Can Northwestern Wildcats Get Back to Top 25?
Offense
Siemian luckily has plenty of experience to step in as the full-time starter with the Wildcats after being the main passer for the offense last year and eventually seeing more time under center than Colter, who is now gone. As a senior this year and the full-time starter, has the potential to be really good after completing 60 percent of his passes last year and throwing for 2,149 yards and 11 touchdowns on only 298 attempts. With more of a chance to get into a rhythm this year, the quarterback position should be in much better shape with Siemian as the full-time starter. Junior Zack Oliver should be a good back up, and Fitzgerald has two four-star freshman there that have the most potential.
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At running back, the news that broke about Venric Mark’s decision to transfer was somewhat devastating with Wildcats fans looking forward to his return from injury. However, they got by last year with Treyvon Green, who managed 736 yards and 8 touchdowns on only 137 carries last year. With a full year to himself, Green has the potential to do even more damage, especially with Colter and Mark gone. Backing him up, sophomore Stephen Buckley gained experience as a freshman last year, and Warren Long and Dan Vitale both have limited experience as well. Fitzgerald has recruited well here, too, with 4-star freshman running back Justin Jackson expected to make an impact this year and freshman Auston Anderson coming in as well. The position overall will be better than last year.
The wide receiver position took a huge hit with the season ending injury to Christian Jones, who had 668 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns last year. However, surprisingly, there’s enough depth here that the unit should be fine. Senior Tony Jones had 630 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns, Vitale is back in the mix after 384 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns, and 4-star Rutgers transfer Miles Shuler could make an immediate impact as well. Junior Cameron Dickerson has the size at 6’3″ to make a big impact at the position after playing some last year, and then there’s Kyle Prater. The former 5-star on Rivals has one last shot to live up to his hype this year, and at 6’5″ his raw talent can’t be denied. I’m predicting that this is the year he breaks out and plays amazing, becoming a great safety blanket for Siemian, and as a result the receiving corps. overall should be much better, even with Jones’s injury. Prater and Tony Jones will be the outside receivers, look for Shuler in the slot, and Vitale will be plugged in anywhere. Those will be the main guys in the rotation most likely. Fitzgerald has plenty of other players on the roster, including 4-star freshman Garrett Dickerson, to have depth here.
Nov 23, 2013; Evanston, IL, USA; Northwestern Wildcats quarterback Trevor Siemian (13) drops back to pass during the second quarter against the Michigan State Spartans at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Reid Compton-USA TODAY Sports
The offensive line is the most loaded unit on the team. And it’s a unit that was pretty good last year. Senior center Brandon Vitabile and senior left tackle Jack Konopka are the two most experienced and best players on the line, and they play the two most important positions. That’s huge in itself. Add to that senior right tackle Paul Jorgensen, junior guard Geoff Mogus, and sophomore Ian Park, who started most of the season as a freshman last year, and you have a very experienced and talented line that could be great this year. None of the linemen are under 295 pounds. Junior Matt Frazier and sophomore Adam DePietro also have experience starting with the unit, and there are three other players who were in the rotation last year and can provide more depth. On top of that, Fitzgerald also has four 3-star freshmen on the team for even more depth, and long-term, as they gain experience, he’ll have a pretty good pipeline of guys he can simply plug into spots. This unit is more experienced than last year and has even more depth, so it makes sense to say that, barring injury, it should be much better than last year.
As a whole, expect significant improvement on the offense this year after it averaged only 26.2 points per game last year. With a full-time starter at quarterback, everybody back on an offensive line that was pretty good last year, and a very good mix of returning talent and potential at the skill positions, there’s no reason to believe it can’t average at least 30 points this year.