2019 Season Preview: Offensive Line

Fourth in a series of Northwestern position-by-position breakdowns going into the 2019 season.

“This team goes as the offensive line goes” is a pretty standard assertion for any team in the game of football. But at Northwestern, this adage holds a little truer, given the fact that they typically haul in “average” talent at the skill positions. So the offensive linemen here have to subscribe to the philosophy that “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” For new offensive line coach Kurt Anderson, this is exactly the attitude he wants- nay, demands - his linemen to have.

Though the new coach brings in new terminology, new technique and new eye progressions for his guys to learn, it’s a system he built from a strong resume. Growing up in the Chicago area (Glenview Glenbrook South High School), Anderson knows the landscape and can recruit the area. He played at Michigan under head coach Lloyd Carr and won the team award for top offensive lineman in 2001, in addition to All-Big Ten honors. Before coming to Evanston midway through last year, he previously coached at Michigan, Arkansas, and the NFLs’ Buffalo Bills.

The Wildcats went to the Big Ten Championship Game last season in large part due to the play of their haulers up front. They lose three of those starters that combined for 109 starts. That’s a lot of experience. Throw in a new system and coach, and you can see that the OL has its work cut out for it this year.

Should Northwestern fans be concerned? Let’s digest.

This group got better as season went on last year, especially in the stretch of pivotal divisional games against Wisconsin and Iowa. They overcame the adversity of losing their leading rusher and helped break in first-year RB Isaiah Bowser to have a productive season in the Big Ten, as he finished 9th in the conference in rush yards per game.

They were pretty good in the red zone, helping the offense to convert 30 of 47 scoring opportunities (64% scoring rate), giving the Wildcats just enough points to top the opponents nine times in 14 games. They were especially good inside the 10-yard-line, finding a way to buckle down and deliver seven points when the Cats really needed them.

Perhaps the most beneficial trait this group can boast is the incredibly low number of penalties committed. The entire team was the least penalized in the country, committing just five penalties all season - and three of those penalties were committed by guys who have departed.

On top of that, only five fumbles came out of the backfield all year, which is another byproduct of good offensive line play. The efforts of both Anderson and RB coach Lou Ayeni should keep this number relatively low.

The biggest improvement for this group in 2019 has to be the sack yield. The Wildcats were responsible for 36 sacks last year, totaling 251 yards. The silver lining, though, is that their sack rate of 6.1% was just 53rd in the country. This means that the 36 is a slightly inflated number, given that they were going at such a fast tempo and ran a lot of plays, allowing for more sack opportunities. But while that number isn’t as bad as it appears, it still needs to come down.

But Northwestern needs better pass protection even when the quarterback doesn’t wind up on his back. The Cats only averaged 6.35 yards per pass attempt last season, which means that quarterbacks weren’t really afforded the opportunity to throw deep very often. This was partially due to the O-line’s inability to sustain pass blocking for a longer period of time, in conjunction with the receivers’ lack of separation and downfield route progress. The Cats must be stronger in this area because they will play some of the Big Ten’s more dangerous pass rushing threats, like Michigan State, Ohio State and Iowa.

Another area that needs to improve is the production of the running game, which, of course, starts up front. Northwestern runners averaged just 3.1 ypc and 114.9 ypg last year. These totals were near the bottom of the NCAA and were a complete anomaly to Northwestern’s typical offensive strategy. The “nastiness” that Anderson (and strength coach Jay Hooten) hopes to develop should make the road graders up front a bit more effective, especially with a stronger and more experienced Bowser running behind them.

The success of this new line will dictate the Wildcats’ productivity this year. QB Hunter Johnson and his group of receivers are the strength of this offense heading into the season, so how well this line pass-protects and allows Johnson time will determine how effective it is. New starters on the right side at guard and tackle will need to gel and give the offense the ability to run in both directions, not just behind veteran Rashawn Slater on the left.

We get a good vibe from Anderson. He’s made good impressions with his player development and has assimilated well into the Northwestern football culture, starting as a defensive quality control analyst before the departure of Adam Cushing opened up the OL coaching job. Players say Anderson has command of his unit and interacts with his guys in a way that has been well-received.

We know these linemen are standouts in the classroom, but they could be a bit more physical on the turf. Anderson ascribes to the theory of former Chicago Bear OL coach Dick Stanfel, who said that the quintessential offensive lineman is “a mean [expletive] on the field and a perfect gentleman off.” Adds Anderson, “You've got to be a ground-pounding monster and get after it.”

Anderson has challenged his offensive line to be the leaders of the offense and works diligently to create energy and eliminate complacency. Jared Thomas, the fifth-year senior dean of the line, says that “To stay the same is to get worse… we need to get better each and every day. I've got to make sure we're trending in the right direction.”

LT Rashawn Slater, Jr. (26 starts at RT)

Two years ago, coach Pat Fitzgerald and his staff saw enough promise in the freshman Slater to put him at the starting right tackle spot. Slater didn’t relinquish that job for 26 straight games. Now, he’ll be moving to left tackle, but only because it carries more importance, protecting his quarterback’s blind side.

Some consider him to be the best offensive linemen of the group. He earned third-team all-Big Ten honors from opposing coaches last year and ranked as the fourth-rated offensive tackle in the Big Ten, per Pro Football Focus. He was classified as the highest graded freshman lineman in America the year before by PFF, as well. He’s certainly the best pass blocker, displaying good technique and quickness with both his hands and feet. Now he will need to add the quality of “leader” to his accomplishments this season.

LG Nik Urban, Jr. (3 starts)

Beginning his fourth year in the program, No. 66 has been the Cats’ sixth lineman the past couple years and looks to parlay that experience into a staring job. Urban started two games at RG and one at LG last year - most notably the Nebraska game where the Wildcats exploded for 487 yards of total offense. He also has taken some snaps as a reserve center, so the interior positions are nothing new to him.

Now, Urban will have an opportunity to shine as a starter but will have has some stiff competition behind him, which will either make him sharper or remove him from the lineup. An accomplished practice who has been a better run-blocker than pas-blocker, Urban is battle tested and ready for a permanent job. Now he has to prove it.

C Jared Thomas, Sr. (14 starts at C, 3 starts at LT)

Thomas enters 2019 as the eldest of the front five, and Anderson has said that he is fortunate to have this fifth-year senior as the anchor of his line. Starting every game last season and appearing in 37 throughout his career, Thomas was solid down the stretch. Not many problems occurred up the middle, thanks in big part to the play of No. 65.

With so many snaps coming out of the shotgun, Thomas perfected nearly every single one, which is a plus in this up-tempo offense and an added assurance to the coaching staff. He has good feet and the ability to move laterally, to go with good eye progression in zone run-blocking or in pass protection.

RG Sam Stovall, RSFr. (0 starts)

After a year in the program and a solid spring, Stovall has impressed Anderson, drawing the most buzz on the line this offseason. He is very physical and has an aggressive attitude that coaches (especially Anderson) love to see in their linemen.

Stovall was just a two-star prospect who was originally committed to Western Kentucky when NU made him an offer the day before the first early signing period. The opportunity to play at a Power Five school and go to the Medill School of Journalism was too good to refuse. So Stovall didn’t sign with WKU and instead took an official visit and committed to Northwestern in mid-January, the second-to-last addition to the 2018 class. Now, that last-minute addition could be a starter as a redshirt freshman, meaning that we could be seeing the making of another four-year starter on the line for the Cats.

RT Gunnar Vogel (jr) (1 start)

Though Vogel has had opportunities to start before and appeared in three games last season, he’s primarily been a backup. He’s a big (6-foot-6, 290 pounds), physical lineman who uses his length and leverage to his advantage. He also works extremely hard and has a great attitude, a true “team” guy that will be good to have at a position where personal sacrifice is the name of the game.

As the right tackle, Vogel’s strength and physicality will pay dividends in the running game. He’ll man the quarterback’s front side and will be in charge of keeping pass rushers out of Johnson’s line of sight and the ball’s lane of flight when NU goes to the air.

Redshirt sophomore guard Sam Gerak really drew the admiration of teammates and coaches in his first two years, despite not appearing in any games. Coaches were high on him in fall camp last year, but he just couldn’t crack the trio of Tommy Doles, JB Butler and Thomas, as those three manned a solid interior, especially once they got into October. Teammates speak of how Gerak “brings it” at every practice and on every snap and figures to be in a close race with Urban to vie for that opening at left guard. He has good leg drive to the whistle (120 knockdowns his senior of high school), punctuated with some of that nastiness that Anderson promotes. If he doesn’t win a starting job in 2019, he will likely be the first “next-man-up” at either guard or center.

Two other players that could push for time are redshirt sophomore OT Ethan Wiederkehr and redshirt first-year tackle/guard Payne He’bert.

Wiederkehr appeared in three games at OT last year and has a lot of upside. A Rivals Top 5 player coming out of New York in 2017, he was ranked as the No. 1 offensive guard in the state even though he was named the USA Today New York Defensive Player of the Year his senior year. His prowess on the defensive side of the ball should translate into a technical advantage for him on offense.

He’Bert was a three-star out of Pearland, Tex., continuing that pipeline of Wildcat players from the Lone Star state. A basketball player, powerlifter and track guy in high school, he has long arms, good feet and explosiveness, creating some buzz about him possibly making earlier contributions than others.

Other returning veterans include junior OT Jesse Meyler, who played in two games in the last two years, and juniors Cam Kolwich (three-star prospect) and Jason Goosen, a 6-foot-7, 316-pound walkon who appeared in one game in his career and has earned some recognition for his practice play on both sides of the ball.

Redshirt first-year Charlie Schmidt is a name to watch this year. A high school teammate of Riley Lees at Libertyville (Ill.), Schmidt didn’t surrender a single sack in his final two years and ranked as a three-star by Rivals. Schmidt was also an accomplished wrestler, which usually translates into a powerful offensive lineman who’s good and strong with his hands, and has good balance and quick feet.

Other redshirt first-years include walkon guard Willy Boatman, a four-year starter at OL and DL and a D1-caliber lacrosse player, and Wyatt Blake, the No. 33 guard in the country coming out of Crystal Lake (Ill.) Central in 2018.

Incoming first-years are tackle Zachary Franks, who chose NU after decommitting from Penn State; tackle Connor Foster, who played TE and DE in at Milford (Ohio), the same school that produced former Wildcat and NFL great Zach Strief; guard Conrad Rowley, a three-star ranked as the No. 22 player in Missouri; and guard Dominick D’Antonio, an exceptional athlete who played just two years at Woodstock (Ga.) Etowah and has a high ceiling.

Previous position breakdowns

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Receivers