The third of ten questions we're asking that will determine Northwestern's season.
There's position group under the most scrutiny this offseason at Northwestern is the offensive line. Though they clicked late to help capture an 8-5 season, the Wildcats finished second-to-last in the Big Ten in rushing yards and allowed 4+ sacks in six different games.
The program parted ways with offensive line coach Kurt Anderson after the season and brought in veteran Bill O'Boyle as his replacement. O'Boyle was hired away from San Diego State where he was set to work yet again for head coach Sean Lewis, who he's coached offensive line for the past six seasons.
He inherits a group that has a lot to prove, and few proven quantities: as many as four positions could see new starters in 2024. There's one player that should return to the same position as last season: left tackle Caleb Tiernan.
Tiernan, a four-star tackle in the Class of 2021, stepped up into the role after two campaigns learning behind NFL first rounder Peter Skoronski. Those are big shoes to fill, but the 6-foot-7, 325-pounder started to find his footing as the season progressed.
Everywhere else is up for grabs. Guard Josh Priebe left in the portal to Michigan and guard Dom D'Antonio departed to coach Italian pro football. Right tackle Josh Thompson took on the starting role Week 3 but, with an influx of transfers, could see a position change in 2024.
Ben Wrather started 12 of 13 games at center and returns, but was briefly replaced by Jackson Carsello for the Nebraska game. Though Wrather recaptured the starting role against Maryland the next week and the rest of the season, the brief swap was purposeful. Wrather and Carsello are both back for 2024, but their roles are up in the air.
New starters along the line could come from among Northwestern's incoming trio of transfers: guard Jack Bailey from Colorado, tackle Matt Keeler from Texas Tech and tackle Cooper Lovelace from USC. Offensive line is at an absolute premium in the portal, but the Wildcats have the good fortune to bring in three Power Four players.
There is also a rising cohort of players on roster, led by sophomore Jordan Knox, ready to contest the established or incoming players. Knox started the Las Vegas Bowl when Priebe opted out, and nearly won a starting guard spot in fall over D'Antonio. Count Carsello in this mix, as well as guards Deuce McGuire, Nick Herzog and Anthony Birsa.
O'Boyle has plenty of options in this room. How will the Wildcats assemble their best starting five?
Tiernan is a lock at left tackle. He was the only lineman to start every game in 2023 and should be on the same track in 2024.
The nod at right tackle is bit murkier but keep an eye on Lovelace, the USC transfer, who should be in the lead. The charismatic, athletic and enthusiastic former Trojan picked the Wildcats in a recruitment that he said had 'every program in the country on my phone'. Lovelace was listed at 6-foot-5, 305 pounds in the USC program this spring. He appeared in seven games over the past two seasons for Lincoln Riley recruited him from Butler (Kan.) Community College.
Lovelace known O'Boyle for five years now through Nate Haremza, the offensive line coach at Butler all three seasons he played there and one of O'Boyle's former assistants. Those seven appearances may not sound like much but, at a program like USC, in the modern OL transfer market, Lovelace is worth his weight in gold.
When WildcatReport contacted him after his commitment he mentioned a move to guard could be on the table, but we predict the first way he hits the field for the Wildcats will be at tackle.
Weighing in at 305 is light for a Big Ten tackle but that fits O'Boyle's planned style for the Wildcats up front. He wants guys that can get out of their stances and go, rather than stand pat and maul. Look for Lovelace to pack on a few more pounds by fall, but he's on pace to be a perfect fit for that system.
Keeler, who has two years of eligibility, could push Lovelace for that right tackle role but makes more sense as a third tackle for 2024, ready in case of injury and penciled in as a starter for 2025.
Tiernan and Lovelace at the tackles would push Thompson back into guard, likely on the right side. Thompson, who was recruited as a guard out of high school was a hidden gem on the offensive line last season. He came in off the bench in Week 2 vs. UTEP to take over at right tackle. He was an immediate spark plug and started in that role through the end of the season.
The unit really found a groove in the home stretch. Quarterback Ben Bryant had the time to throw for 200+ yards in each of his last three games and the Wildcats won four straight on their way to a Vegas Bowl victory. That momentum shouldn't be idly cast aside, but a move inside for Thompson would unlock opportunities for others and that's a consistent theme when looking across the offensive line room.
At left guard, the door is open for a talented young player like Knox, who stepped up as a postseason starter and excelled before suffering an injury.
He should be back with a vengeance in fall camp, out to get the starting job he narrowly missed last year and briefly tasted in bowl season. He appeared in eight of the 13 games so, while he was knocked out for the spring, expect him to have a leg up on the next wave of young guys like Herzog, McGuire and Birsa.
O'Boyle values versatility and Northwestern could start the season by counting on five players to adapt together, rather than sorting by last season's positional labels and leaving talent on the sideline. Center is maybe the most complex choice on O'Boyle's board. There's on-roster experience with Wrather, or even Carsello, from 2023. But it's also a prime spot to play Bailey, an O'Boyle disciple.
He's started 30 games across the past three seasons under O'Boyle, at Kent State and then at Colorado. The significant majority of those were at guard but he has played five games at center before. Like Thompson, it's not where he started 10+ games in 2023, but it's where he could fit in to optimize the Wildcats' offensive front.
Like Lovelace, it's doubtful he will have spent his last year of eligibility in an extraordinarily high-demand offensive line transfer market to go to a team where he won't play. Like Lovelace, he's a player that's hard to keep on the sidelines when they want their best five on the field.
Northwestern could fill their offensive line with as many as four new starters from their lineup last season, and O'Boyle has a thicket of lineup possibilities to wade through by the season opener.
If he can find the best five, and how fast he can find them, will determine the course of Northwestern's 2024 season.
