Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Schecker: Persa shines with no need for national hype

Before the season, we knew Dan Persa was a workaholic in the gym. The junior quarterback has been honored as the “Iron Cat” the last two off-seasons for winning the team’s speed and strength competitions.

We knew that, like his predecessor and current Philadelphia Eagle Mike Kafka, Persa is a dual-threat quarterback with the ability to use his legs to make plays outside the pocket.

And similar to Kafka before his outstanding 2009 season, there were those who doubted Persa’s ability to make all the necessary throws in the Wildcats’ offense.

Well, after guiding Northwestern to a 3-0 start, it turns out that Persa can do more than just scramble and pump iron. Right now, Persa is the most accurate quarterback in the country, having completed 81.6 percent of his pass attempts.

After Persa threw more incomplete passes against Rice – eight – than in the first two games of the year, coach Pat Fitzgerald joked that he had an off night. This was after the quarterback had eaten up the Rice secondary for a career-high 307 yards.

Persa has thrown six touchdown passes and has yet to be picked off. His 192.6 quarterback rating is third best in the nation, trailing only Utah’s Terrance Cain and Alabama’s Greg McElroy.

When I asked NU’s offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Mick McCall about Persa’s tremendous stats, he replied in Fitzgerald fashion, “Numbers are what they are.”

Fitzgerald thinks stats are for losers, and apparently those sentiments are shared by his offensive coordinator and quarterback. McCall told me after practice Wednesday that the only number that matters to Persa is adding one to the win column each week.

Despite the incredibly efficient start to the season, I’m not prepared to anoint Persa an outside contender for the popularity contest that is the Heisman Trophy. Let other Big Ten quarterbacks such as Michigan’s Denard Robinson and Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor deal with the Heisman hype.

On the other hand, I’m not going to credit Persa’s performance so far to the Cats’ inferior opponents, nor am I surprised that Persa has comfortably settled into his starting role.

“With all the work he’s put in and working with (the wide receivers), we kind of knew he was going to be something special,” junior wide receiver Jeremy Ebert said.

Persa had limited playing time before this fall (this “Iron Cat” has at times played on special teams), but he was thrown into the lion’s den against Penn State after Kafka pulled a hamstring on Halloween last year. While Persa could not preserve the Cats’ halftime lead against the Nittany Lions, he threw the go-ahead touchdown to superback Drake Dunsmore the following week in the 17-10 upset at No. 4 Iowa.

Persa, who took a redshirt year, has spent the past three years mastering the NU playbook. Some may argue that Fitzgerald uses the redshirt too often, but for a quarterback, that extra year of development is essential. And as McCall points out, Persa has benefited from emulating the successful quarterbacks who’ve come before him, Kafka and C.J. Bachér.

Before the Vanderbilt game, I had my reservations about whether Persa could match the type of season Kafka had in 2009. It’s unlikely Persa’s completion percentage and quarterback rating will remain as high as the Cats move into Big Ten season. Still, Persa’s efficient play so far has made me a believer that he can lead Northwestern back to a New Year’s Day bowl game.

NU fans should be excited to have Persa at the helm of the Cats’ offense for more than one season – that is, unless he wins the Heisman and opts to go pro.

Justin Schecker is a Medill junior. He can be reached at [email protected].

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Schecker: Persa shines with no need for national hype