, and O'Neil has taken the reins for the Wildcats.

O'Neil has his work cut out for him as Northwestern lost eight key contributors from their defense last season. O'Neil is committed to being himself when it comes to building the identity of his defense in Evanston, but that doesn't mean that he is going to throw away everything that Hankwitz did.

"I've got three great position coaches who believe strongly in some of the things they were doing," O'Neil said. "It's more creating our system, not blowing it up and putting in my system."

The players have responded well to what O'Neil has brought to NU, including his energy. One player who's particularly excited is returning first-team All-American safety Brandon Joseph.

"I don't think we could've asked for anything better than this," Joseph said. "Getting a dude like Coach O'Neil that has the experience that he has and has seen the things he's seen.

"He's been here for a few weeks, and he's already evolved my game into something I didn't even know I could do. Having Coach O'Neil here, it's going to be exciting to see what we can do on defense."

Two years ago, Clemson transfer and former five-star recruit Hunter Johnson was the presumptive favorite in his battle with TJ Green. Fast-forward to this year and Johnson is the surprising challenger making a run at the starting job.

Come training camp, Johnson will most likely be duking it out with his roommate, and fellow highly-touted transfer from the other school in South Carolina, Ryan Hilinski.

Offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian said that the goal this spring was not to name a starting quarterback, and they haven't. Considering that in two of the last three seasons, the program didn't announce the starting quarterback until he ran on the field for the first drive of the season opener, Wildcat fans shouldn't get their hopes up in regards to hearing much about this battle in the fall, either.

Though Andrew Marty will also have a say in the matter, sources have told Wildcatreport that both Johnson and Hilinski had very strong springs.

Hilinski had an interesting year at South Carolina last season. After starting 11 games as a true freshman in 2019, Hilinski barely played under new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. But he quickly picked up Bajakian's system through daily Zoom calls, and he enrolled at Northwestern at the start of spring quarter so he could participate in the final three weeks of spring practice. Quarterbacks in Bajakian's offense need to have the ability to make plays with their legs, and Hilinski is more of a pure pocket passer. If Hilinksi ends up winning the job, the offense may have to shift away from some of the concepts they used with Peyton Ramsey at the helm.

The issue with Johnson was never physical: he has a cannon attached to his right shoulder and can make every throw on the field. He also has the ability to hurt a defense with his legs. Johnson's struggles in 2019 were well documented, and he often held the ball too long. But in his second year in Bajakian's system, sources say Johnson has been getting the ball out on time and on target. If that's the case, NU could have a pitched battle at QB for the second time in three seasons.

With Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman and Riley Lees moving on to the NFL and Kyric McGowan transferring to Georgia Tech, Northwestern was without their three leading receivers from 2020. That meant that several inexperienced targets got some valuable reps this spring as they look to make a bigger impact next season.

Sources said that Bryce Kirtz was the Wildcats' best receiver during the spring. The redshirt sophomore has shown good hands and run-after-the-catch ability after catching six passes for 67 yards last season.

Malik Washington, who entered and left the transfer portal this offseason, was injured at the end of the 2020 season but has put on a good amount of muscle this offseason and figures to be a part of Bajakian's plans. JJ Jefferson missed the final six games of 2019 and all of last season with injuries. If he can stay healthy he could be a downfield weapon for NU's strong-armed quarterbacks.

Berkeley Holman, another contributor who had injury issues at the end of last season, has 16 career catches. Wayne Dennis Jr., Genson Hooper-Price and early enrollee Jacob Gill are also looking to get on the field for the Wildcats.

This fall, three talented newcomers will be added to the fold in training camp. Graduate transfer Stephon Robinson Jr. totaled 75 catches for 1,092 yards (14.6 YPC) and nine receiving touchdowns in two years at Kansas. The other two newcomers will be true freshmen Calvin Johnson II and Jordan Mosley, big time speed guys who have the potential to stretch the field for the Wildcats.

With those three joining the fray, the fall will be even more important than the spring in deciding the receiver rotation. It's not until then that Bajakian and wide receivers coach Dennis Springer will have their full complement of weapons to choose from.

In the first six games of 2020, Cam Porter had eight carries for 32 yards and one touchdown. Over the final three, he carried the ball 73 times for 301 yards and four touchdowns.

Talk about finishing strong.

Going into 2021, Porter is the unquestioned starter in the Cats' backfield and he will look to build on his 2020 success. Sources say he looked ferocious and fast this spring, and he's taken the necessary steps to become an even better weapon for NU.

Last year, Porter sought out contact; if there was a defender in his way, he usually tried to run through, and not around them. We might seem him try to elude or run away from defenders more often next season.

If you don't take our word for it, heed someone who has first-hand knowledge. Former Ohio State linebacker Justin Hilliard said Porter was the third most difficult guy to tackle that he played against in his college career, behind NFL running backs Saquon Barkley and Jonathan Taylor.

At 220 pounds, Porter is an absolute load to bring down. If he adds adds another step of speed, he could be the bell cow for the Wildcats moving forward.

Two-thirds of Northwestern's famed Irish Law Firm are gone. Paddy Fisher and Blake Gallagher and their combined for 170 tackles, 14 TFLs, two sacks and a pair of interceptions in 2020 have graduated. Only super senior Chris Bergin is back at the SAM spot to lead the linebacking corps.

The rest of the spots are up for grabs, but O'Neil is happy with what he's seen so far.

“Obviously we know about Bergin, he’s played a lot of football,” O'Neil said. “But a couple young guys that I thought had really taken a step in the right direction is KJ (Khalid Jones), Cullen Coleman (and) Bryce Gallagher -- the new Gallagher has stepped up, and I think those guys that graduated did such a great job leading that room and help developing those guys and Timmy McGarigle is an unbelievable linebackers coach, so don’t be shocked if those guys still play at a high level.”

Indeed, linebacking is in the Gallaghers' blood, and Bryce seems poised to fill his brother's shoes at some point.

Last year, in NU's games against Maryland and Illinois, when the starters came out, Peter McIntyre and Jones manned the WILL and MIKE positions, respectively. McIntyre is a fifth-year senior who has contributed on special teams throughout his career. Jones has waited behind Fisher for a chance to start, and Coleman was a highly-rated recruit who chose Northwestern over CFP regulars Alabama, Notre Dame and Ohio State.

Xander Mueller, who was impressive in the spring, and Jaylen Rivers are also pushing for playing time.

Jones' athleticism and McIntyre's experience make them the leaders in the clubhouse to fill out the "Firm 2.0", but O'Neil has no shortage of options.

After starting 33 straight games to begin his Northwestern career before getting injured at the end of 2019, defensive end Samdup Miller opted out of the 2020 season. He's back for 2021, and that's good news for a Northwestern defense that lost its best two pass rushers from last season.

Eku Leota led the team with four sacks but transferred to Auburn. Earnest Brown IV only had one sack but was a consistent force off the edge and helped create opportunities for everyone else. He is now pursuing an NFL career.

Miller, who has 7.5 sacks in his career, will be playing alongside Adetomiwa Adebawore on the first unit.

Northwestern loves to rotate guys up front, so there will be a handful of new names attempting to put pressure on the quarterback off the edge this season.

Six-foot-seven Sean McLaughlin and Devin O'Rourke will likely be the next guys up at defensive end. And keep your eye on Grayson Mann, who is listed as a linebacker but filled in for Leota as a speed rusher off the edge last season. He has put on weight this offseason and will likely reprise his speed rusher role in 2021.

Four class of 2021 commits enrolled early at Northwestern and took part in spring practices: wide receiver Jacob Gill, quarterback Brendan Sullivan, running back Anthony Tyus III and linebacker Mac Uihlein.

Coaches have thus far been impressed by the 215-pound Tyus III, who runs with power similar to Porter and has a college-ready body. The combination of Porter and Tyus III in the backfield could really wear down opposing defenses with their physical, downhill running style.

Uihlein is another player who could see action in the fall. An athletic 6-foot-1, 215-pounder, Uihlein was the No. 1 player in Illinois for 2021 and the highest-ranked member of the Wildcats' incoming freshman class.

Only two players on the Wildcats' offensive line seem to have their spot locked in for the 2021 season: Peter Skoronski at left tackle and Sam Gerak at center.

Skoronksi has already established himself as an All-Big Ten left tackle. Gerak had a productive spring and is the leader of the group as the center.

The other three spots will be up for grabs in the fall.

Ethan Wiederkehr, who started at right guard last season, will likely be a starter again this year, but at what position is still unknown. Offensive line coach Kurt Anderson likes to put the best five on the field regardless of position, so Wiederkehr could move back to right tackle, where he made three starts in 2019, if Zachary Franks or Ben Wrather aren't quite ready to start on the outside.

The guard positions are dependent on what happens at right tackle. If Wiederkehr stays inside, redshirt freshman Josh Priebe and junior Charlie Schmidt would likely battle it out for the left guard spot. Schmidt started for an injured Wiederkehr at right guard last season against Michigan State, but Priebe was a highly-regarded recruit who could be ready to push for a starting job.

Anderson will continue to tinker with his line in the fall, when freshmen Caleb Tiernan, Josh Thompson and Jackson Carsello arrive.

JR Pace II and Greg Newsome II were the leaders for a Northwestern secondary that was the best in the country in pass efficiency defense in 2020. They're both gone, leaving the leadership roles with the returning starters: Joseph and AJ Hampton.

They seem ready for the challenge.

"My role is changing," Joseph said. "Last year, I had all the experience in the world around me, and I'm losing a lot of that this year. I'm realizing that I'm going to need to step into that leadership position. I'm going to use everything I learned from them boys last year.

"I had Greg Newsome, JR Pace, Paddy Fisher, Blake Gallagher; I had probably the best defensive players in the nation surrounding me. So I'm going to take everything that they taught me and try to use it in the leadership (role) that I want to have this year."

Hampton is trying to keep the confidence and attitude that Newsome II played with alive in the DB room

"Greg thinks he's the best at everything, no matter what it is" Hampton said. "It's just that chip on his shoulder; he takes everything personally. He wants to be the best and he wants to win.

"That's been one thing that I've been trying to transfer over to the young guys, and I'm really glad he transferred over to me. When you play with that chip on your shoulder, that 'why not me?' it really takes you to a totally different level."

Good attitudes aren't the only thing returning to the Sky Team. Quite a few good players are back, too. Joseph, a first-team All-American, has his sights set on winning the Jim Thorpe Award. At corner, Hampton is graded as the sixth-best returning corner in the Big Ten, while Cameron Mitchell is graded as the best by Pro Football Focus. Guys like Rod Heard and Coco Azema are waiting to step into larger roles, too.

It may be under new leadership, but the Sky Team's future is still bright.