EVANSTON-If you came to Northwestern’s Thursday morning practice looking for news, you would have been disappointed.

After a Tuesday practice that produced news that reverberated from coast-to-coast on Twitter within seconds, Thursday was just another hot, quiet and routine day on the lakefront that barely registered a whisper.

There were a few reasons for that.

First, Northwestern didn’t have any big news to announce. They apparently emptied their chambers two days before, when, within a few minutes of each other, the program sent out a tweet declaring starting running back Cam Porter and tackle Zachary Franks out for the year, and head coach Pat Fitzgerald named Hunter Johnson the starting quarterback. There was no such information to disseminate on Thursday, and Fitzgerald wasn’t even scheduled to talk to the media.

As for the practice itself, the media in attendance were, as usual, not allowed to report on what they saw. On top of that, however, it was Veteran Day for the Wildcats, meaning that the majority of seniors and upperclassmen starters got the day off.

Did you come to watch Johnson in his first practice since earning the QB1 job? Sorry. He was dressed and spoke to the media, but he did not take part in scrimmages. You wanted to see how Evan Hull looked now that he’s the de-facto starting tailback? Yeah, well, he’s in workout clothes, doing drills on another field. Want to get a glimpse to see if safety Brandon Joseph is back in All-American form? Nope, he’s wearing shorts and a T-shirt, too.

The biggest play of the entire practice was a long pass from quarterback Andrew Marty to wide receiver Braeden Heald. You’re probably not going to hear much from that combination on Saturdays this fall.

Thursday’s practice was also cut down from 17 periods to 10 on account of the extreme heat. So instead of a 12:30 pm wrap-up, the team was done a little after 11 am.

The most newsworthy event of the day was the annual team watermelon-eating contest. That’s when all the first-years in the program lay on their bellies and bury their faces into watermelon slices on the back line of the end zone.

Everyone from 18-year-old freshmen like Najee Story to 23-year-old grad transfers like Jeffrey Pooler to 42-year-old defensive coordinators like Jim O’Neil took part. (Yes, even O’Neil, who, rumor has it, was wearing long pants because he knew he would be laying on the ground.)

All of O’Neil’s preparation went for naught, however. The winner was grad transfer defensive tackle Jeremy Meiser. Score one for the older, but not oldest guys.

It was a perfect day for watermelon eating because the weather was brutally stifling on the lakefront. You could feel the heat generated by those little black rubber pellets in the turf through the bottoms of your shoes. Sweat was dripping off the nose of this reporter, who was doing nothing more than standing on the sideline. Grad transfer running back Andrew Clair said that he loses about five pounds at every practice.

Yet Fitzgerald was in his customary uniform of a long sleeve T-shirt and a vest, along with shorts. While the long sleeves are no doubt designed to prevent his Irish skin from turning Badger red, not even media relations staffer Ray O’Connell could explain the vest.

Northwestern, of course, is very strict about what you can report – nothing – and can’t report – everything – from practice. But they can’t stop passersby on the lake-side of the field from watching the activity from along the fence. However, staffers will make it clear to any casual spectator who raises a cell phone in front of his face that filming of practice is strictly forbidden.

At one point, near the end of the session, three military helicopters flew overhead. “I think that was Mel Tucker” said someone in the crowd, referring to the head coach of the Michigan State team Northwestern faces in the season opener on Sept. 3.

(Okay, full disclosure: that was me. But you get the picture.)

After practice, Johnson told the handful of media that he was a different quarterback than the guy who started four games in 2019, and that Fitzgerald naming him the starter was a boost to his confidence. He also said that he received congratulatory messages from Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, among many others.

Running backs coach Lou Ayeni says his room “will be fine,” expressing confidence that his backs will pick up the slack left by Porter’s injury. “We’ve got guys who can play,” he said.

Hull described how talking to Porter after Friday’s fateful practice actually lifted his spirits. “It’s funny, he almost comforted me more than I comforted him,” said Hull.

Look for stories to come on WildcatReport. Just don’t expect another round of bombshells like the ones dropped on Tuesday.