Josh Thompson makes second-half difference in Northwestern debut

It seemed like Northwestern flipped a switch at halftime against UTEP.

The Wildcats came into the locker room in a dead heat with the Miners, tied at seven. When they left, they proceeded to go on a 31-0 run that cracked the game wide open and delivered their first win in more than a year.

One of the changes made at the break was bringing in junior Josh Thompson at right tackle. The 6-foot-5, 310-pounder got his turn in the rotation in place of starter Zachary Franks and made the most of it.

"From Day 1, we've said that position was going to be kind of by committee between those two young men," interim head coach David Braun said. "Josh came in, we were hot, and we stayed with the hot hand. We'll continue to rotate those guys in, but I was certainly very impressed with the way Josh came in for the second half."

The second half against UTEP wasn't only the first signs of life for Northwestern's offense, it was the first game experience of Thompson's college career.

"It was a really cool experience in the sense that it's been a while since I've seen that game action," he said. "It's been since high school. I come in there and see all the support and the love, all the unconditional togetherness from the guys on the sideline, it was a really cool experience to be there."

Thompson had been training for the opportunity for three years since he came to campus as a three-star guard out of Fenton (Mich.) in Northwestern's Class of 2021. It meant so much to a player that has dealt with injuries and worked his way up the depth chart for so long.

"It's unbelievable," he said about the opportunity. "We have a saying in our offensive line room, 'the expectation is on the position when you go in.'

"You prepare as if you're the starter, you keep practicing your ass off over and over and over again over the course of a couple of years. And to see all that come to fruition, it's a really cool experience."

Part of Thompson's preparation was being part of a committee at right tackle with Franks, who started the first two games of the season. It's something Braun said was planned from the beginning, and Thompson corroborated.

"At the beginning of the season there was some talk about rotation and stuff like that," said Thompson. "It was one of things where I went in for half, they made the adjustment and told me I was starting the second half so I was ready to go."

Thompson said there haven't been any conversations with the coaches about if he'll be the starter against No. 21 Duke on Saturday.

"We haven't discussed it yet," he said on Tuesday. "It's definitely not at the top of my board right now. Right now, it's let's practice, let's game prep, let's get all the stuff that we need to get done, done...

"They make the decisions and whatever they put us in for, we have to be ready. That's our job."

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MORE NORTHWESTERN COVERAGE: Jack Lausch carves out role in crowded QB room | The 3-2-1 going into Week 3 l David Braun's Week 3 press conference l Takeaways: Northwestern 38, UTEP 7

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Thompson said even as he battles for playing time with Franks, their connection remains strong.

"Zach's been amazing," Thompson said. "He's one of the biggest mentors I have in the O-line room.

"I've been talking with a lot of guys, I talked about that culture earlier. The older guys are always there helping the younger guys, and Franks has been that guy for me. He's a good mentor and a good leader. When I have questions, he's there with the answer. He's one of my best friends."

Thompson said that camaraderie and culture -- not just with Franks but across the line -- was key to calming his nerves as he made his program debut.

"The coolest memory was having those guys [on the offensive line] come and dap me up before I went on the field for the first time," he said. "They could tell I was nervous, absolutely.

"First snap, I go out there and [I] get the first couple plays down and [I'm] like, 'This is nothing I haven't seen before. This is just football.' The goal every time is to go out there, be the meanest S.O.B. on the field and just play ball."

A key part of offensive line success is chemistry. Five guys need to work in concert with lightning-quick communication to protect the quarterback or open up lanes for a ball carrier. Thompson said the accumulated trust over his time in the program was key to forming those bonds the moment he stepped on the field.

"Especially being in my third year now," Thompson said. "I've spent a lot of time with these guys, almost every single day.

"It's all about trust. Our offensive line has such a good culture of helping each other get better, and each individual is trying to push the next guy and there's no ego in it... When you feel a guy coming into the game, when there's a new guy next to you, you know he's been doing all the same things."

With Braun saying the rotation will continue at right tackle for Duke, Thompson doesn't have certainty for when his next opportunity will be, though he is seen as the heavy favorite to get the start. Regardless of who will or won't be on the field, Thompson is keeping up with the prep work to perform to the expectation of the position when called upon.

"Like I said, it's the coach's decision how this rotation works," he said. "But I need to be a dependable player when I go in there.

"That's going to be a really big thing for me, just really polishing up all the little things I need to touch on. And as a team, we go into every single week expecting to go 1-0. We expect to win this game and every game going forward, and that's not going to change."