Kain Colter has appeared at so many positions this season, he can only use one word to describe himself – “a baller.”
The sophomore came to Northwestern as a quarterback, but his “dynamic skill set” caused coach Pat Fitzgerald and his staff to rethink how they would use Colter after their loss to Texas Tech in the TicketCity Bowl.
“As we talked in the offseason, based on the way he played in the bowl game last year, that no matter what happened and how things shook out, he would be on the field,” Fitzgerald said.
In that game, Colter raised eyebrows with 105 rushing yards on 18 carries, a 3-for-6 performance through the air as well as a 32-yard reception.
This season, Colter has excelled in his new role, what Fitzgerald described as a “Kain-of-all-trades.” He leads the team with 421 rushing yards, more than 200 yards clear of the next-best player. He is third in receiving yards, despite playing receiver in only four games this season. He is also completing nearly two-thirds of his passes. He was the first NU player since Tyrell Sutton in 2008 to accumulate more than 70 yards each in receiving and rushing when he went for 76 yards on the ground and 71 receiving against Iowa.
Colter said his transition to wide receiver was not that difficult. He said that he has run routes before, but it took some time to adjust to running them in a real game.
“At the beginning, when I first got in there I was just trying to make moves on guys and getting open,” Colter said. “Now I feel like I’m really learning some techniques and things that defenses have trouble covering. Every time I play receiver I feel like I get better at it.”
What sets Colter apart from his teammates is his attitude towards football. After NU’s 21-14 loss to Army, Colter shouldered all the blame for the loss, prompting Fitzgerald to say he was being too hard on himself. Following the Cats’ fifth straight-loss on Saturday, Colter told Fitzgerald he was going to “get things fixed.” It is this sort of selfless act that Fitzgerald appreciates, especially from a player Fitzgerald said might be the only NU player performing at an All-Big Ten level.
“I’m all right with it,” Fitzgerald said of Colter being hard on himself. “I’d rather have a guy like that, where it means so much to him that he’s going to walk in the locker room and be ticked off about something. Here’s what I learned about Kain, he’s not going to pout.”
Fitzgerald has repeatedly stated that he would like to have more players like Colter. Fitzgerald said that when a team is mired in the type of losing streak that the Cats are on, people have the tendency to overthink things and worry about making a mistake. For Fitzgerald, the fact that Colter does not do these things makes him an ideal player for NU.
“He’s having a lot of fun,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s just enjoying the opportunities that he has. He’s cutting it loose, he’s not fearing failure, he’s not worried about making a mistake, he’s not trying to be perfect.”
Colter said that he is honored by the high praise from his coach.
“It’s definitely humbling and it feels real good knowing that the head coach thinks highly of me,” Colter said. “I just try to go out there and work my hardest and just do what the coaches tell me and hopefully make the team better anytime I’m out there.”
