Which freshmen will play in 2017?

It’s a rite of summer every year in Evanston: trying to guess which true freshmen might see the field for the Wildcats in the fall.

It’s no easy feat. What makes it challenging is that head coach Pat Fitzgerald would prefer to redshirt as many rookies as he can, figuring the player will be much more valuable as a fifth-year senior, at age 23, than he will as an 18- or 19-year old who has never taken a college snap in his life. He has a point.

Add to that the fact that it’s difficult to assess who will be ready to play and who won’t, and where team needs might arise as injuries take their toll, and it’s easy to see why making these predictions isn’t very clear-cut.

We can make some assumptions to increase our odds, though. Very few offensive linemen come in ready play in the Big Ten, so centers, guards and tackles can be left out. The quarterback and running positions are loaded for Northwestern, making a freshman appearance in those spots as likely as Donald Trump getting an invitation to Anthony Scaramucci’s Super Bowl party. The superback, cornerback and safety spots are also highly unlikely.

Here, then, are our picks to play this season, in ascending order of likelihood. One, two or all might see playing time. Then again, if Fitzgerald gets his druthers, as few as possible will.

Why? Well, this one is a gimme. With Jack Mitchell graduated, Northwestern will look to Charlie Kuhbander to assume the placekicking duties. Kuhbander should be ready. He was the third-ranked kicker in the country according to Kohl’s Kicking, and he set the all-time Ohio record with 305 career kicking points (36 field goals and 197 PATs). Sophomore Mason Weissenhofer has a year on Kuhbander, but Northwestern gave Kuhbander a scholarship for a reason. It will be a disappointment if the freshman from Springboro (Ohio) isn’t the kicker on Day 1.

Why? The reason is simple: Solomon Vault is already out for the year with what the athletic department is calling a “lower body injury.” That leaves an opening at both slot wide receiver and kick returner. Kyric McGowan, from Dalton (Ga.), just happens to play both of those positions and is probably the fastest player in his class. At 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, McGowan has pretty good size and could be ready to go, especially as a return man, which is more about instinct than scheme. Fitzgerald said at Big Ten Media Days that he wants to get a look at the incoming freshmen as potential replacements for Vault; we think McGowan is most likely to catch his eye. At slot, Northwestern will rely on the proven Flynn Nagel and redshirt freshman Riley Lees, who has yet to see action. With as many combinations of receivers as the Wildcats like to use, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see McGowan line up in the slot on occasion.

Why? Once again, a player’s absence figures into this pick. Xavier Washington was arrested in the spring and suspended from the team, and Northwestern hasn’t given an update on his status since. If the senior doesn’t play, that could leave the door open for a freshman. Joe Gaziano figures to start at one end. If Washington is out of the lineup, Trent Goens would be the most likely starter on the other end as a redshirt sophomore, with depth provided by redshirt freshmen Mark Gooden and Tommy Carnifax (who didn’t practice in the spring). That’s it. Of the three talented incoming freshmen DEs, we think Sam Miller could get the nod. Miller enrolled in January and has a spring practice under his belt already. That experience gives him a leg up on the highly regarded pair of Earnest Brown and Trevor Kent, who turned down Ohio State and Michigan, respectively, among others. Miller got reps at both DT and DE in the spring, so he brings value as a guy they can plug in anywhere. Plus, his older brother Alex played in all 13 games as a DT for the Wildcats last fall; maybe it runs in the family.

Why? Northwestern had just six scholarship linebackers for spring ball and one of them (Warren Long) was a converted running back. But help is on the way, as three true freshman linebackers showed up for summer school last month. Of the three – Chee Anyanwu, Blake Gallagher and Peter McIntrye – Gallagher is by far the most ready to play. Anyanwu was a safety in high school and, at 204 pounds, will need to bulk up; McIntyre is coming off of a gruesome compound fracture of his tibia and fibula last fall and still isn’t expected to be 100-percent. That leaves Gallagher, who, at 6-foot-1 and 221 pounds, should be strong and stout enough to play middle linebacker in the Big Ten, as well as on special teams. Paddy Fisher and Nate Fox will continue their battle for the starting MLB job this fall. Fox could be used on the outside as well, which could leave a backup spot open for Gallagher if he’s up to the task.