Cameron Ruiz the latest Wildcat to enter the transfer portal

Senior cornerback Cameron Ruiz entered the transfer portal on Monday, becoming the eighth Wildcat to go public with his intention to transfer since Northwestern's loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game on Dec. 19.

We take a look at what Ruiz's departure means to the Wildcats and add his name to the list of transfers that we began last month.

This is another departure that makes sense to us, as Cameron Ruiz will get his Northwestern degree in March and will likely get more playing time elsewhere.

AJ Hampton stepped up for the Wildcats at the end of 2020 and seemed to lock up Ruiz's starting spot. Cameron Mitchell played very well when pressed into duty by Greg Newsome II's injury, and Rod Heard will also be back next season to compete for playing time. So Ruiz might not have seen the field a lot in the future.

The best part of Ruiz's game was his sure tackling and physicality, and his standout play on special teams. The Lake Villa (Ill.) Lakes product finishes his Wildcat career with 93 tackles, 2 sacks and 5.5 tackles for a loss. He also had an interception in 2019 against Purdue. In 2018, Ruiz blocked a punt against Notre Dame and also recovered a fumble to essentially seal the Wildcats' Big-Ten-West-clinching win at Iowa.

Ruiz sometimes struggled in coverage on the outside, most notably against Wisconsin and Michigan State this season, and he was out-jumped for scores against Iowa and Michigan State. He is probably best suited to be a nickel in a 4-2-5 defense, where he can play on the inside.

Northwestern will miss Ruiz's tackling and his consistent contributions on special teams. They'll also miss him in terms of depth. You can't have too many corners, even if some combination of Hampton, Heard, Mitchell and incoming freshman Theran Johnson will likely see the most playing time at cornerback for Northwestern next season.

Drake Anderson's decision to transfer didn't surprise us. We were half-expecting it.

Anderson saw his role dwindle at the end of the season, even though he was Northwestern's leading rusher in 2020, with 62 carries for 289 yards. With the emergence of freshman Cam Porter as the featured back over the last few games of the season, Anderson probably saw limited carries in his future. Northwestern also seems to be favoring downhill runners, like Porter, Evan Hull and incoming freshman Anthony Tyus, who are bigger, heavier and more powerful backs.

Anderson, the son of former Wildcat star running back Damien Anderson, had some big moments in 2020, including a career-long 41-yard touchdown run against Nebraska and a 21-yard catch against Iowa that featured a Reggie Bush-like cutback. He started the Wildcats' season finale against Illinois, but fumbled the ball on his first carry and didn't play another snap. Anderson, who had been pulled from games for fumbling in both of his years in Evanston, then didn't get a single carry in the Big Ten title game loss to Ohio State.

Porter, meanwhile, got 40 carries in those final two games, so the writing was on the wall.

Still, Anderson filled a valuable role as a speedy, change-of-pace runner to the Wildcats' power backs. That's a hole Northwestern will likely try to fill with a recruit, a transfer or both.

Anderson is the second running back to announce his intent to transfer, joining Isaiah Bowser.

Isaiah Bowser's departure as a graduate transfer didn't exactly come as a surprise, but given where he was two years ago, it is still somewhat hard to believe that he is leaving the program.

In 2018, Bowser filled in admirably for Jeremy Larkin, who was forced to retire from football due to a medical condition, and became the focal point of the offense for the eventual West division champions. Bowser ran for 866 yards in the 10 games he appeared in, finding the end zone six times. Bowser seemed like the heir apparent to Justin Jackson and expectations were high going into the 2019 season.

Bowser hurt his ankle in the season opener against Stanford, and it seemed to linger throughout the season. He eventually missed the final five games of the 2019 campaign. He appeared in five games and only ran for 204 yards and did not find the end zone.

This year he seemed to get back on track. He finished with 91 total yards and a pair of scores in the opener against Maryland and followed that up with 85 yards against Iowa, although he did fumble early in the game. Then he was kept out of the Nebraska game because of un upper-body injury, and he was limited against Purdue, likely because of the same ailment. He fumbled near the goal line on his second carry the next week against Wisconsin, and he received only 15 carries for the rest of the season.

Down the stretch, Bowser was given fewer carries as other backs got the ball more often. Freshman Cam Porter emerged as Northwestern's top running back, rushing for 203 yards and three touchdowns combined in the Cats two most recent games. Drake Anderson and Evan Hull, who both appeared to have surpassed Bowser on the depth chart, will also be back next year, and Northwestern is bringing in four-star running back Anthony Tyus III. Other than Anderson, they are all bigger, power backs in the mold of Bowser.

While losing Bowser will hurt depth, Northwestern's running back room appears to be in good hands.

Eku Leota's announcement, which came on Monday, was the stunner of the group.

Leota, a redshirt sophomore, figured to be a huge part of Northwestern's defense for the next couple of years. The defensive end led the Wildcats with four sacks this season, and also added 13 tackles for loss and a forced fumble, against Purdue.

A fast end with a quick get-off, Leota was the most consistent force in Northwestern's pass rush. Even though Northwestern's defensive end position is a deep one, Leota's loss will be significan for a defense that will likely have to replace a lot of talent next season. Eight players on the starting defense in Saturday's game against the Buckeyes were seniors, and it is unknown at this time how many will come back next season.

This one is hard to explain. Leota was an all-Big Ten player and figured to be a guy Northwestern leaned on heavily next year to transition from Hankwitz to a new defensive coordinator. Adetomiwa Adebawore is the only real experienced returnee at end, assuming Earnest Brown IV doesn't come back. Devin O'Rourke played sparingly this year, but will see a bigger role with Leota's departure.

Freshmen Aidan Hubbard and Najee Story will join the DE room next season.

Gunner Maldonado did not see much action in 2020 as a true freshman. He only appeared in the Maryland game, making one tackle.

With redshirt freshman safety Brandon Joseph emerging as a superstar for Northwestern's defense, one of starting safety spots seems to be locked down for the foreseeable future. Coco Azema, also a redshirt freshman safety, has an interception, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery already in his career despite only seeing limited action and seemed to be a part of the Wildcats' plans. He also flashed his athleticism and playmaking ability when he ran for over 100 yards as a fill-in running back against Illinois in the 2019 finale.

Senior JR Pace, a three-year starter, could return next season if he wishes. Same with Bryce Jackson, a redshirt junior who plays sparingly. It is unknown if Travis Whillock, who opted out of the 2020 season, might return, though he could just as likely retire.

The bottom line is that Northwestern is deep and talented at the safety position, and Maldonado may just be looking for a better path for playing time elsewhere.

Maldonado chose Northwestern over home-state schools Arizona and Arizona State, so he could decide to play closer to home.

Jeremiah McDonald is a redshirt sophomore who saw very little playing time in his Northwestern career. McDonald already earned his degree and will leave the program as a graduate transfer.

McDonald never seemed to find a role at NU. He began his career at safety but, at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, he was moved to linebacker this season.

This is another case where McDonald, who played in just two games last season and didn't see the field this season, is likely moving to find more playing time with another team. He has never appeared on the two-deep and, after three years in the program, doesn't see a chance to in the future.

Maybe Kyric McGowan saw what Bennett Skowronek did, leaving Northwestern to go to a more explosive passing offense as a grad transfer to boost his NFL draft stock.

McGowan was a do-everything weapon for the Wildcats in 2020. He was second on the team with 34 catches, behind only Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman. He had a career-high 366 receiving yards and added 141 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He was also Northwestern's kick returner this season.

The versatile McGowan also carried the ball 24 times, often on jet sweeps or out of the backfield, and was one of Northwestern's few explosive players on an offense that is always lacking in that area.

McGowan's departure will hurt Northwestern's receiver depth next season. It becomes even more important for Chiaokhiao-Bowman or Riley Lees to return to provide some experience. The only one of Northwestern's top eight receivers who is a wide receiver and is not a senior or a player in the portal: Bryce Kirtz, who had just four catches.

Malik Washington was preseason all-star for the second year in a row. Everyone, especially new offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian, raved about Washington's maturity and talent. He figured to be a big part of the offense. Then, he wasn't.

He finished the season with five catches for 51 yards and got one jet sweep that he took for eight yards. He had two catches against Maryland, one against Nebraska and two against Wisconsin. The jet sweep came against Purdue. He's been banged up and hasn't played since the Wisconsin game, so he didn't figure to play in the bowl game anyway. In 2019, he had just six catches for 25 yards.

Washington's lack of involvement in the offense was puzzling, given the preseason publicity. Granted, there were three seniors in front of him at wide receiver: Chiaokhiao-Bowman, Lees and McGowan. So there weren't a lot of opportunities for playing time. But if Washington is as talented as Bajakian claimed before the season, then it would seem like he would have found a way to get him the ball.

With McGowan gone, Washington would likely been in line to start next season, especially if Chiaokhiao-Bowman and Lees elect not to return. Without him, Northwestern will be even thinner at receiver next season. If they all leave, that leaves Kirtz as the returning receiver with the most experience. He finished with just four catches, but a leaping grab against Nebraska, a strong catch through contact against Purdue and a catch while falling down against Ohio State all showcased how good his hands and concentration can be. After Kirtz, Berkely Holman is the next most experienced receiver, but he has struggled with drops and injuries throughout his career and took a scary against Michigan State. Genson Hooper-Price has played very little in his Northwestern career, but he has impressive size and tangibles.

Northwestern relied heavily on their trio of seniors at receiver in 2020, and with Washington and McGowan in the portal, head coach Pat Fitzgerald and his staff may want to look into the portal to try and find a proven option at receiver.