Northwestern quarterback Brett Basanez stormed up to his older teammates at the game’s turning point in the third quarter. The signal caller’s body language demonstrated his frustration.
Basanez was animated after the Wildcats failed to score on a third-and-goal from the 1-yard line.
The redshirt freshman provided leadership for NU (3-9, 1-7 Big Ten) in Saturday’s 31-24 loss to Illinois at Ryan Field.
In his ninth start, Basanez threw for a career-high 368 yards in the final game of the season. Afterward his teammates and coach praised Basanez’s leadership and potential.
“You saw today that Brett is going to be a great quarterback and a great leader for this team,” senior center Austin King said. “I have no doubt about it and I wouldn’t expect anything less than big things from him.”
Basanez had the biggest game of his career against the Fighting Illini, completing 31 of 49 passes, setting career-highs for completions and attempts.
In the first quarter, Basanez carried the Cats’ offense. He completed 7 of 9 passes for 106 yards including a 23-yard touchdown strike to Kunle Patrick.
Along with the personal bests, Basanez also had a career-high three interceptions. But the picks came at times of desperation. Two were long throws into the endzone on fourth-down plays and one was a deep pass on the Cats’ final drive of the game.
“Obviously, I didn’t play good enough because we didn’t come up with the victory,” Basanez said. “It’s hard to put on a happy face because we didn’t get a victory.
“Overall, I feel like I matured a lot this season, and the seniors have really taken me under their wing.”
Basanez played with composure in the final game of the year. In the fourth quarter, with his team trailing by 21 points, he threw for 153 yards and led NU down the field for two touchdowns.
The freshman also was not rattled by heavy pressure from the Illini defense that sacked him three times. Basanez, who wore a brace after breaking his leg Oct. 10 against Minnesota, sat in the pocket under fire and completed passes, demonstrated by his fourth-quarter completion to Patrick on a crossing pattern while being thrown to the ground.
“The poise he shows at the end of the game, and the courage he shows keeping the ball on an option when his leg is broken is unheard of,” running back Jason Wright said. “People respect him like he’s an older guy. He transcends the whole age hierarchy.”
NU coach Randy Walker has also noticed Basanez’s ability to take charge.
“He welcomes becoming a leader,” Walker said. “He wants to run the offense, he wants to take charge and he has that kind of personality.”
Walker said he was also impressed with the young quarterback’s development this season. Against Texas Christian in his first start of the season, Basanez fumbled three times and was 6-for-17 in the 48-24 loss. On the season, he threw for 2,204 yards, completed 58.5 percent of his passes and had a 118.2 efficiency rating in 10 games.
“He’s got a chance to be pretty good,” Walker said after the game. “He sees things really well for a young player. He has a great awareness of the field, and he’s doing things way ahead of schedule. That’s going to give him a chance to be very good.”
Basanez must continue to impress Walker in the offseason if he wants to retain the starting job, the spot where Walker said he will begin in spring practices. Walker has repeatedly said there will be a quarterback controversy next season when injured freshmen Alexander Webb and Derell Jenkins join the competition.
“Brett will tell you nobody is going to beat him out ever,” Walker said. “They could resurrect Johnny Unitas or bring Joe Namath back and Brett will beat them out. He’s a pretty confident kid.”
