Jovan Witherspoon sat out all of last season after transferring to the Wildcats from Notre Dame.
And now, having sacrificed his first year of college eligibility, the wideout will have to ride the pine a little bit longer.
Witherspoon broke a bone in his left foot over the weekend, taking him out of commission for Saturday’s spring game. As a result, the next chance Witherspoon will have to see playing time will come in Kenosha, Wis., where Northwestern holds its summer training camp.
Witherspoon came to NU last fall as a much-heralded freshman transfer after spending just a few weeks with the Fighting Irish. Witherspoon – whose father played in the NFL and is now a sports agent – was expected by some to be a major contributor to the program this year.
Many thought the 6-foot-4 wideout would turn into a solid possession receiver and an asset for Randy Walker’s short passing game out of the spread offense. But Walker had mentioned that he was less than pleased with Witherspoon’s progress this spring.
Witherspoon watched Tuesday’s practice on crutches, wearing the orange jersey for injured players and keeping his foot slightly off the ground.
“Jovan definitely won’t play this week at all,” Walker said.
HIGH-FLYING START: Witherspoon may be grounded, but redshirt freshman quarterback Tony Stauss has been red-hot in the team’s two intrasquad scrimmages thus far.
With starting quarterback Zak Kustok seeing little action in the 11-on-11 practices, Stauss has had the opportunity to get most of the snaps with the first-team offense, an opportunity he has taken advantage of to the fullest.
“Everything is just kind of coming together,” Stauss said. “I’m trying to come out every day and get one day better.”
Sitting out last season gave Stauss the chance to get accustomed to college football, a transition made easier by the fact that he ran the spread offense in high school. And based on his performance this spring, that transition appears to have occurred seamlessly.
Stauss completed nine of 12 passes for two touchdowns in the first scrimmage April 7 and followed that impressive debut with a 6-for-8 showing last Saturday, connecting on two more touchdown passes and running for another score.
The quarterback from Racine, Wis., has had to work with almost all of the team’s wide receivers this spring, normally playing with the second team but moving up into the first unit when Walker gives Kustok a rest.
“It’s a little different of course, going from the twos to the ones,” Stauss said. “But we’ve got a good corps of receivers and every guy that we have is a good guy to throw to.”
In the spring game, Stauss said he hopes to see time with the first team, although he’s not certain how much he’ll get to play. Last year, Kustok took almost every snap with the first-team offense, although that was before he had established himself as an upper-echelon Big Ten quarterback.
“If it follows the scrimmage patterns, hopefully I’ll get some reps with the first team,” Stauss said. “But I’m just content with wherever I’m going to be.”
SNAP TO IT: Freshman walk-on Mike Griffin has been the beneficiary of the recent rash of injuries to the wide receivers. With Witherspoon out and others on the depth chart banged up, Griffin has gotten the chance to play with the first unit in the past week.
He caught one of Stauss’ touchdown passes on Saturday, a 40-yard hookup that was the day’s most exciting play. Realistically, however, Griffin will make his mark for the Cats as a long snapper, a task the high school quarterback never tackled before this year.
“My personal goal right now is just to get a scholarship,” Griffin said. “I have a pretty good chance to be the long snapper. Coach (Jack) Glowik talks to me about that all the time – that will be my main shot to get on the field.”
