When All-Big Ten quarterback Dan Persa was under center in 2010, the Wildcats never had to worry about who their starting signal-caller ought to be. Now, with Persa set to graduate, and Kain Colter having proven himself to be quite the enigma in 2011, the question is who should play quarterback next season? Should Colter take all of the snaps, or should he switch from quarterback to wide receiver like he did in 2011, and let someone else take some of the snaps? Our football beat writers, Colin Becht and Josh Walfish, go back and forth on this critical issue.
Football beat writer Colin Becht argues that Kain Colter ought to remain a quarterback/wide receiver
Midway through the football season, the staff here at the Daily faced a dilemma. Do we continue to refer to Kain Colter as a quarterback, the sole position Northwestern lists him as in its depth chart? Or should we acknowledge that Colter, by virtue of his skills and circumstance, has become far more than a quarterback?
We settled on calling Colter a quarterback/wide receiver. While the circumstances that brought him to this dual-position role may change next season, his skills likely will not. Thus, the sophomore quarterback/wide receiver should remain precisely so.
Colter clearly has a continuing place under center for the Wildcats and likely deserves more time at quarterback next year when NU will no longer be able to turn to senior Dan Persa. However, to identify Colter as purely a quarterback would be a disservice, both to his own potential and that of the Cats’ offense next season.
It’s important to keep in mind that even though Colter took a significant percentage of snaps under center, he did not run a sustainable offense. The option attack NU utilized with Colter at quarterback worked because it offered an alternate look from the standard spread offense Persa led. With an offensive line that needs to replace both its starting left tackle and right guard, the Cats won’t be able to provide sufficient run blocking to operate a successful option offense on a fulltime basis.
Despite offensive coordinator Mick McCall’s track record of developing run-first quarterbacks into Big Ten-caliber passers, his success will be limited with Colter. Remember that Colter spent the spring and summer taking snaps with the first-team offense while Persa was still recovering from his torn Achilles tendon. Colter has already received the benefits of an offseason under McCall’s wing. He’s undoubtedly benefited, but he has little room for further growth.
A torn labrum and biceps in his throwing shoulder that Colter suffered during his senior year of high school have damaged Colter’s arm strength. Now more than two years removed from the injury, there’s no reason to believe he’ll heal any further. For an option offense that relies primarily on his legs with occasional passes that typically travel 10 yards or less, Colter’s arm strength is fine. For a spread attack that requires stretching the field to create openings both long and short, his shoulder will be something of a problem.
Even if Colter is equally capable of running the spread offense as redshirt freshman Trevor Siemian is (and based on the reasons above, I don’t think this is the case), he is of even greater need at wide receiver. With seniors Jeremy Ebert and Drake Dunsmore gone following its match with Texas A&M, NU loses its two go-to receivers, the types of players that could be counted on to get open on third-and-eight and move the chains. The Cats will have plenty of deep-ball threats in Venric Mark, Rashad Lawrence, Tony Jones and Christian Jones, but Colter has proven himself as NU’s next possession receiver. The Cats has plenty of receivers capable of beating the coverage deep on a streak route; only Colter seems capable of selling a cornerback on a streak before cutting back to keep the drive alive with an easy conversion.
Undoubtedly, Colter will take on a large portion of NU’s quarterback duties next season. But both the Cats and Colter would be better served by fully utilizing his dynamism at both quarterback and wide receiver.
Football beat writer Josh Walfish argues why Kain Colter ought to be put under center
When senior Dan Persa’s Northwestern career ends on Dec. 31 in Houston, the Wildcats will begin their search for a new quarterback.
The answer in this all-important quest is Kain Colter. The sophomore was under center for about a dozen snaps per game even while Persa was healthy. When the All-Big Ten senior quarterback missed NU’s first three games, Colter took nearly all of the snaps under center – and shined, leading the Cats to a 2-1 record.
Cynics question Colter’s ability to run NU’s offense by himself as well as his ability to throw the ball consistently. Many of the attacks against Colter are unfair. You cannot compare Colter’s completion percentage with Persa’s since the senior will be the all-time NCAA leader in career completion percentage if he throws the ball 19 times against Texas A&M, even if he doesn’t complete any of them. How can you expect anyone to live up to that? However, Colter did complete 67 percent of his passes on the season, including a 65 percent clip when he was the team’s starter. He might not have the arm strength of a Dan Persa, but he makes great decisions with the ball, tossing only one interception in 79 pass attempts.
Colter’s running ability makes him a great quarterback for this offense. With a perennially shaky offensive line, NU needs a quick quarterback. Colter can use his speed and elusiveness to avoid sacks. The reason the Cats were so successful with Persa under center in 2010 is because he was able to escape pressure with relative ease. His limited mobility in 2011 hindered the offense’s productivity because he was no longer able to evade pressure as easily. In 2012, the clear answer is to put Colter in at quarterback and watch him run circles around opposing defensive linemen.
The sophomore led the team in rushing this season with 589 yards and eight touchdowns. These numbers are very similar to those of Persa last season when NU went 7-3 with him at the helm. Colter has all the skills necessary to replicate Persa’s junior campaign in his own junior season. The attributes that made Persa a Heisman candidate entering this season, Colter has or can develop in spring practices.
The same questions that are being asked about Colter now were asked concerning Persa and Mike Kafka before their first seasons as starters for the Cats. Offensive coordinator Mick McCall has had a lot of success in developing quarterbacks to run NU’s offense and this time around he is blessed with a quarterback that has even more experience than the other two did heading into their first seasons as starting quarterbacks.
Colter’s three starts this season showed that he is ready to be the Cats’ starting quarterback. He was efficient in the passing game and used his athleticism to move the chains. Colter will need to avoid games like the one he had against Army, but I have very little doubt that the sophomore can make the necessary adjustments. He possesses the leadership qualities and football skills to be an All-Big Ten quarterback and I look forward to seeing that potential come to fruition.
This article is the eighth in our 15-part Road to Meineke series. We will be posting an article every night, except for Christmas Eve and Christmas, to help prepare you for Northwestern’s matchup with Texas A&M in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas. Join us again tomorrow night as sports editor Jonah Rosenblum argues that bowl appearances are no longer enough from the Wildcats.
