A handful of eager freshmen were on campus two weeks before the start of class to watch their new school take on Northern Illinois in the second game of the year. They struggled through the fight song and botched the hand gestures. They felt out of place in the stands, awed and confused.

If they were lost, imagine how the true freshmen on the field must have felt.

Northwestern coach Randy Walker’s first big game was more than 30 years ago, but he talks about it like it just happened.

“I’ll never forget the opening kickoff,” Walker said. “It lands in my arms, and I start running up field, and I felt like six guided missiles went by me.”

Standing in front of a podium in front of assembled media, he began to resemble a teenage athlete.

“Boom!” he screamed, mimicing the sound of defenders flying by. “Boom, Boom, Boom. And just, ‘Holy smokes.'”

But Walker was a true sophomore at the time, and that was his second game. Nine NU freshmen went through that same experience against Ohio on Sept. 3 in the Wildcats’ season opener.

Graduation, suspensions and injuries have meant fewer veterans have returned and their spaces needed to be filled. That and the overall talent of this year’s class has meant first-year players have been a mainstay in the Wildcats’ lineup this season – and have been a major part of the team’s 2-1 record.

Coaches agreed talented freshmen should play but acknowledged it was a difficult transition. The nine NU true freshmen who played against Ohio on Sept. 3 had less than a month to get ready for their first college football experience.

Senior cornerback Herchel Henderson said he remembered how nervous he was before his first game and how considerable the differences between his freshman and sophomore years were. Henderson is one of 13 current non-freshmen to play in their first year.

“When you get out there as a freshman, you’re just trying to hold on,” Henderson said. “It’s a big jump from freshman year to sophomore year. Sophomore year is just going out there and making plays. But during freshmen year, you’re just trying to go out there and not mess up.”

Why freshmen are playing

An injury forced sophomore tailback Brandon Roberson into the starting lineup, and another one knocked him down the depth chart.

Senior running back Terrell Jordan injured his leg during spring practices, and Roberson emerged as the starter. Then Roberson injured his ankle against Ohio, which opened the door for true freshman Tyrell Sutton.

Sutton has been the starter ever since.

“I didn’t know if it was true that the guys hit a lot harder, or if I was going to be able to break tackles,” Sutton said. “A lot of things were going through my mind, and I just didn’t want to screw up really badly.”

The first-game jitters didn’t seem to effect Sutton, as he rushed for 104 yards and scored two touchdowns.

True freshmen play if they are better than everyone on the depth chart, or if the team just has too many needs to fill with players who have been in the program.

“If you had a 22-year old senior that had a lot of experience at their position, the chances of a 17- or 18-year-old freshman beating them out probably aren’t tremendous,” NU offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar said. “But some of these guys have tremendous talent. I think it’s a combination of the fact that they have very good talent and they took the opportunity that presented itself.”

Walker has a history of not playing true freshmen, as he allows them to redshirt and mature during their first year. Eighteen NU players watched from the sidelines last season and redshirted, while only two used a year of eligibility.

The Cats lost 15 of last year’s starters, forcing many true freshmen to play from the beginning of this season.

“We had a couple good guys graduate and a couple injuries, and the freshmen stepped up and are doing an outstanding job,” Dunbar said.

Sutton is fifth in the nation with 416 rushing yards. He already has tied NU’s freshman season rushing touchdown record, with six.

Freshmen wide receivers have kept pace, too. Rasheed Ward is the team’s third-leading receiver, with seven catches for 99 yards and a touchdown. Eric Peterman, who came to NU as a quarterback and played the first game of his life at wide receiver against Ohio, is fifth on the team with six catches for 45 yards.

“I have found that skill guys adapt faster because catching the ball and running the ball is a lot easier in regards to what they did in high school,” Dunbar said. “Running it is running it. The hardest thing for guys like that is blocking and the protection schemes.”

With holes in the defense as well, newcomers had to produce on that side of the ball also.

Seven true freshmen have recorded a tackle on defense or special teams, and freshmen defensive linemen Corey Wootton and John Gill already have started games in their young careers.

“It’s good having them out there gaining experience for the next couple years,” senior linebacker Tim McGarigle said. “But they’re good players. They wouldn’t be out there if they weren’t good players. We aren’t going to put them in there if they’re not ready.”

Sometimes the impact of a true freshman can help in a tremendous way. Michigan coach Lloyd Carr started true freshmen at quarterback and running back most of last season on his way to a 9-3 season and a Rose Bowl appearance.

Michigan quarterback Chad Henne threw for more than 2,700 yards and 25 touchdowns, earning a spot on the Sporting News’ Freshman All-America first team. Running back Mike Hart also began his career as a true freshman, rushing for nearly 1,500 yards and scoring nine touchdowns. He was honored with Big Ten Freshman of the Year and All-Big Ten first team recognitions.

“Both of them got opportunities to play because of injuries,” Carr said. “Certainly both of them seized the opportunities to play. We never could have expected two freshmen to play so well.”

Mentoring the kids

Senior defensive lineman Barry Cofield knew this year was going to be different. This season, his job as a mentor will be almost as important as his play on the field.

“It’s more of a learning thing for the young guys,” Cofield said. “The older guys already know what to do, so we might expect a little bit more from each other. With the younger guys it’s more of a growing experience, and we’re probably a little bit less hard on them.”

The abundance of true freshmen playing this season has caused the upperclassmen, leaders of the team, to take on coaching roles. Henderson said the defense’s leaders take time to help teach the freshmen in their positions. The older players of each part of the defense try to help develop the freshmen in their positions.

Brendan Smith agreed, as he said the experienced players play as much of a role in the development of the true freshmen as the coaches.

“They’re awesome, they help us with everything,” he said. “From watching film to how to break down film and just where to go. If we have any questions, they’re always there to help us.”

The actual coaches sometimes tweak their style for the oft-overwhelmed youngsters, but the changes don’t last long.

Notre Dame junior wide receiver Jeff Samardzija not only played as a true freshman, he also started for the baseball team. Samardzija said he remembers how quickly the coaching style changes.

“It depends on the coach, but they definitely treat you a little different than everyone else in the beginning,” he said. “But after the first few weeks, coaches don’t really consider you to be a freshman anymore.”

NU wide receiver’s coach Garrick McGee has worked with Ward and Peterson, who have recorded substantial playing time so far this year.

McGee said he doesn’t have to coach his freshmen any differently than other players, but they have to prove themselves to their new teammates.

“I tell the freshmen, ‘It’s important that Brett (Basanez) trusts you guys, or he w
on’t throw you the ball,’ ” McGee said. “A lot of times when they’re freshmen, (the quarterbacks are) going, ‘I’m not throwing to those guys,’ but he’s giving it to them. I think they’ve developed a good trust.”

Is it good for players?

Before coming to NU, senior quarterback Brett Basanez, turned down offers from Penn State and Miami (Fla.) and was named the USA Today Illinois Player of the Year. Nothing could stop him – except that NU already had a quarterback.

Basanez could not beat out Zak Kustok, so he sat out his first season as a redshirt. He went on to become a mainstay in the Cats’ lineup as the starter the past four years. But Basanez said even though redshirting his first year may have helped his career, he would have rather played.

“Anyone who plays football wants to play,” Basanez said. “You don’t come here to redshirt. You don’t play a sport to sit on the sideline. It’s great experience for these guys and it will be nothing but helpful.”

Another quarterback who redshirted his freshman year has a different view.

Georgia senior quarterback D.J. Shockley went to Georgia as one of the top quarterback recruits in the country with high expectations. But because former Bulldog quarterback David Greene was in the first year of his four-year reign behind center, Shockley did not earn a start until this year, his fifth and final year of college.

Shockley said his redshirt season, and the three seasons he sat behind Greene, gave him time to watch and learn before it was his turn to take over. He has made the most of his first three starts, throwing for 647 yards and six touchdowns, while rushing for more than 50 yards a game with three more scores.

“At first I wasn’t thrilled about it,” Shockley said. “But when I look back, I think it was really good for me. It gave me time to develop physically into what a college quarterback needs to be, and it gave me time to figure out what I needed to do to be successful.”

The waiting paid off for him, as Shockley was named the Sporting News Player of the Week and SEC Player of the Week after his first career start in the first game this season.

Eric Peterman was expecting a Shockley-like redshirt first year, but he earned his chance four seasons earlier. He said he did not think he would beat out Basanez, so he was expecting to sit back and learn this year before competing for the starting job next season.

But when he got to Evanston, the coaching staff told him they wanted him to play right away as a wide receiver.

“I had only thought about redshirting when I came here because I was going to play quarterback, and I knew Baz (Basanez) was going to be the starter,” Peterman said. “Now with the situation I’m in now, it’s great. I don’t really mind not redshirting anymore since I’m getting playing time.”

Texas A&M senior quarterback and 2005 Maxwell Award Watch List nominee Reggie McNeal didn’t have to wait like Basanez. In his first season with the Aggies, he came off the bench to lead his team to a win over then-No. 1 ranked Oklahoma. McNeal earned a start in the next game.

“I’m glad I played, I never wanted to take any time off,” McNeal said. “I still got the whole college experience and everything, but I got to play. I’m glad I didn’t have to redshirt.”

Most of this year’s NU true freshmen class wanted to play early as well. So far, many of them have gotten their wish, as 11 of the 28 freshmen in this year’s class have recorded playing time in the first three games of the season.

Dunbar said it depends on the individual, but those who can play as true freshmen should.

“You can’t predict what’s going to happen in the next five years,” he said, “so if the opportunity presents itself now, in my opinion you should play.”

Reach Abe Rakov at a [email protected].