Northwestern 2021 Season Preview: Running Backs

Second in a series of Northwestern position-by-position breakdowns going into the 2021 season.

Offense: Quarterbacks

Before Mike Bajakian arrived as the new offensive coordinator last year, Northwestern was a team that liked to run the football. In his first year coordinating the Cats' offense, they proved that they still like to run the ball. More than 57 percent of their offense were called run plays, and moving forward, this group will continue to take it between the tackles.

Northwestern lost their leading rushers in two of the last three seasons to transfers since the end of the 2020 season: Isaiah Bowser, the leading rusher in 2018 headed to UCF, while Drake Anderson, the leader in 2019, moved to Arizona. Also gone from the backfield is transfer Kyric McGowan (Georgia Tech), who was primarily a receiver but led the team with 146 yards rushing in a loss against Purdue in 2019.

With this change, there are two ways of looking at the Wildcat running back situation. Skeptics might say that the room is thin and that running back is a concern for a team that identifies most with the ground game. Optimists, however, would point to the talent that returns and suggest that it was that glimpse of the future that propelled those players to the portal.

Either way, this is what Northwestern has for 2021, and frankly, it looks pretty good.

Northwestern was able to run as often as they liked. It marked the sixth time since 2012 that more than 53% of their offensive plays came by way of the ground, and in four of those six years the Wildcats won 10 games (pro-rating last year’s 7-2 record to what would have equalled 10 wins). It’s no secret that when Northwestern can use their rushing attack to control the clock, slow down the game and play at their pace, success typically follows. When they’ve been in the top half of the league in time of possession they’ve won nine or more games 80% of the time since 2014.

We also saw the emergence of their young talent. True freshman Cam Porter got the bulk of the carries in the final three contests for NU, averaging over four yards-per-carry and scoring four touchdowns. Redshirt first-year Evan Hull also provided a bright spot, albeit in just one matchup (149 yards on 13 carries vs. Illinois). Those two give the Wildcat faithful some hope for a promising run game in 2021.

Position coach Lou Ayeni has always stressed ball security above most things with his charges. Unfortunately, this was something many Wildcat running backs lacked last year, as they turned the ball over four times in just nine games. Even more concerning is that the number of turnovers has been trending up of late. They lost zero fumbles in 14 games in 2018, and just one in their 12 games of 2019. So when his RBs were responsible for over half of their lost luggage last season, it speaks to an area that needs attention.

But if you want a silver lining for the purple posse, nobody that returns this year gave the ball up. Bowser, Anderson and McGowan (and QB Peyton Ramsey, too) were the ones that put the ball on the ground a year ago, while Porter, Hull and the other returning runners bring a much cleaner stat sheet. Still, for the Wildcats to resume their reign in the Big Ten West, the Cats will need to turn the trend and protect the pigskin.

A boost in red-zone production is also needed. Not only was Northwestern relatively inefficient in this area, but only 11 of their 26 scores came on the ground when inside the 20. For a team that wants to run the rock, putting it in the end zone from the backfield is a great way to prove their merit. Still, Porter accounted for nearly half of their red-zone scores, which is a plus. He’s got a nose for the goal line, and with a strong offensive line he should add to that point production in 2021.

Finally, the Wildcats need to develop some depth. With the aforementioned losses of Anderson and Bowser to transfers and Jesse Brown to graduation, NU needs to find a third and maybe even a fourth back to add to their arsenal. They only return six rushing yards of production from the running back position after Porter and Hull. There’s promise from a couple of talents in this incoming class, but until they emerge, this will be a concern for the Wildcat backfield.

Since Northwestern currently lacks playmakers on the outside and has another new quarterback getting acclimated into the offense, the running game must be a strength, especially early in the season. Porter was given some high praise after his showing in the last third of last season, but they can’t rely on him to do it all. Or can they? Northwestern has a long history of leaning heavily on workhorse running backs (see Autry, Darnell; Anderson, Damien; Jackson, Justin).

Bajakian said last year that he likes to fit his scheme to his personnel. Once again, his best offensive players are in the backfield and on the offensive line, which suggests the running attack should be their strength in 2021.

Porter and Hull give Coach Jake something to work with, and the insertion of former four-star QB Ryan Hilinski enables them to build a solid passing game. Since Bajakian has made a habit of producing potent passers, we can expect Porter and his backfield mates to lead this offense.

A lot has already been said about sophomore Cam Porter (5-foot-10, 220 pounds), but for good reason. The Cincinnati (Ohio) LaSalle product will try and carry on what the last Lancer legend, Jeremy Larkin, started, but sadly couldn’t continue at Northwestern after he was forced to retire two years ago due to a career-ending injury.

Porter brings power and explosion to the position. He reminds us a bit of former Wildcat great Tyrell Sutton, who was also an Ohioan. Porter shows good downfield vision, making him an effective downhill runner. He can make you miss but isn’t afraid to get physical, either. He’s always moving forward and makes no unnecessary lateral movement, and that’s exactly what Bajakian and the offensive staff want.

Porter had long runs of 31, 18, 16 and 19 yards last year, with five scores and no fumbles, in seven total games. His best outing came against Illinois. Sure, they were a weak run-defense (99th in the country), but his 142 yards on 24 carries and two TDs helped punctuate their West division title and kept the Land of Lincoln (Hat) Trophy in Evanston for the sixth straight year.

Porter also had 61 yards vs. the No. 6 rush defense in national runner-up Ohio State in a competitive Big Ten Championship game, where the Wildcats held the lead well into the third quarter. He had a TD in each of the last four games and also caught nine passes for a six-yard per-catch average, giving NU a versatile back who can hurt opposing defenses in a variety of ways.

Porter’s primary backup is redshirt sophomore Evan Hull (5-foot-11, 210 pounds). He’s added nearly 20 pounds of muscle since last offseason, which makes him even more durable and tougher to bring down as the complement to “Cam the Ram.”

Hull averaged an impressive 8.4 yards on 25 carries last season. His best game was a 149-yard performance against rival Illinois, where he and Porter were a two-headed monster that shredded the Illini. Hull also had a 220-yard performance in his debut against UMass during a tough 2019 campaign for the NU offense. Averages of 6.2 yards and 8.4 yards in his first two years gives Wildcat fans some excitement for what may come in year three.

Like we’ve said before, Hull's running style is somewhat similar to Autry, a former Wildcat great. He’s a low-to-the-ground, squatty sprinter who runs north-and-south with confident deliberation. Hull only had a couple of runs that resulted in a loss last year, dropping just seven total yards on 25 carries against eight different defensive units.

Hull is a slightly bigger home-run threat than Porter is, as he had jaunts of 30, 23, 32, 20 and 50 yards last year. He also had runs of 48, 38, 46 and 31 yards in 2019, and three of them went for scores. Add to this his six receptions for a 6.8-yard average, and Hull, too, is a threat in and out of the backfield.

Bowling Green grad transfer Andrew Clair (5-foot-11, 205 pounds) led the Falcons in rushing as a sophomore and was second on the team the other three seasons while amassing nearly 2,000 yards rushing. In fact, he likely would have been tops in those other three had he played a full season. He averaged over five yards-per-carry in his career and totaled 13 rushing TDs in 30 games. He earned third-team All-MAC honors twice and comes to Evanston with a little something to prove as he finishes his collegiate career at the Power Five level.

Clair also had 44 receptions over those 30 games for a 7.5-yard average, with four scores. Clair can be a good third option, as effective as (or maybe more so than) the departed Jesse Brown.

In terms of returning runners, there’s not much ground-game production to speak of. The best of the bunch is junior Raymond Niro III (5-foot-10, 190 pounds), who has bounced back and forth between wide receiver and running back in his career while making a big impact on special teams. A former walkon and future candidate for the coveted No. 1 jersey, Niro missed the first half of 2020 with injury and did not register any carries, but he did make three special teams tackles on the year and caught a pair of passes in the Citrus Bowl vs. Auburn. He totaled 101 yards and a touchdown while lugging the leather in 2019. He’s deceptively quick and a fun player to watch when he’s on the field.

Redshirt sophomore Marcus Cisco (5-foot-9, 197 pounds) has helped out on the scout team and got three carries in the blowout opener vs. Maryland last year. He played RB and CB in high school and was a three-time wrestling captain, so we know he’s tough. Expect to see him late in the game or on special teams unless pressed into duty.

Redshirt sophomore Connor Newhouse (5-foot-11, 195 pounds) has not seen any action yet but was a high school state champ in track in two different events. His dad, Butch, also played football at Northwestern.

Jake Arthurs (5-foot-9, 195 pounds), a preferred walk-on from the state of Illinois last year, rounds out the group.

First-year Anthony Tyus III (6-foot-1, 215 pounds) from Portage (Mich.) Northern, joined the Wildcats this past winter and took part in spring practice, where he managed to make a favorable impression with coaches. Tyus' dad, T.J., played football at Central Michigan, so “AT3” certainly has the bloodlines of a Division I dandy. A four-star prospect, Tyus often used his college-ready body to his advantage in high school and has a great second gear. He’s quick through the hole and will run through a lot of arm tackles on his way to the orange, whether it’s the first-down marker or the pylons that adorn the corners of end zone. Rivals' recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt was a fan of Tyus' and was particularly impressed by the way he often "just refused to go down." Tyus is expected to compete for time early and should give Northwestern a burgeoning bevy of pigskin pounders.

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