Northwestern 2020 Season Preview: Running Backs

Second in a series of Northwestern position-by-position breakdowns going into the 2020 season.

More: Quarterbacks

“Baby, we were born to run.”

Bruce Springsteen made this phrase famous, but Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald and offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian surely sing the same tune.

Fitzgerald has consistently made the point, “we will always be a run-first team,” while Bajakian also stresses a good run game, and doesn’t care if you know it’s coming.

At Boston College last year, Bajakian’s running backs were the best in the ACC and sixth nationally in rush offense. Granted, the BC O-line was, to a man, about 20 pounds heavier than the Wildcat #TrenchCats. But with all due respect, we believe NU’s OL coach Kurt Anderson is a better technician than BC’s Phil Trautwein, and can really help Bajakian’s scheme flourish here.

BC’s top-two backs last year, AJ Dillon (a second-round NFL draft pick) and David Bailey averaged over five yards per carry, while toting it 26 and 11 times per game, respectively. If “Coach Jake” can transfer even similar numbers to the talented stable of backs in Evanston, 2020 will be a good year.

Many Northwestern RBs carry a tough running style that worked well for Bajakian’s scheme last year. Guys like Isaiah Bowser, Evan Hull and even newcomer Cameron Porter are quick-through-the-hole, north-south runners that zone run schemes are designed to capitalize.

There’s some talented depth in this room that will be here for a few years, so that brings some optimism. Not only that, but some of these guys have chips on their shoulders, whether it be trying to return from injury, moving past fumble issues or for being criticized, at times, for not compensating enough for the putrid passing game last season. Throw that in with Bajakian’s intention to establish a dominant running game and we see a lot of increased productivity from this group.

If this run game is even half as effective as it was for BC in Chestnut Hill last year, it should set up an effective play-action pass series, which Bajakian utilizes well. That will strengthen the passing attack and offense’s overall numbers.

If this is to be a run-dominant team, red-zone production must improve for this group. NU running backs scored just five touchdowns (out of 31 opportunities) inside the 20 last year, and one of them was in mop-up time against MSU. Not only does an effective ground game put necessary points on the board, but it’s often-times more demoralizing to a defense at this end of the field than a quick air-strike. If a defense can’t stop what’s right in front of it, without the aid of an aerial attack, it starts to fold quickly.

Another area to amplify will be catching the ball out of the backfield. Only 14 passes were caught by true RBs last year, and nobody had more than 30 yards receiving. For comparison, BC’s top five rushers (of significance) last year combined for 50 total grabs. Bajakian’s tutelage was a big part of that, so expect the Cats to get better in this area.

There’s also ball security. This is something RB coach Lou Ayeni takes great pride in and, for the most part, he’s done an outstanding job. During his first year, in 2018, NU RBs didn’t fumble once. Last year, they had “just” four fumbles (losing one), but one back, Drake Anderson, had three of them. This will be something to be tightened in 2020.

Bajakian fits his scheme to his personnel, and, holistically, his best offensive players this year lie at running back and on the offensive line. This bodes well for a man who wants to pound the ground before anything else.

Bowser reminds us of a slightly smaller version of Dillon, with a similar physical approach to running the ball. This physical style will work well with the zone and power blocking schemes Bajakian likes to run between the hashes.

How effective this run game is, though, will depend a lot on their quarterback play this season. Since Bajakian specializes in that area, anyway, and with grad transfer Peyton Ramsey’s arrival, we have reason to believe good things will be happen for the passing game, too.

Isaiah Bowser (6-foot-1, 215 pounds) enters his junior season with stars in his eyes for a couple reasons. One, he’s healthy (knee). He’s excited to, once again, be a full-time part of this Wildcat offense, like he was during their Big Ten West Championship run of 2018. Two, he should fit in really well in Bajakian’s run-focused offense. The Sidney (Ohio) product played in just five games last season, but they all came against some of the best defenses in the country, including Michigan State, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Iowa.

Bowser, who averaged just 3.5 yards per carry last year in limited duty compared to 4.4 the year befor, is more thunder than lightning, which fits Bajakian’s style. Don’t be fooled, though – Bowser also has good explosion and can certainly put it in second gear once he breaks through the line. With this improved offensive system, expect Bowser to have a renaissance year.

Sophomore Drake Anderson (5-foot-11, 190 pounds) actually led the team in rushing last year with 634 yards (4.1 ypc) and added three rushing TDs. He had four games where he averaged over 4.7 ypc, and two of them came against top defenses in MSU and Iowa. While it wasn’t the production the team needed to be competitive, those numbers are respectable for someone with three years of eligibility remaining.

Anderson is a slasher who can get downhill quickly and is pretty good in space, where his quick feet help his elusiveness. But the big concern last year was ball security, as he put three balls on the ground. He’ll need to improve his pass-blocking and become a more reliable receiver out of the backfield, too, as only three of his six receptions went for more than two yards.

Anderson can be a good change of pace to Bowser, and if Bowser re-emerges this year like we think he should, you can expect to see better numbers from Anderson, as well.

The most intriguing watch this year will be redshirt first-year Evan Hull (5-foot-11, 192 pounds), who opened many eyes in a break-out game vs. UMass (24 carries, 220 yards, 4 TDs) last year. (Then again, a break-out game against 2019 UMass is like bragging about beating a fourth-grader in a one-on-one basketball game.)

Hull played in four games, started heating up, then was strategically redshirted and did not play in the finale against Illinois. He had the best averages on the team with 6.2 yards per carry and 71.5 yards per game, and led all RBs with those four scores. Hull shows quickness through the line, but he can also be tough as only a few runs of his went for a loss last year. His style reminds us a little bit of, dare we say, Darnell Autry, in that he’s a low-to-the-ground, squatty runner who gets north-and-south, with little wasted movement. He had jaunts of 48, 38, 46 and 31 yards on the season, with three going for scores, so he’s a money runner that could help the ‘Cats cash in with Bajakian’s new style.

Senior Jesse Brown (5-foot-11, 210 pounds) only played in four games last year (hand injury), but has proven to be effective when he is healthy (6.0 ypc in 2019, 7.1 in 2018). He’s versatile between the tackles, showing a healthy combination of pace and pop. He’ll provide the Wildcats a good third-down back as both a blocker and a receiver, not to mention someone who has the ability to take a third-and-long draw play through the seams and to the sticks.

Redshirt first-year Marcus Cisco (5-foot-9, 185 pounds) did some worthy things with the scout team last year, but will likely see more action on special teams than carrying the football over the next couple of seasons. Redshirt first-year Connor Newhouse (5-foot-11, 187 pounds) rounds out the core of returning ‘backs on the roster.

Yes, we’re aware of the fact that senior Kyric McGowan (28 carries for 177 yards, TD), redshirt first-year Coco Azema (7 for 123 yards, TD) and sophomore Raymond Niro III (11 for 101 yards, TD) carried the rock for the Wildcats from the backfield last year, but more out of necessity. We expect all of them to return to their natural positions this season, though McGowan could get some carries at the running back spot here or there.

Cam Porter (5-foot-11, 210 pounds) is someone who could get a serious look at providing some depth as a first-year player. One of NU’s more prized recruits last year, he won a state championship at Cincinnati (Ohio) LaSalle, the same school that produced recent Wildcats Jeremy Larkin and Jordan Thompson. He’s a no-nonsense, north-south runner with good vision, smart feet and a college-ready body. He’ll likely be a four-game redshirt this year, but don’t be surprised if the shirt comes off with solid showings early.

Jake Arthurs (5-foot-10, 185 pounds) also joins the group as a preferred walk-on from Wheaton (Ill.) Warrenville South, a historic Chicago power program that also produced the Vitale brothers.

Tim Chapman is a teacher and former Michigan high school football coach who is currently working on a book titled "ChampioN Underdog" about the 1995 Northwestern Rose Bowl team. Follow him via Twitter: @Champion_Lit. Email him at nufbhistorian@gmail.com.