EVANSTON-Fred Wyatt’s name listed as a starter at defensive end was one of the surprises of the two-deep that Northwestern released this week for the season opener against Nevada.

The redshirt sophomore had been a defensive tackle for his first two years in Evanston, so many observers didn’t even realize he was even in the battle at defensive end.

It turns out that Wyatt’s starting role is evidence of a philosophical change for the boundary defensive end position at Northwestern, brought about by the play of C.J. Robbins a season ago. And it was Wyatt himself who requested the move, as he thought he could do for the Wildcats this year what Robbins did last year.

Robbins, who was a sixth-year senior last season, had played his entire career at defensive tackle before coaches moved him outside. As defensive line coach Marty Long explained, the Wildcats moved the 300-pound Robbins outside to anchor the end against teams that want to run outside the tackle.