WildcatReport is tracking the players who are coming into or leaving the Northwestern program through the transfer portal in 2022-23.
All players will be immediately eligible to play in 2023.
INCOMING TRANSFERS
QB Ben Bryant
Status: Graduate
Years remaining: One
Bryant is an experienced quarterback who heads to Evanston with a 16-8 record over his last two seasons as a starter, one at Eastern Michigan in 2021 and the other at Cincinnati in 2022. He threw for 2,732 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 11 games for the Bearcats last year, leading them to a 9-2 start and a No. 23 ranking before he was sidelined for the rest of the season with a foot injury. The year before, he threw for 3,121 yards, with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions for the Eagles. Bryant figures to have the advantage in the battle with Brendan Sullivan for the starting QB job and, at the very least, he'll be a veteran backup the Wildcats can rely on should Sullivan get injured.
DE Richie Hagarty
Status: Redshirt junior
Years remaining: Two
Northwestern recruited but didn't offer Hagarty out of nearby LaGrange (Ill.) Lyons Township in 2019. But four years and two schools later, he's a Wildcat. The 6-foot-3, 255-pound defensive end had 6.5 sacks for Southern Illinois last season and was a first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference pick. He had three tackles and a forced fumble against Northwestern when the Salukis upset the Wildcats last Sept. 17. Hagarty played two years at Miami (Ohio), and then had 66 tackles, 16.5 TFL and 11 sacks for SIU over the last two seasons.
WR AJ Henning
Status: Senior
Years remaining: Two
Northwestern recruited recruited Henning hard out of high school, but missed out as the Frankfort (Ill.) Lincoln Way East product chose Big Ten foe Michigan. Henning's three years in Ann Arbor were not particularly productive. He totaled 25 catches for 198 yards and no touchdowns, while rushing 15 times for 186 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He returned both a kick and a punt for a touchdown for a score, as well. Henning brings a level of explosiveness and athleticism to Northwestern's offense that it sorely needed. He'll line up all over the field and get the ball in a variety of ways for an offense in need of high-level playmakers.
WR Cam Johnson
Status: Graduate
Years remaining: One
A 6-foot, 205-pounder originally from Brentwood, Tenn., Johnson has been a productive college receiver, with 134 catches for 1,317 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career. He also returned kickoffs and punts. Johnson had three seasons of at least 30 catches, 300 yards and three touchdowns with Vanderbilt, where he played from 2018-21. He led the Commodores with 56 catches for 545 yards in 2020. He played last season at Arizona State but had just 10 catches for 84 yards.
DT Matt Lawson
Status: Graduate
Years remaining: One
The 6-foot, 280-pound Lawson played in 20 games over the last two seasons for Fresno State. He had 12 tackles and 1.5 TFL in 12 games for the Bulldogs last season, and five tackles and .5 TFL in 2021. A run-stuffing specialist with quick get-off, Lawson should step into playing time immediately as a rotational tackle for the Wildcats this season. Originally from Ontario (Calif.) Colony, Lawson began his career in 2018. He is exercising his free COVID year, so this will be his sixth year of college football.
DT Reginald Pearson
Status: Graduate
Years remaining: Two
Pearson took a circuitous route to Northwestern that began at Georgia Military College, but he now figures to be an integral part of Northwestern's interior defensive line rotation in 2023. He totaled 27 tackles and 3.5 TFLs over his last two seasons at Bethune-Cookman. Last season Pearson held his own when Bethune-Cookman took on Miami early in the season, and his performance caught Northwestern's eye on film. NU only had two scholarship defensive tackles go through spring practice, so the 300-plus pounder should have a prominent role for the Wildcats this season.
OUTGOING TRANSFERS
DL Jordan Butler
Status: Junior
Years remaining: Two
After playing in eight of nine games in his true freshman season, it seemed like Butler had a bright future at Northwestern. It never quite materialized and he rarely saw the field over the last two seasons. In total, he appeared in 21 games and made nine tackles, with 1.5 TFLs. Northwestern flipped Butler from Vanderbilt right before signing say in 2020, when Northwestern was one of his 10 Power Five offers.
Destination: TBD
LB Wendell Davis Jr.
Status: Graduate
Years remaining: One
Davis came to Northwestern in 2022 as a transfer from Pittsburgh with high expectations to contribute, but that never materialized and he's looking for a new home once again. Davis only appeared in three games during his lone season in Evanston and made two tackles. A three-star Class of 2018 prospect, Davis had a much more productive career at Pitt, with 44 tackles, 5 TFL and 2 sacks in his three seasons there.
Destination: Arkansas State
WR Wayne Dennis Jr.
Status: Graduate
Years remaining: Two
A former three-star recruit out of Florida, Dennis rarely saw the field in 2022, appearing in only one game. In total for his career, the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder appeared in 20 games, but never had much of an impact, finishing with four catches for 42 yards. Northwestern was Dennis' only Power Five offer out of high school.
Destination: Howard
DL Austin Firestone
Status: Freshman
Years remaining: Four
Austin Firestone didn't last long in Evanston. He played one season and appeared in just three games. But he still looked like a player with some upside and will be missed, especially when you consider the Wildcats' lack of depth at defensive tackle. Firestone made two tackles on the year, one of them a TFL. He was an interesting player on and off the field -- a three-star prospect out of Niceville (Fla.) who ran triathlons, practiced two kinds of martial arts and had a job analyzing radar data when he was in high school.
Destination: Mizzou
DT Jason Gold Jr.
Status: Graduate
Years remaining: Two
Oh, what might have been. Jason Gold Jr. got off to a great start in his career, appearing in six games and making eight tackles as a true freshman in 2019. Unfortunately, the 6-foot-3, 285-pounder couldn't stay healthy and that turned out to be his best season as a Cat. Gold was injured in the season opener of 2020 and missed the rest of the year. In 2021 he was limited to six games, and this season he played in just three. He finished his career with 17 tackles and 3.5 TFL. A three-star prospect out of League City (Tex.) Clear Springs, Gold chose Northwestern over more than 25 other offers, including 12 from Power Five programs.
Destination: Texas State
CB AJ Hampton
Status: Graduate
Years remaining: One
After five years in Evanston, cornerback AJ Hampton will be looking for a new home to use his COVID year of eligibility. Hampton missed five games with a foot injury in 2022, but still appeared in 44 games over his Northwestern career and was a two-year starter on the Sky Team. He made 105 tackles and picked off two passes. Additionally, he forced one and fumble recovered three, one of which he returned for a touchdown.
Destination: Tulane
WR Genson Hooper-Price
Status: Graduate
Years remaining: One
A rare combination of size and speed, 6-foot-5 wide receiver Genson Hooper-Price was never able to fulfill his considerable potential at Northwestern. He chose the Wildcats over offers from Notre Dame, Nebraska and Michigan State, among others, in the Class of 2019, but finished his career in purple with just 14 catches over four years as a seldom-used reserve. He caught two passes for 15 yards in 2021, and 12 for 121 yards this past season, including a career-best 25-yarder against Duke.
Destination: Coastal Carolina
QB Carl Richardson
Status: Junior
Years remaining: Three
Carl Richardson was offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian's first quarterback signee as a late-cycle addition to the 2020 class. The former three-star out of Salinas (Calif.) didn't do much in his time in Evanston. He redshirted in 2020 and saw action in just six games over the last two years in mop-up duty. The writing was on the wall for Richardson when the Wildcats bypassed him and started walkon Cole Freeman for the last two games of 2022, after Brendan Richardson and Ryan Hilinski went down with injuries. Richardson went 5-of-13 passing for 58 yards and an interception in his three years in Evanston.
Destination: Wisconsin-Platteville
WR Malik Washington
Status: Graduate
Years remaining: One
Northwestern's offense, which finished third-to-last in the country in the points per game in 2022, lost their leading receiver, Malik Washington, to the portal on Nov. 29. Washington played four years in Evanston, totaling 120 catches for 1,348 yards and three touchdowns. He was the Cats' second-leading receiver in 2021. This is the second time Washington has entered the portal; he entered after the 2020 season, but opted to return to Northwestern. As a recruit, Washington was a three-star prospect out of Georgia and chose NU over 16 other Power Five offers.
Destination: Virginia
INCOMING WALKON TRANSFERS
WR Quintin O'Connor
Status: Graduate
Years remaining: One
This will be an interesting one to watch. Quintin O'Connor hasn't played football since the fall of 2018, when he was an all-state wide receiver/returner at New Canaan (Conn.). He played four years of lacrosse at North Carolina, scoring just five goals in four years but being named team captain as a senior in 2023. He was a good enough football player in high school to set New Canaan career marks for catches, receiving yards and touchdowns, and earn a PWO offer from Michigan. Converting a lacrosse player worked wonders for Northwestern's basketball team a few years ago; the football team will see if it can have similar success with O'Connor.
OUTGOING WALKON TRANSFERS
DB Tyler Haskins
Status: Graduate
Years remaining: 2
Haskins, a Virginia native, appeared in 25 games over the past four seasons, mostly on special teams. He made two career tackles.
Destination: Bryant
