On a beautiful Thursday in Evanston, Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald met with a select group of media at the Walter Athletics Center.

With Lake Michigan shimmering in the background, Fitzgerald answered questions on just about the every aspect of the program for about two hours. Here are some highlights.

Sullivan will challenge Hilinski for QB job: Northwestern didn't get much from the quarterback position in 2021. The trio of quarterbacks to make starts for the Wildcats combined to throw 13 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Only one of those three returns in Ryan Hilinski.

Hilinski, who transferred from South Carolina a year ago, started five games last season and appeared in nine. He completed 54% of his passes for 978 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions. He was the heavy favorite to win the job heading into spring practice, but redshirt freshman Brendan Sullivan has made a strong impression and is making a run for the job, said Fitzgerald.

Sullivan, from Davison (Mich.), didn't play last year as a true freshman. But his ability in practice was evident to the coaches, and Fitzgerald lauded his natural leadership and playmaking abilities.

"I would say we'll walk out with Sully and Ryan fighting for that number-one job going into training camp," Fitzgerald said. "(Sullivan)'s a guy that you really felt had a chance after watching him (in practice) last year. What did we play five quarterbacks last year? I wasn't really in the mood for six. We just saw some flashes. He's got all the arm talent; he's got all the athleticism we want."

New faces fitting in well: Transfers are an integral part of college football in the year 2022. Most coaches wouldn't be able to fill out a roster without the help of the transfer portal.

Northwestern is no different. The Wildcats brought in eight new players to help round out the roster.

Seven of those transfers were able to participate in the final three weeks of spring practice, after spring break. A lot of that time was spent getting them up to speed on the playbook, but the new faces have already integrated seamlessly into team.

The new transfers are defensive linemen Henrik Barndt, Ryan Johnson and Taishan Holmes, linebacker Wendell Davis Jr., defensive back Jeremiah Lewis, offensive linemen Vince Picozzi and punter Luke Akers. Wide receiver Donny Navarro III is the only one who wasn’t able to join the team this spring.

"They all came in ready to go," Fitzgerald said. "We were very pleased with everyone. Great guys, they're going to help us. What those roles will be determined, and really pleased with the way the locker room embraced them."

The portal won't change Northwestern's philosophy, though. Fitzgerald made it clear that his focus will still be on recruiting and developing high school players.

Defensive backs room is deep: Despite losing former All-American safety Brandon Joseph, Northwestern is confident in their depth in the defensive backfield.

All three corners who started games last year, AJ Hampton, Rod Heard II and Cameron Michell, return. Safety Coco Azema is also returning and will take another step forward in his development and production, according to Fitzgerald.

Another player who has stood out to Fitzgerald is safety Jaheem Joseph, who he said had a great spring. The Wildcats also added transfer Lewis from Duke, and he's switching positions from cornerback to safety.

Another new addition to the secondary is cornerbacks coach Ryan Smith. Adding Smith has allowed former defensive backs coach Matt MacPherson to focus only on the safeties instead of having to coach two different position groups. Smith has already fit in great with the program, Fitzgerald said, and the players rave about the impact he's had on their games.

Fitzgerald loves the competitive depth at those two positions. He expects the corners and safeties to help lead the defense while also contributing quite a bit on special teams.

"Every guy in (those rooms) should have a role," Fitzgerald said. "I would be really surprised if they're not heavily involved not only in the back end defensively but also in the kick game. I don't know how I'm not going to travel everybody when we got to shrink it to 74 for road games."

Offensive line looking to rebound: Fitzgerald said that Northwestern's struggles along the line of scrimmage were the biggest problem in 2021. A complete lack of healthy depth along the offensive line for most of last year did the group no favors either.

"Week two or three, we then clicked into having 10 o-linemen out," Fitzgerald said. "(Peter) Skoronski did not get a rep off at left tackle; he took every rep in practice. You don't like doing that."

The sheer amount of guys who were hurt forced Northwestern to mix-and-match up front and play some guys who really weren't ready for the physicality of the Big Ten. The hope is that experience will help guys as they step into bigger roles in 2022.

Fitzgerald mentioned Conrad Rowley, Dom D’Antonio, Josh Priebe, Jackson Carsello, Zachary Franks and Ben Wrather as players who are healthy and will press for playing time in the fall. In addition, tackle Ethan Wiederkehr is back for "his 24th year," Fitzgerald joked, and Caleb Tiernan was a beneficiary of reps he got last season as a freshman.

Really, the only position along the offensive line that's set is Skoronski at left tackle. The other four spots are up for grabs and the competitions will continue into the fall.

“I don’t know who’s going to win the jobs yet, but I do like the competition,” he said.

"Mr. Irrelevant" continues to shine: Kenny Soares was a relative unknown before announcing his commitment to Northwestern on the morning of the early National Signing Day in December. A former Colorado commitment, he was the last player in the class of 2022 to receive an offer from Northwestern, and his recruitment was kept completely under wraps.

Soares, from Avon (Conn.) Old Farms, chose to enroll early and went through spring practice with the Wildcats, and he has already made a strong impression on the coaches.

“Kenny Soares is going to be a dude," Fitzgerald said. "He’s going to be a really good player here. We offered him the day before signing day.”

Fitzgerald pointed out that Northwestern has had an unusually high success rate with the final offer of their recruiting classes. Players like Sherrick McManis and Montre' Hartage both took their late offers and went on to become All-Big Ten and NFL players.

On the current roster, running back Evan Hull was the final offer of the class of 2019 and turned into the best player on Northwestern's offense and a 1,000-yard rusher in 2021. Cornerback Ore Adeyi, the final member of the 2021 class who signed in December of 2020, has taken a step developmentally and has “a bright future,” says Fitzgerald.

Not bad for last-minute additions.

For much more on Thursday's conversation with Fitzgerald, go to The Rock premium message board for subscribers only.