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Who was the best Northwestern quarterback over the last 25 years?

This should be fun.

We want to identify Northwestern's best quarterback over the last 25 years. And we're going to let YOU decide.

This upcoming 2020 season -- if it is played, of course -- will mark the 25th anniversary of Northwestern's 1995 Rose Bowl team. It is a special silver anniversary for the Wildcats. Not only is it a celebration of the most beloved and arguably best team in school history, but it gives us an opportunity to look back and assess the quarter century since that magic year when the Wildcats' Cinderella story captured the imagination of a nation.

So we have listed below our top five NU quarterbacks over the last 25 years, signal callers who have etched their names all over Northwestern's record books -- and Wildcat fans' hearts. We provide you with the reasons you might want to vote for him, a summary of his career and vital stats.

We ask you to read the synopses of each quarterback below, and then vote for your QB1 on the WildcatReport Football Board. You'll find the link at the end of this story.


STEVE SCHNUR (1993-96)

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Reason he deserves it: The hardware. More than any other position, quarterbacks are judged by championships, and Schnur is the only QB in Northwestern history with two Big Ten titles to his name. He also has the best winning percentage of any starting QB in school history.


The skinny: Many fans remember Schnur as the "game manager" who handed the ball off to Darnell Autry on the 1995 Rose Bowl team. But he was also "the man" for the 1996 team that went 9-3 and won a share of a second straight Big Ten title.

Schnur led the Big Ten in passes, attempts, yards and touchdowns in 1996 and was named the consensus first-team All-Big Ten quarterback. He probably should've won the 1996 Silver Football as conference MVP, but it instead went to Ohio State tackle Orlando Pace, the only offensive lineman to win it over the last 60 years.

Schnur was not very big or fast and had a good, but not great arm. But he was a master decision maker and an absolute warrior in the pocket who was not afraid to take the big hit and deliver a strike. He went 19-8 (.704) as a starter in his career and a sparkling 19-5 (.792) in '95 and '96, the two years under consideration.


The numbers:

Steve Schnur
Comp. % Pass Yds TDs/INTs Rush Yds Rush TDs

Career*

56.4%

5,612

32/34

-70

6

Best Year ('96)

60.1%

2,632

17/14

-32

1

* Includes statistics from 1993, '94.

ZAK KUSTOK (1999-01)

Reason he deserves it: The offense. Kustok was the dual-threat trigger man for the explosive spread offense that won Northwestern a share of the 2000 Big Ten title and became the program's identity.


The skinny: Kustok, a transfer from Notre Dame, was the perfect man at the perfect time to run the spread offense that Northwestern unleashed on the Big Ten in 2000. The Wildcats, with Kustok at quarterback and 2,000-yard rusher Damien Anderson at running back, had the top offense in the Big Ten that year, averaging 475.3 yards and a whopping 38.5 points per game. They rode that offense to an 8-4 record and piece of the conference crown.

Kustok followed up that remarkable season with his best statistical year in 2001, even if the team fell to a 4-7 record. His 3,272 yards of total offense in 2001 was a school record at the time.

Kustok was equally deadly with his feet or his arm and currently stands sixth all-time among NU quarterbacks in passing and second in rushing. Pretty impressive for a two-year starter who played just 30 career games. His 39 touchdown passes in 2000-01 is the most in NU history over a two-year span, and he added 20 more TDs on the ground.


The numbers:

Zak Kustok
Comp. % Pass Yds TDs/INTs Rush Yds Rush TDs

Career

55.1%

5,822

42*/23

1,294

22

Best Year ('01)

57.2%

2,692

20/10

580

11

* All-time Northwestern leader in touchdowns per game (1.4)

BRETT BASANEZ (2002-05)

Reason he deserves it: The combination of both career and season accomplishments. Basanez is one of just five Big Ten quarterbacks in history to throw for 10,000 yards, and he was the first-team All-Big QB in 2005, when he put up a season for the ages.


The skinny: Basanez started as a redshirt freshman in 2002 and had a promising year. He followed that up with a disastrous sophomore year and a very good junior campaign. Then, came 2005.

With Basanez slinging the ball all over the field and Tyrell Sutton rushing for nearly 1,500 yards, Northwestern averaged a Big Ten-best 500.3 yards per game. Basanez led the Big Ten in passes, completions, passing yards and total offense that season on his way to being named the first-team All-Big Ten QB. He threw for 300 yards in a school-record five straight games, and he still holds the NU record for most yards of total offense in a season with 4,045 -- 320 more than second place.

By the end of his career, Basanez set virtually every Northwestern season and career passing mark. He still holds the records for yards per game (225.1), 200-yard (26) and 300-yard passing games (10), and he ranks second all-time in career yards and touchdowns.


The numbers:

Brett Basanez
Comp. % Pass Yds TDs/INTs Rush Yds Rush TDs

Career

57.6%

10,580*

44*/36

996

18

Best Year ('05)

63.2%

3,622*

21*/8

423

7

* Second all-time among Northwestern quarterbacks

DAN PERSA (2008-11)

Reason he deserves it: The 2010 season. A redshirt junior and first-year starter, Persa set the gold standard for Northwestern quarterback play with a season of sublime efficiency. He was named first-team All-Big Ten despite tearing his Achilles in Week 10.


The skinny: Persa waited three years to get the starting job, and man, did he take advantage of it. He completed an amazing 73.5% of his passes that year. Look at the Northwestern single-season records Persa still holds from 2010: yards per completion (12.64), pass efficiency rating (165.27), lowest interception percentage (1.32%), TD-to-INT ratio (3.75), completion-to-interception ratio (55.5) and attempt-to-interception ratio (75.5). He was decisive and accurate with his throws, and if the play broke down -- as it often did -- he could just take off and run.

What makes Persa's accomplishments more impressive is that he had very little help around him that season. His 519 yards yards of rushing were just 11 fewer than leading rusher Mike Trumpy and, in all, he accounted for 61% of the team's total offense (3,100 of 5,084). No wonder NU mounted a Heisman campaign the following season.

Persa suffered a season-ending Achilles injury while celebrating throwing the game-winning touchdown pass against Iowa on Nov. 13. He missed the last three games of the season (all losses). He came back in 2011 but was never the same again. Oh, what might have been.


The numbers:

Dan Persa
Comp. % Pass Yds TDs/INTs Rush Yds Rush TDs

Career

72.7%*

5,181

34/13

716

10

Best Year ('10)

73.5%

2,581

15/4

519

9

* Best all-time among Northwestern quarterbacks

CLAYTON THORSON (2015-18)

Reason he deserves it: The stats. A four-year starter who never missed a start, Thorson owns every major career passing record at Northwestern. He also won more games (36) and bowls (3) than any other Wildcat QB.


The skinny: Steady as a metronome, Thorson just kept on piling up statistics until his name was atop every major passing record at Northwestern. He is No. 1 in school history in games, attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns, and he ranks fourth all-time in the Big Ten in career passing yards, one spot ahead of Basanez.

Thorson began his career as a shaky redshirt freshman starter who was a better runner than passer in a limited offense. But he gained confidence week-to-week and year-to-year, developing into the most prolific passer in school history.

He had his best year as a sophomore in 2016, when he threw for a school-record 22 TDs. But in a testament to his consistency, his final three seasons rank fourth, fifth and sixth in all-time single-season passing yards at Northwestern.

Thorson capped his career in 2018 by claiming a Big Ten West division title and a Holiday Bowl win.


The numbers:

Clayton Thorson
Comp. % Pass Yds TDs/INTs Rush Yds Rush TDs

Career*

58.4%

10,731*

61*/45

408

27

Best Year ('16)

58.6%

3,182

22*/9

98

5

* Most all-time among Northwestern quarterbacks

VOTING

Go to our Football Board to cast your vote. You can vote for any of the five QBs above, and we'll also allow you to vote for a write-in candidate. There are certainly some worthy candidates: C.J. Bacher still has his name all over NU's record book. Mike Kafka had a sensational season in 2009. How about Kain Colter or Trevor Siemian? Or both?


Ready? CLICK HERE TO VOTE

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