Five things to look for at Northwestern's open spring practice
Northwestern fans and media will get their first look at Northwestern's team this spring during the squad's last practice on Saturday.
Northwestern is hosting an open practice for media and fans at Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium at 9:30 a.m. The stadium will soon be the site of the Wildcats' temporary lakefront stadium for the majority of the 2024 home schedule. Doors will open at 9:00 a.m., the practice will conclude at 11:30 a.m., and head coach David Braun will then address the crowd, per a Northwestern Athletics release.
It has been a very quiet spring practice, even by Northwestern's generally secretive standards. All practices have been closed. The Wildcats have made Braun and players available to media twice all spring, and they were for other events -- once on Pro Day, and the other when they announced the temporary stadium plan last week. There haven't been many images or video on the program's social media accounts, either.
WildcatReport will be there on Saturday to cover this one-and-only opportunity to get a glimpse of the spring Cats. Here are five things we'll be keeping an eye on:
1. Quarterback: First and foremost is always the signal caller. Brendan Sullivan is the presumed starter after Ben Bryant reached the end of his eligibility and graduated. Sullivan challenged Bryant for the starting job in 2023, but Bryant won the job in fall camp and started games when healthy.
Sullivan started four games in 2023 in relief when Bryant was injured, going 2-2 to keep Northwestern's bowl hopes alive. He notably led the Wildcats to a 33-27 win over Maryland with a career-high 265 passing yards and two touchdowns.
The senior from Davison (Mich.) is QB1, even with the return of 2022 starter Ryan Hilinski for a sixth season. Hilinski saw limited action in 2023, playing only in emergencies, when Bryant and Sullivan were hurt, in wins over UTEP and Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl.
There are two other quarterbacks on the spring roster: junior Jack Lausch and redshirt freshman Aidan Gray. Lausch saw some success as a gadget player in 2023 and could have a similar role in 2024. Gray is still an unknown after not playing in his first season in Evanston.
The thing to look for is how Northwestern is dividing snaps among the QBs, and how Sullivan looks leading new offensive coordinator Zach Lujan's offense. He is 2-6 as a starting quarterback for the Wildcats over the last two seasons.
Of course, the quarterback depth chart could look different by the fall. Many expect the Wildcats to land a veteran signal caller through the transfer portal to, at the very least, challenge Sullivan for the starting job.
Lujan's last quarterback, FCS Player of the Year Award-winner Mark Gronowski, is seen as a potential transfer candidate. He will graduate from South Dakota State in May with two years of eligibility remaining. He has yet to make an official statement about whether he will transfer, but he participated in spring ball and started the spring game for the Jackrabbits.
There is still time for Northwestern. For context, Bryant announced his transfer to Northwestern from Cincinnati last May 3.
It's worth noting that Northwestern has started a quarterback that arrived via a transfer in its first game each season since Clayton Thorson took the first snap in 2018.
2. New coaches running each side of the ball: Speaking of Lujan, a new era of Northwestern offense has just begun with the arrival of the coach who called the plays for back-to-back FCS national champions in Brookings, S.D.
Lujan heavily leaned on a shift-trade-motion system at South Dakota State, using one of the three on 70% of play calls in the 2022 season. It's doubtful he'll put the full scheme on display in front of the public in April, but this is the first chance for fans and media to see what changes he has in store for the Wildctas.
This will also be the first chance to see new defensive coordinator Tim McGarigle in his role. There's going to be a significant level of rollover in defensive mindset and strategy, as McGarigle was promoted by Braun to run his system after the two worked shoulder to shoulder all of 2023. On top of that, McGarigle is the longest tenured coach in the program at Northwestern, so we don't expect too many changes.
Still, McGarigle and new associate head coach/safeties coach Harlon Barnett will certainly add some wrinkles. Barnett, a veteran with more than 20 years of coaching under his belt, has worked for defensive savants like Nick Saban and Mark Dantonio. If nothing else, changes in personnel will emphasize different aspects of the scheme.
3. Offensive line: Braun alarmed many fans when he admitted at the April 11 temporary stadium press conference that Northwestern has been going through spring ball with seven, and now eight players on the offensive line. On top of that, they have a new position coach in Bill O'Boyle, who was hired from Colorado.
The good news is that some help is on the way, with guard Jack Bailey from Colorado and tackle Matt Keeler from Texas Tech committed as graduate transfers. In addition, 2024 signees Idrys Cotton, Ezomo Oratokhai and Dennis Rahouski will arrive in the summer to bolster the room's depth.
The three players who will likely start up front are Caleb Tiernan, Josh Thompson and Ben Wrather, who combined for 37 starts last season. Tiernan will be the left tackle, but Thompson and Wrather may not be in the right tackle and center positions, respectively, they played in 2023.
The interior is mostly up for grabs. Bailey, who played for O'Boyle at both Colorado and Kent State, could play center, which could move Wrather to right tackle and Thompson back inside to guard, where he started his career. Keeler could come in to compete at either guard or tackle. Then there's Jordan Knox, who started the bowl game at left guard in place of Josh Priebe who sat out and has since transferred.
There will continue to be shuffling on the line as position battles continue into the fall, once transfers arrive. The Wildcats may not yet be done in terms of losing or gaining players up front in the portal, either.
Keep Bailey and Keeler in mind, but keep an eye out for who is filling in the interior three spots throughout the open practice.
4. Defensive line rotation: Last season Northwestern set the point of attack by developing a four-man rotation at tackle: Carmine Bastone, PJ Spencer, Najee Story and Brendan Flakes.
With Spencer graduated, it'll be a good chance to see if the Wildcats will plug grad student RJ Pearson or a redshirt freshman like Tyler Gant or Dylan Roberts into that fourth spot. Or will veterans Bastone and Story get more reps?
The same goes at defensive end, where plenty of talent returns. The Wildcats bring back their top six defensive linemen in sacks and their top four in tackles. Experienced players like Sean McLaughlin, Jaylen Pate, Aidan Hubbard and Richie Hagarty are back.
But so are younger players who burst onto the scene last season, like rising junior Anto Saka and rising sophomore Michael Kilbane, two former four-stars who excelled in their rotational roles in 2023.
The open practice can give a glimpse of what the rotation may look like, as well as whether potential rising stars like Saka and Kilbane have bulked up physically during the offseason.
5. Wide receiver depth: Two of the Northwestern's top three receivers are back this season in Bryce Kirtz and AJ Henning. It's assumed that Henning, the complementary speedster in 2023 alongside Kirtz and Cam Johnson, will be stepping up into a larger role. This open practice can give a preview into who will be emerge as the WR3, and which players will become part of the regular rotation.
The top two names to watch here are Frank Covey IV and Calvin Johnson II, but there are plenty of others looking to carve out a role.
Covey had an opportunity to come in as a true freshman and contribute in 2023 but was sidelined for most of the season with an injury, playing only in the debut against Rutgers and the regular-season finale against Illinois. He didn't record a reception.
Johnson is the third-leading receiver returning to the roster, albeit with just four receptions for 32 yards. He caught balls at Northwestern's Pro Day and will be competing for those third-receiver snaps as a senior.
Other players to monitor are Jacob Gill, who had touchdown catches in 2021 and 2022 but has not been able to make much of an impact since, and Reggie Fleurima, a former four-star recruit in the Class of 2022 who has yet to record a reception for the Wildcats. We’ve also heard positive things about sophomore Ricky Ahumaraeze and true freshman Hayden Eligon II.
So there’s a lot to watch at wide receiver.