Spring Football: Five questions for Northwestern's offense

Spring practice kicked off on Tuesday in Evanston as the Cats look to get back on track after a disappointing 3-9 season in 2021.

Here are five questions that Northwestern's offense will try to answer over the next couple months as they go through their 15 allotted practices. The answer to some of these questions likely won't come until fall, but they are all significant storylines to follow as the 2022 Wildcat team begins to take shape.

Ryan Hilinski's first year in purple did not go as planned. He didn't win the job out of camp; in fact, he was third-string. After Hunter Johnson was benched and Andrew Marty got hurt, though, Hilinski was pressed into action.

Things didn't get much better from there as Hilinski finished the season completing 54% of his passes for 974 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions. That was good for a ghastly QBR of 35.4.

Johnson and Marty are both gone now, and Hilinski is entering year two in offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian’s system. At this point last year, Hilinski hadn't even practiced for Northwestern yet. This time around, Hilinski isn't learning a new offense or getting to know his teammates. The hope this year is that his better understanding of the system will allow his physical talents to shine through, unlike last season, where he struggled mightily with accuracy.

While Hilinski is the clear-cut favorite at this point, he won't just be handed the job; he'll have to earn it. Northwestern didn’t land a QB in the transfer portal, so his main competition will come in the form of redshirt sophomore Carl Richardson and redshirt freshman Brendan Sullivan.

Richardson appeared in three games last year, completing 2-of-4 passes for 19 yards. He brings similar size to Hilinski, as both stand 6-foot-3, and more mobility. Even if Richardson can't win the job, his experience should help push Hilinski to improve.

Whispers from Evanston last fall hinted that Sullivan has started to distinguish himself in practice and could be a threat to win the job. Sullivan has been described as a natural leader, and he brings mobility that Hilinski and Richardson don't have. Questions linger about whether his arm is strong enough; that is something Northwestern hopes to sort out this spring.

Watching Northwestern's 2021 offense was like watching a car crash: it looked awful and you felt terrible for everyone involved. One of the few bright spots was the play of graduate transfer wide receiver Stephon Robinson Jr., who led the Cats with 46 catches and 625 yards. He is no longer a Wildcat.

NU's other two starters last season were Bryce Kirtz and Malik Washington, who are both back. One of those two will likely take on Robinson's role of the go-to guy.

Kirtz, who missed the final seven games with injury, finished the campaign with 19 catches for 203 yards. He was the second receiver behind Robinson, and went over 70 yards against both Michigan State and Duke before the injury derailed his season.

Washington was second on the team with 44 catches for 578 yards. He did a great job after Kirtz went down; his stats over final seven games were 31 catches, 407 yards and one touchdown. If Washington can improve upon that level of production, he and Kirtz could form a strong one-two punch.

Northwestern has a handful of young guys looking to take the next step, too. Jacob Gill's eight career catches are the third-most of any returning receiver. Gill's classmate Calvin Johnson II didn't play much as a true freshman as he transitioned from a high school quarterback to a receiver, but his athleticism provides a tantalizing option on the perimeter for the Cats.

Four-star freshman Reggie Fleurima also figures to see playing time. Fleurima enrolled early, so he's going through spring practice. The highly-touted freshman has a good chance to start as an outside receiver, as Northwestern can use his combination of 6-foot-2 height and speed.

Northwestern returns four starters on the offensive line, but whether or not that's a good thing is up for debate. What's certainly a good thing is the return of Peter Skoronski. The junior might be the best left tackle in America, and will continue to protect the quarterback's blindside. Ethan Wiederkehr opted to use his COVID year to return to Evanston and will likely reprise his role at right tackle.

The interior of the offensive line is murkier.

Guards Josh Priebe and Charlie Schmidt both return. Schmidt could bump inside to center like he did when Sam Gerak went down last season; that seems like his more natural position. Priebe had an up-and-down 2021 campaign but probably has the biggest upside among the guards.

One of the favorites to fill an open spot at guard is graduate transfer Vince Picozzi, but he won't join the team until the summer. That gives young players a chance to stake their claim to the spot. Ben Wrather got the most work last season, but Dom D'Antonio and Conrad Rowley will also get their chance to impress offensive line coach Kurt Anderson.

Another intriguing option is redshirt freshman Josh Thompson, who could challenge for a starting job. He missed all of last year with a lisfranc injury, but is listed at a massive 6-foot-5 and 310 pounds and is the physical type of road grader that Anderson likes. The only question is whether or not he's healthy enough to compete.

Northwestern’s offense sputtered for most of last season, but Marshall Lang was an unexpected surprise.

The Cincinnati native led the Wildcats with three receiving touchdowns (we told you it was a tough year) as a redshirt freshman, something no one would have bet on in Las Vegas before the season. He only totaled 11 catches on the season for 68 yards, but he proved to be a weapon as a flex tight end, and a counter to Charlie Mangieri as the inline option.

Standing six-foot-four and weighing 235 pounds Lang is built like a tight end; he just needs to find the consistency. Bajakian is notoriously a fan of tight ends, since his stint at the University of Cincinnati, when he had Travis Kelce at his disposal. Having a versatile weapon like Lang could help unlock his offense.

This spring will be a crucial period for Lang taking the step to become one of NU's best pass catchers.

Evan Hull proved that he could carry the load for the Wildcats last season. The rising junior rushed for 1,009 yards and averaged 5.1 yards per carry, earning every yard for an offense that didn't have much else going for it. He also gave the Wildcats a legitimate home-run threat, ripping off 90- and 75-yard runs.

Hull got 196 carries last season because Cameron Porter, Northwestern's workhorse from 2020, was sidelined for the year after suffering a knee injury in training camp. Porter will be back in the fall and presumably healthy, even if he sits out of spring ball as a precaution.

On top of those two, there's Andrew Clair, who decided to come back for another year and gives the Wildcats a shifty, change-of-pace back and a polished receiver out of the backfield. Then there's 230-pound hammer Anthony Tyus III, who would like to carve out a role as a short-yardage, power back. Oh, and don't forget about incoming freshman Joseph Himon Jr., who will join the crowded backfield in the fall after winning the Gatorade Player of the Year Award in his home state of Arkansas.

Porter averaged 24 carries per game over the last three games of the 2020, when he carried the offense on his back as a true freshman. Will Bajakian continue to feed him the ball that frequently, or will he give more carries to Hull, now that he's a bona fide producer? Will Clair's reps decrease, or will his value as a counter to two power runners keep him on the field for about the same number of reps? Will Tyus get squeezed out of the rotation entirely? If Himon is ready to contribute as a first-year player, what can he add to the mix?

Some of those questions will begin to be answered this spring.