The wait is over. Football is underway in Evanston as the Wildcats enter the fall looking to improve on their most successful season in recent memory.
“It’s going to be a fun year in 2009,” said fourth-year coach Pat Fitzgerald in his opening statement at Northwestern’s Football Media Day on Wednesday. “We’re two practices in and so far our attitude has been great. We’ve been able to carry over a lot of momentum from spring practice based on the job our guys did this summer.”
After bursting out to a 5-0 record in 2008, the Cats overcame a shaky conference start and finished the regular season with victories over Michigan and Illinois. NU shot up to No. 22 in the AP top-25 before its contest against Missouri. While the Cats outplayed the Tigers for most of the game, they lost in a heartbreaker, 30-23 in overtime.
NU loses several cogs from last year’s offense, including quarterback C.J. Bachér, running backs Tyrell Sutton and Omar Conteh, and wide receivers Eric Peterman, Ross Lane and Rasheed Ward. On defense, the Cats lose linebackers Malcolm Arrington and Prince Kwateng and defensive linemen Kevin Mims and John Gill. However, the Cats look to reload this year, boasting unprecedented depth.
The following were some of the issues discussed on Wednesday:
The Status of Corey Wootton’s Knee
After a breakout season last year, senior defensive tackle Corey Wootton tore his right ACL in the Alamo Bowl loss. Wootton had surgery in January and was subsequently held out of many spring drills. However, after a speedy recovery, Wootton has participated in every summer practice. On Wednesday, Fitzgerald detailed his plan for the 2008 First Team All Big Ten honoree.
“We’ll rotate him out,” Fitzgerald said. “If we’re going with a five play segment, he might go three to start and then be doing the full five by next week. He’s all over Marty Long, Mike Hankwitz and myself to get him out there.”
For Wootton, the injury has given him a new perspective on the sport.
“These past few days flying around have been so exciting, it felt like my first day of college football,” he said. “It’s great to be back on the field.”
Wootton, at 6-foot-7, registered 10 sacks last year under Hankwitz’ new attacking defensive philosophy.
Coordinators enter their second year at the helm
Last year, NU showcased two new coordinators: Mick McCall and Mike Hankwitz. Both made strides in their first year with the program. Under McCall, a master of the spread offense, 14 different players caught a pass and quarterback C.J. Bachér finished second in the Big Ten in total offense despite missing two games with an injury.
“Coach McCall has a feel for the Big Ten now,” senior wide receiver Andrew Brewer said. “He’s got a year under his belt, and he’s definitely got some experience. He got to know the players a lot better now, being his second year. We’re going to take some shots and we’re going to try to move the ball up and down the field as best we can.”
On defense, Hankwitz’ crew surrendered only 20.2 points-per-game in 2008, down from 31 in 2007. This mark was good enough for 27thin the country and fourth in the Big Ten.
“I’m looking forward to playing at a higher level,” junior defensive tackle Corbin Bryant said. “We have eight starters back, so everybody knows all the plays and the different techniques. We’re going to go out and see how we can improve and take our defense to a higher level.”
Like the players, the coaching staff will take a step forward after one full year together.
“It’s great to have our entire staff basically together for a second year,” Fitzgerald said. “This time last year we had two new coordinators. There was a lot of teaching and coaching going on, not only for the young men but also for our coaching staff. A lot of carryover, which has shown in the way we have been able to execute here in the first few days.”
NU went from worst to first in sacks in the Big Ten from 2007 to 2008. The only coaching change comes up front, where Adam Cushing replaces Bret Ingalls as the team’s offensive line coach. Bob Heffner, who spent the last eight seasons at Lafayette College, will fill Cushing’s former position as superbacks coach.
Improving the Perception of the Program
Fitzgerald has made it clear one of his main objectives as head coach is to generate year-to-year stability in the program.
“You look at our record in the regular season, and we’re 83-79 since 1995, so we’ve gotten over the hump of being able to say we can win consistently,” he said.
In his time as Captain Cat, Fitzgerald has proven that he can win on a regular basis; the team’s win total has increased in each of Fitzgerald’s first three years.
Wootton also touched on the importance of winning 10 or 11 games on a consistent basis.
“We want to get to that level,” he said. “Traditionally, we haven’t been those types of teams, but we want to set a new bar for this program.”
