Northwestern’s new spread offense may have just found itself a go-to guy.
Today marks the first day of practice in freshman Jovan Witherspoon’s career as a Wildcat wideout. Regarded as one of the best freshmen receivers in the country, Witherspoon officially transferred to NU from Notre Dame last week.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound wideout from Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne, Ind., initially chose Notre Dame over Northwestern and Purdue. His father, Roosevelt Barnes, played football and basketball at Purdue before playing with the Detroit Lions for five years.
Witherspoon isn’t the first member of the Irish to transfer to NU in the recent past. Quarterback Zak Kustok and guard Jeff Roehl — both starters on the current Cats squad — have made the same switch in the past two seasons.
In high school, Witherspoon helped lead Bishop Luers to the Indiana Class 2A state championship his senior year. That season, in which he caught 69 passes at wide receiver and made nine interceptions at safety, helped him shoot up numerous national recruiting lists.
Last season, recruiting analyst Tom Lemming had Witherspoon rated as the 25th-best recruit in the country.
“The Big Ten is the best conference in college football,” Barnes said. “(Jovan’s) really optimistic about Northwestern playing in a B.C.S. bowl in the near future.
“Being on the ground floor of building towards a national championship (is a big plus).”
Witherspoon’s quick decision to leave the Golden Dome and Touchdown Jesus for Evanston and the Big Ten will cost him the opportunity to play in any games this season, since all Division I transfers must sit out a year. But Witherspoon will have four years of eligibility left beginning in 2001 since he saw no game action with the Fighting Irish.
Barnes said that Witherspoon began considering the transfer almost as soon as he stepped on campus in South Bend, Ind., even though he felt Notre Dame might be a national championship contender this year.
“He believed that they were going to be a winning program,” Barnes said. “But as far as the system was concerned, he just didn’t feel he fit into the style.”
Notre Dame has long been regarded an excellent running program, one that hasn’t put an emphasis on throwing the ball.
NU’s new spread offense, which often features four or five receivers on the field, was a major factor in the decision to transfer, according to Barnes. He said that the innovative game plans of head coach Randy Walker and offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson helped make the decision an easier one for Witherspoon.
Witherspoon will add a needed big target to the already deep wide receiver corps. The Cats short passing game has thus far depended on smaller receivers such as Sam Simmons , Jon Schweighardt and Teddy Johnson.
Witherspoon could add much more than just size to the Cats offense. Barnes said Witherspoon’s strengths are “his size, his speed and his ability to go after the football.”
Ultimately, though, Witherspoon came to NU not to continue a tradition of transfers, but to start a tradition of winning.
“They have the nucleus to build,” Barnes said. “When he gets the opportunity to play he won’t be under any pressure. People will soon forget about his dad.”
