Football

Although Northwestern (0-1, 0-1 Big Ten) faced its challenges on the offensive side of the ball in its season opening 38-21 loss to Michigan State (1-0, 1-0 Big Ten), there was a positive takeaway — the performance of senior quarterback Hunter Johnson.

The Indiana native threw for 283 yards, three touchdowns and completed nearly 70 percent of his passes. Making his first start since 2019, the former-five star recruit on Friday night showcased the improvement that earned him back the starting job.
“Hunter was pretty resilient throughout the whole game,” coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “We saw quite a lot of pressure Michigan State was going to bring that at times, I thought we picked it up well and other times he had pressure in his face and he made really good decisions with the ball.”

While inconsistency was a problem in 2019 — Johnson completed 46.3 percent of his passes for one touchdown and four interceptions — his performance under the lights at Ryan Field reflected the changes he has made since then.

Johnson was comfortable finding his receivers on screen passes and crossing routes, as well as the occassional deep ball. In the first quarter, he found sophomore wide receiver Bryce Kirtz and graduate wideout Stephon Robinson Jr. for 41 and 47-yard gains, respectively.

Additionally, the Clemson transfer completed 11 straight passes on a drive in the third quarter to lead the Wildcats into the end zone. Registering 59 yards, he found fifth-year tight end Trey Pugh — who caught two of Johnson’s touchdowns — to cut the Spartans’ lead to 28-14.

“It has been a long time coming,” Johnson said. “Coming out for this first game and we have been preparing really hard this offseason and this fall. Just trying to go out and execute the offense.”

As Northwestern’s rushing game struggled until the second half, Johnson was instrumental in leading NU down the field. He stayed calm in the pocket during crucial plays, such as his first touchdown pass to Pugh with less than a minute remaining in the first half. Additionally, the senior connected with 10 different receivers.

However, his performance was not flawless. In the first quarter, Johnson threw an incomplete pass on fourth down in Michigan State’s red zone and suffered two fumbles, but both were recovered by the offense.

“One of them was a (run-pass option) and I had to clear the running back a little bit further to allow myself to throw it and just hit my arm,” Johnson said. “And the snap was a cadence thing. Things we can fix.”

One of Johnson’s strengths on Friday night was involving players in the offense. His 25-yard pass to senior tight end Charlie Mangieri set up the second-quarter touchdown to Pugh, who caught his first pass since 2019 and the first score of his career. Additionally, Johnson sent three passes for 32 yards to junior wide receiver Malik Washington, who was playing in place of injured wideout and senior Berkley Holman.

His connections with Kirtz — a teammate at Brownsburg High School in Indiana — and Robinson, playing his first game since transferring from Kansas, are promising for a wide receiver room replacing its three starters from 2020.

“I was really excited for those guys and the way they played tonight,” Johnson said. “They are guys that I trust to go up and make plays, be able to stretch the field, catch, break a tackle and get yards after the catch.”

Entering the 2021 season, questions surrounded the starting quarterback competition between Johnson, South Carolina transfer Ryan Hilinski and senior Andrew Marty, in part due to his 2019 performance.

Yet, things have changed. Against Michigan State, Johnson showed why the Cats’ coaches named him the starter 17 days before the season opener.

He is writing the next chapter of his NU journey. And tonight was hopefully just the beginning.

“Hunter is obviously very, very talented,” Pugh said. “There is a reason he is the number one prospect. Definitely very exciting to see him play well and looking forward to what’s to come.”

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