Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald played a little poker with media at his press conference yesterday. But he held all the cards and was keeping them very close to his vest. Inside of his vest, really.

The media, of course, wanted to know the status of quarterback Clayton Thorson for Thursday night’s opener against Purdue. Thorson OR T.J. Green were listed as the starter on the depth chart released on Monday, which disclosed nothing and shouldn’t have surprised anyone.

Fitzgerald has been dodging the same quarterback questions for months. Thorson, entering his fourth year as the starter, tore his ACL last December in Northwestern’s Music City Bowl win over Kentucky. He had surgery in January and has been the topic of conversation every time Fitzgerald met with the media since. The last month or so – since Big Ten Media Days in late July – has forced Fitzgerald to deflect more questions than Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

And if you think Fitzgerald is going to spill the beans just three days before kickoff, you don’t know the coach very well.

“I like our quarterback situation a lot,” Fitzgerald said. “I think we’ve got a lot of really good players and You’ll find out at 8:06 Eastern who’s going to be playing, how much and when and who, what plays we call, how many gadgets we run, what defense we run, who plays at left guard and right guard, the whole nine yards. There’s transparency.”

Got that? If you want to know who is quarterback is, you’ll have to wait until the first offense trots out onto the field on the Wildcats’ first possession at Ross-Ade Stadium. Not before.

Fitzgerald was confident that his players wouldn’t reveal any information at the press conference, either. “They won’t tell you anything. They’re well coached.”

He was right. Thorson himself was asked if his inclusion in the Monday press conference – normally reserved for players who will play – said about his status.

“I don’t know, what did (Fitzgerald) say about that one?” Nothing, came the reply. “That’s good enough for me,” he said with a laugh.

But Fitzgerald didn’t stop his obfuscation there. When asked why fifth-year senior Solomon Vault, Northwestern’s all-time leader in kick return touchdowns, wasn’t on the two-deep, he replied that he would only comment on players listed on said two-deep.

Okay, the reporter countered, did Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman’s inclusion as the starter mean he beat out Riley Lees for one of the wide receiver spots?

“8:06,” the coach responded. “8:06, Thursday night.”

Fitzgerald was having some fun at the media’s expense on Monday, even stating at one point that Hunter Johnson, who has to sit out this season as a transfer from Clemson, would be the starting QB. But no one should blame Fitzgerald for guarding his secret like his debit card PIN. The opener is really the only chance he’ll have to potentially get an edge against an opponent. Once a game is played and film gets out, everyone will know.

Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm hasn’t named his starting quarterback for the opener, either. Most observers think Elijah Sindelar – who is also recovering from offseason ACL surgery – will get the nod over David Blough, but Brohm hasn’t said for sure.

Brohm also said on Monday that his team is preparing for both Thorson and a backup in practice.

“I think it's important you prepare for everything, so for us, really, whether we are playing Northwestern or not, we'll have a game plan for their best quarterback, which is Clayton, who played outstanding last year,” he said. The second-year coach then added “the next guy, whoever it may be, we always prepare for an athletic quarterback or some wildcat runs or the ability to do things outside the pocket with some athletes at that position.”

That’s part of Fitzgerald’s goal, to a degree – to make his opponent devote some practice time to defending against a quarterback other than Thorson. It’s not just eluding the media’s questions.

Though that’s fun for him, too.

“I get one opener. Sorry, I hate to break it to you,” Fitzgerald said with tongue in cheek. “This is my 13th year. This ain’t my first rodeo.”