Ten Questions: 7. Will Northwestern be able to pressure the passer?
This is the seventh of 10 questions we are asking that will determine Northwestern's 2023 season.
Northwestern's defense struggled across the board last season, much like they did the year before. The Wildcats couldn't stop the run (they ranked 110th in the nation), couldn't create turnovers (118th) and fell victim to big plays.
Those are just a few of the reasons why defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil is no longer employed in Evanston.
But another area where the Wildcats were woefully deficient was pressuring the quarterback. Northwestern generated 18 sacks last season, just 1.5 per game. That placed them last in the Big Ten and in a four-way tie for 114th in the country. They had just 19 the year before, when the defense also had problems stopping anyone.
But sacks only tell part of the story. Even if a defense can't get the quarterback on the ground, a hurry can force an incompletion or, ideally, a turnover. The problem is, Northwestern was woefully deficient in that area, as well.
The Wildcats were credited with just 12 QBHs in 2022. Quarterback hurries aren't tracked nationally or conference-wide, but that's less than half of their total from the year before.
So not only did pass rushers not get home, the Wildcats were rarely even close to getting to the quarterback before he delivered the ball. They didn't flush the passer from the pocket or impact his rhythm.
Now you can understand why the Wildcats intercepted just six passes all year.
So new defensive coordinator David Braun -- who's doubling as the program's interim head coach this fall, as you may have heard -- will have his hands full trying to transform the pass rush.
The good news is that Northwestern added some talent that may help. The bad news is that they probably lost a little more.
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TEN QUESTIONS SERIES:
1. Can the Cats flip their turnover ratio? l 2. Will the Cats be able to stop the run? l 3. Will Ben Bryant be the answer at quarterback? l 4. Can NU capitalize on its non-conference schedule | 5. Can Cam Porter return to form? l 6. Does Northwestern have the depth to compete?
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The primary loss, of course, is DE Adetomiwa Adebawore, a fourth-round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts last spring who led the team with 5.0 sacks and 3.0 QBHs last season. He was a rarity, a 280-pounder who could anchor the edge but had enough speed to get around the edge. But it's telling that Adebawore's team-best total ranked just 11th in the Big Ten.
The other key departures include DT Ryan Johnson (2.0 sacks), DT Devin O'Rourke (1.5) and CB Cameron Mitchell (1.0).
On the plus side, the Wildcat bring back their Nos. 2 and 3 sackers in LBs Xander Mueller (2.5) and Bryce Gallagher (1.5). No other returnees registered more than one sack or one QBH last season.
However, Northwestern brought in a couple interesting additions who could help them get to the quarterback this year.
Transfer DE Richie Hagarty had 6.5 sacks for Southern Illinois last season and was a first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference pick. He's registered 16.5 TFL and 11 sacks for SIU over the last two seasons.
Michael Kilbane is the lone four-star remaining among the incoming freshman class and could have the type of talent to see the field in the fall. He had a school-record 20.5 sacks at Ohio state-champion Lakewood St. Edward's last season.
The Wildcats also have a handful of players who could take another step in their development as pass rushers: DEs like Aidan Hubbard and Anto Saka, for example, or DT Najee Story, a three-technique who could wreak havoc inside.
New DT transfers Matthew Lawson and Reginald Pearson are more run-stuffers than guys who might be able to push the pocket from the inside. Freshmen Tyler Gant and Dylan Roberts could turn into disruptive tackles someday, but you can't realistically expect too much from them in their first season.
The Cats could be able to piece together a package of DEs that can generate some heat on third down with some combination of Hagarty and Hubbard on the outside, and Saka and Pate inside.
But by and large, Northwestern doesn't have a lot of guys with the quick-twitch athleticism to defeat a block and get to the quarterback in time to affect a throw. Sean McLaughlin is a solid every-down end, but he started all 12 games last season opposite Adebawore and didn’t produce a single sack, and just one QBH.
That means that the Wildcats are going to have to resort to blitzing, perhaps more than they'd like. They did it quite a bit last season, which is why five of the seven returning players with the most sacks are LBs or DBs.
Gallagher, Mueller, Rod Heard II and Coco Azema are proven blitzers, and Braun and his staff will no doubt come up with some creative schemes to give them lanes to the quarterback. But blitzing is a double-edged sword: sending an extra player to the QB makes the back-half of the defense more vulnerable to big plays, something that has plagued the Wildcats just as much as their pass rushing struggles.
Braun will have to find the delicate balance to ensure that the quest to make a big play on defense doesn’t lead to too many big plays for the opponent’s offense.