Northwestern redshirt sophomore quarterback Jack Lausch began his Week 3 buildup Monday morning with the same mindset he established as a sophomore on Brother Rice High School’s varsity squad — prepare like the starter.
“Maybe I was the No. 2, but I was preparing like I was going to go play,” Lausch said Tuesday. “If an opportunity did come, I’d be comfortable, and I wouldn’t have to change anything.”
Lausch has worked his way up the depth chart since arriving on campus in 2022, battling for the Wildcats’ starting quarterback job since January. While he’d eventually beat out Brendan Sullivan, who transferred to Iowa in early May, coach David Braun and his staff contacted Mississippi State’s Mike Wright one day after he entered the transfer portal.
Although Braun and offensive coordinator Zach Lujan rolled with the veteran as NU’s Week 1 starter following a heated quarterback battle in camp, the coaching staff shifted course Monday, informing Lausch he’d be handed the offensive keys against Eastern Illinois Saturday night.
“(I’m) really excited to dive into the game plan and get going this week,” Lausch said. “I’m ready for the opportunity and excited to go compete with my teammates.”
For Braun, the move reflects a collaborative decision between the coaching staff. While Braun initially said he’d stick with Wright following Friday night’s 26-20 loss to Duke in double overtime, he clarified that his competitive and emotional investment in the game dictates that he doesn’t make personnel decisions in the spur of the moment.
Now, Braun has entrusted the present and potential future in No. 12’s hands, a move signaling significant progress during Lausch’s tenure in Evanston.
“Jack, when he arrived on campus (was a) great athlete, great competitor, incredible intangibles you look for in the quarterback position — but not a ready-made Big Ten quarterback,” Braun said. “He’s done such a great job of developing in different areas, from throwing from the pocket to some of the things he can do throwing the ball on the run.”
On Saturday, Lausch will become the first Chicago native to start at quarterback for the ’Cats since Mike Kafka in 2009. Both Kafka and Lausch are Chicago Catholic League products, with Lausch playing his high school ball just over 30 miles south of Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium.
“They always say Chicago’s Big Ten Team, so that is crazy,” Lausch said. “That is awesome. I’m happy that I came here, and I’ve been a great teammate and kept working. That’s a cool stat. I’m pretty excited about that.”
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While Lausch is just days away from officially starting at quarterback for a Big Ten squad, his path to the collegiate gridiron was far from linear. Many presumed football wasn’t even the three-sport athlete’s top sport.
Lausch, who played football, baseball and basketball, said his multi-sport background has proven a pivotal element to his development as an athlete.
“The best practice for the fourth quarter of a football game is hitting with two outs in the seventh inning with guys on base,” Lausch said. “Just being in a competitive atmosphere helps you be a better player, regardless of the sport.”
As Lausch and Brother Rice baseball coach Sean McBride traveled south for a baseball tournament during Lausch’s junior year, Lausch’s phone began to ring off the hook.
McBride said Lausch — the No. 23 outfielder in the 2022 recruiting class and a top 250 MLB prospect — fielded calls from powerhouses like Vanderbilt, Texas and Notre Dame. Once Lausch hit a walk-off home run to defeat the nation’s No. 1-ranked squad in IMG Academy, his baseball stock soared even further.
“Every scout of every major league team was calling me every single day,” McBride said. “Even to the end, I had a few calls that last day, like, ‘Is he playing football or not? Because we’re prepared to take him pretty early.’”
Entering his senior year at Brother Rice, Lausch had received just one Division I football scholarship offer from Indiana State. He committed to Notre Dame in June 2021, where he was initially a baseball prospect — though he’d be granted a preferred-walk-on spot in football.
But, even after a condensed junior season due to COVID-19 and starting just a handful of games after beginning his varsity football career at safety and punt returner, Lausch looked to put everything on the line for his true passion ahead of his senior football season.
“Obviously, there’s scouts telling him that, ‘Hey, baseball might be your way to get drafted,’” former Brother Rice football coach Brian Badke said. “But deep down, Jack wanted to be a Division I football player. I don’t think there’s a better spot in the country than for Jack Lausch to be at Northwestern, in his hometown, playing in the Big Ten.”
With one final season to put himself on the map for big-time football programs, Lausch recorded video game numbers for Brother Rice.
The 6-foot-2 dual-threat quarterback tallied 2,447 passing yards, 1,084 rushing yards and 41 total touchdowns, guiding his team to a 7A state semifinal in 2021.
“The transformation he made as a thrower, I was more than confident he could play at the next level because he’s so dynamic,” said Matt Kelly, Lausch’s offensive coordinator at Brother Rice. “He’s such a great leader… He takes ownership and responsibility and doesn’t blame anyone else.”
After garnering Chicago Sun-Times High School Football Player of the Year honors, Lausch caught former NU coach Pat Fitzgerald’s attention. On Dec. 6, 2021, the ’Cats offered Lausch a scholarship. One week later, he committed to NU.
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Kelly compared his former quarterback’s status in the local community to that of a movie star. The captain of the football and baseball teams, Lausch possesses a persona that makes people gravitate toward him, according to Kelly.
“He would stay after games and take pictures with every single kid that wanted a picture, sign every hat, football — you name it,” Kelly said. “He was a three-sport athlete, one of the top-10 students in the school, and at lunch he’d be sitting with a kid in the band or he’d be sitting with a kid in engineering… He’s never thought of himself as bigger and better than others.”
Despite his stature as a Division I quarterback at a Power Four institution, Lausch has consistently carved out time for uplifting the next generation of local athletes. He held a quarterback camp at Brother Rice this summer while vying for his own starting job with the ’Cats.
McBride said Lausch helps out with the school’s baseball and football camps whenever asked, and every young player in both programs looks up to the quarterback as a model to aspire toward.
“You could not be more loved or respected than he is around here,” McBride said. “I’m glowing up talking about him. He’s just a different level of person that you don’t see too often for someone that age.”
Lausch said once news broke about him stepping into the starting role from Braun’s Monday afternoon press conference, he began fielding a barrage of calls and texts from those who’ve watched him every step of the way from his hometown.
He expects a significant contingent of friends and family to attend his starting debut against the Panthers. The matchup will also mark a full-circle moment between Lausch and his long-time trainer Jeff Christensen, who was the first-ever quarterback drafted out of Eastern Illinois.
“The neighborhood where he’s from is extremely proud of him because they all know how hard he worked, what he’s truly about,” Badke said. “It’s a great tribute to him and all his hard work that he’s representing the South Side of Chicago, the Catholic League. I’m tearing up because I know how he worked to get here. His time is now.”
While Lausch has thrown just 11 passes in his collegiate career, he said he’s ecstatic to apply the lessons he’s learned from veterans like Ben Bryant to help the ’Cats move into a potential new era.
If all goes according to plan for Lausch, he could be Braun’s starter for more than 30 games.
“The growth that we’ve seen out of Jack Lausch, specifically from January on, has been something that leads us to have a lot of optimism for not only this week, but for the future,” Braun said.
As he embraces his newfound starting role, Lausch has found comfort in his game-week routine, studying film and tendencies as he’s done throughout his storied football journey.
An internally-motivated competitor, Lausch’s goals aren’t stat-driven — but he said he’s holding himself to a high standard this season.
“I just want to be the best player I can be, and I want to be a leader,” Lausch said. “I want to command the offense to the best of my ability, and I just want everyone to play as one and be as efficient as possible. I want to win games for this team.”
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