Looking at Northwestern's departing players

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In a little over two days since Northwestern's disappointing loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday, no fewer than seven players have announced their intentions to leave the program.

Six of them entered the transfer portal and one is leaving early for the NFL.

It's been an unprecedented 48 hours for a program that prides itself on long-term stability. And it comes the week after defensive coordinator Mike Hanwitz announced that he was retiring after the season and athletic director Jim Phillips took the Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner job.

Three of the players were starters for the Wildcats, two are grad transfers and just one of them would be considered a shocker, in our opinion. The two hardest hit positions are defensive back and wide receivers, with two defections apiece.

We take a look at each of them, in alphabetical order.

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.

Greg Newsome II is the only guy on this list who has not entered the transfer portal: he declared for the NFL draft. He joins Anthony Walker Jr. as the only players to leave Northwestern early for the draft during the Pat Fitzgerald era.

Newsome II was a dominant force on the outside for Northwestern's defense this season. He went toe-to-toe with the likes of David Bell and Garrett Wilson. His battle with Ohio State's Wilson, though, was cut short due to Newsome II leaving the Big Ten Championship Game early with a groin injury. Newsome II was named first team all-Big Ten this season, finishing with seven pass breakups and his first career interception, against Wisconsin. Most draft experts project Newsome II to go somewhere in the first three rounds of the draft.

Losing Newsome II is a huge blow to Northwestern's defense, when you look ahead to next year. It's never easy to replace a player of Newsome II's caliber. AJ Hampton started opposite of Newsome II to end the 2020 season and played well. Hampton will likely slide into the top corner spot next season. There will likely then be a competition to see who plays opposite Hampton. Cam Ruiz will be the most experience returnee, but he had some struggles in 2020, allowing several touchdowns as the primary guy in coverage.

Rod Heard filled in well for an injured Newsome II to start the year, even tying for the team lead in tackles against Maryland. Heard's playing time steadily decreased as the season went on, though. Cameron Mitchell is the final returnee that figures to get a shot to start. Mitchell didn't play a ton early in the year, but he seemed to jump Heard in the playing time pecking order later in the year. He had his coming out party in the conference title game, finishing with five tackles, an interception and a sack as he filled in for the injured Newsome II. Theran Johnson is a three-star 2021 signee who could also get a shot to play as a true freshman next season.

Overall, replacing Newsome II will be a tall task for Northwestern's new defensive coordinator next year.

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.