What to "watch" for on offense in camp

It's August, and with camp just around the corner, WildcatReport takes a look at what to watch for on each side of the ball. We start with Northwestern's offense.

There are several things to watch in fall camp on the offensive side of the ball for Northwestern. That’s what happens when you finish last in the Big Ten in scoring, total and passing offense.

But let’s get one thing straight here: fans won’t be able to literally watch these things – just coaches. Once again, Northwestern’s practices will be closed to the public, save for a scrimmage or two. So these are things we will need to more of less divine through what coaches and players say and writers write over these next 30 days until the Wildcats’ opener against Western Michigan on Sept. 3 at Ryan Field.

Here is a look at the things to “watch” at each position on offense.

There is no drama here: Clayton Thorson will be the starter and Matt Alviti will be his backup. The thing to watch will be how much better and more accurate Thorson is in his second year as “the man”.

It’s true that Thorson was a redshirt freshman who last year who won 10 games last season, a statistic head coach Pat Fitzgerald has used countless times this offseason to defend his starting QB, and one which also gives him considerable slack with the public. But he has to improve on his accuracy this season. He completed just 51 percent of his passes last season and averaged just 117.1 yards passing per game. He didn’t get a lot of help from his receivers, of course, but he also didn’t help himself a whole lot by often being tentative and indecisive in the pocket.

Offensive coordinator Mick McCall was pleased with the strides Thorson made in his fundamentals over the winter, with his footwork and shoulders especially. He is expecting a big jump from Thorson in his second year at the helm – and so are fans. Thorson has all the tools you look for in a quarterback. He’s 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, he has a big arm to make all the throws, he is a gifted runner and superior athlete, and he has a great work ethic. He just needs to put it all together. Sooner, rather than later, preferably.

Last year, Thorson got one-third of the reps as he, Alviti and Zack Oliver battled for the No. 1 job. This spring, he got all the first-team reps, and he will again this fall.

Who will get the No. 3 job? That will be a contest between redshirt freshman Lloyd Yates (who could make a transition to another position if he doesn’t win the job) and freshman Aidan Smith.

Once again, this position has all the intrigue of a 1-16 matchup in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Justin Jackson will be the No. 1 tailback and primary mail carrier and Warren Long will be his No. 2 and the team’s short-yardage, power back. That’s set in stone.

The interesting thing will be to watch the battle for the No. 3 job between Auston Anderson and John Moten. Both are speed guys with burst. Anderson is in his third year in Evanston (though one was wiped out by injury), Moten his second. Anderson may have a little bit more quickness, but at 6-foot and 202 pounds, Moten has the edge in size by three inches and 12 pounds. It will be interesting to see who gets more carries this season, and the battle may be determined by who is the better receiver and pass blocker.

As for the incoming freshmen, you can expect Jesse Brown and Jeremy Larkin to redshirt unless there are significant injuries in front of them. And that’s a possibility – just a couple years ago, Northwestern was down to its No. 6 tailback against Nebraska.

What does it say about a position when the leading returning receiver is a former walkon and that two players who moved to wideout in the spring could start in the fall? Nothing good, that’s for sure.

Austin Carr, the former walkon, is the leading returning receiver with 302 yards (and two touchdowns) last season. He will probably have one starting job. The other two may go to former running back Solomon Vault and former cornerback Marcus McShepard, who both just moved to the receiver room last spring. Vault is a proven commodity and a player head coach Pat Fitzgerald lamented he didn’t move sooner. McShepard is an excellent athlete who was buried at cornerback, but McCall cautioned in the spring that he had a long way to go to be a contributor.

Really, though, the wide receiver position isn’t about who is starting; it’s about which top five or six players can be relied upon to get open and make catches. This fall will determine who those players might be.

Flynn Nagel and Jelani Roberts are small slot guys who will see significant time in the rotation and hope to be guys that are able to stretch the field with their speed. On the outside, Northwestern hasn’t gotten much from veterans Andrew Scanlan and Macan Wilson and will need some young redshirt freshmen to step up. WildcatReport heard good things about 6-foot-4 Charlie Fessler in practice last year, and Cameron Green has improved his conditioning and could be ready for action.

Then, of course, there’s true freshman Riley Lees, a fan favorite who could make his way onto the field, but only if he is able to transition from quarterback to wide receiver as quickly as he got to the end zone for Libertyville (Ill.) last year.

Dan Vitale, one of the best all-around athletes Northwestern has ever had, is gone. This fall the Wildcats have to figure out how to make up for his absence.

McCall will likely continue to employ more superback and two-back sets this season, especially if the wide receivers don’t raise their level of play as much as hope. Look for Garret Dickerson to take on a larger role. He’s an inline tight end, but he has the athleticism to be better utilized in the passing game. Jayme Taylor, who had an impressive rookie campaign in 2014, is back in the H-back (Vitale) role. He will also be an added weapon as a pass catcher, too. James Prather or Eric Lutzen will probably be called upon in jumbo, two-tight end sets as blockers.

Eric Eshoo will also make his debut in camp. He’s another big, versatile and athletic player who will eventually carve out a niche in the offense, either this season or next.

On paper, the offensive line seems pretty much set with, from left to right tackle, Blake Hance, Ian Park, Brad North, Connor Mahoney and Eric Olson. But some of those names are in pencil, not ink, and there are a couple players on the two-deep who could take an eraser to those plans.

Park is probably the best player of the bunch and Hance is an emerging star who started eight games at left tackle as a redshirt freshman last season and will only get better with experience. Those two names are in ink. They also really need North, who started the last four games in 2015, to take the center job by the throat and make it his, so Park doesn’t have to come to his rescue.

But Shane Mertz, in his sixth year, started six games last season and will certainly push Mahoney at guard. Mahoney isn’t a great athlete, but he’s a tough, scrappy veteran who made five starts last year after moving over from the defensive line in the spring. Olson didn’t have a stellar year last year and, even though he is a senior, could get challenged by Doles, another athletic big man who has put on weight and is now ready to compete, if not this year, then next.

Then, there are a herd of young bucks to watch who could crack the two deep. Redshirt freshmen Jared Thomas and Andrew Otterman could be on the second team at guard, and Ben Oxley, a redshirt sophomore who moved from defensive line, also bears watching.