Position battles on both sides of the ball were resolved Monday with the release of Northwestern’s depth chart for its first game of the season against No. 21 Stanford on Saturday. The depth chart ended speculation about starters on the offensive line, at linebacker and elsewhere and confirmed redshirt freshman Clayton Thorson as the starting quarterback.

But while Thorson will definitely be taking the first offensive snap, sophomore Matt Alviti and senior Zack Oliver are listed as co-backups on the Wildcats’ chart, which traditionally only goes two players deep.

Junior Ian Park, who battled sophomore Brad North for the starting job at center, is listed as the starter at left guard instead. Park may be a fill-in for senior Matt Frazier, who remains out indefinitely with a staph infection.

Junior Warren Long is listed as sophomore Justin Jackson’s official backup at running back, though sophomore Solomon Vault and redshirt freshman Auston Anderson are still sure to see some playing time. NU doesn’t list return specialists on its depth chart, but Vault is likely to reprise his role as kick returner this year.

On the defensive side of the ball, junior Jaylen Prater won the battle to start at weakside linebacker next to sophomore Anthony Walker and senior Drew Smith.

And along the defensive line, sophomore Tyler Lancaster won the starting job at one of the defensive tackle positions, possibly in place of the recently retired Sean McEvilly. Jordan Thompson, a co-backup to Lancaster, is the only true freshman listed on the depth chart.

Here is the depth chart in full:

Offense

Defense

Specialists

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