When Northwestern running backs coach Aristotle Thompson first introduced himself to his room during winter workouts, he didn’t focus on football.
He and his family have experience navigating the coaching world, so Thompson knew that he had to have his players give him a chance to help them grow.
“(I was) asking them to give me an opportunity to open up my heart, open up my arms to them, to show them not only just how I do things, but how I will pour into them, how I will pour all of myself to them,” Thompson told The Daily Tuesday.
Through three games, it is safe to say that the Wildcat (1-2, 0-1 Big Ten) running back corps has allowed Thompson to do his job.
While NU only rushed for 98.5 yards per game in 2024, through this point in the season, the ’Cats have averaged 178.3 rushing yards per game, a figure that ranks 10th among 18 Big Ten teams.
“We’ve been fortunate here to have, ever since I arrived … just an incredible presence and leadership in that running back room,” coach David Braun said during his weekly press conference Monday. “As I’ve said before publicly, I think (Thompson) is taking it to just even a whole other level.”
Saturday’s matchup against UCLA, a defense that allows the fourth most rushing yards per game in FBS, could give Thompson’s guys further chances to shine. Getting to this point, though, has taken work and change.
Since his arrival in Evanston, Thompson has seen improvement in his group’s understanding of their role and their “F.B.I.”, or football intelligence.
“They understand they have to do more,” Thompson said. “They have to be the guys who can run the ball, the guys who can block, the guys who can catch, the guys who have to be more vocal at times, have to be a spark plug. They’ve embraced that.”
Progression is especially evident in redshirt junior running back Joseph Himon II and redshirt sophomore running back Caleb Komolafe, who have had to step up following graduate student running back Cam Porter’s season-ending injury.
Komolafe, who rushed the ball for 139 yards in 2024, has already rushed for 150 this season. His average is also up significantly, from 2.8 yards per carry a year ago to 4.2 yards per carry in 2025.
Thompson said that maturity has been a standout factor in Komolafe this season.
“What I knew about Caleb when I first got here, Caleb was kind of a jokey, joke guy,” Thompson said. “(Now), he’s dialed … A year ago, I don’t know if that was the case, so seeing him be intentional about the way that he steps into his growth, his own development, his own process to get through the day, is huge.”
In Himon, toughness is evident to Thompson. Himon has accumulated 137 rushing yards through three games, a figure that is more than half of his 2024 total.
Saturday will provide a brand new challenge for the group. Even though the UCLA defense isn’t incredibly daunting on paper, the ’Cats cannot be sure they will see the version of the Bruins that’s on the tape.
In the time following its 35-10 loss to New Mexico, it parted ways with coach DeShaun Foster and defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe. NU could very well see a different team come the weekend.
To prepare for the upcoming matchup, Thompson isn’t focusing on the aspects of his opponent’s game he can’t control. It’s about what the ’Cats do.
“At the end of the day, they have guys on scholarship that are coming to play football just like we do, and they’re hungry to try to get a win in Big Ten play,” Thompson said. “We have to do our part to make sure that we come out victorious and not worry about anything that’s going on in Los Angeles with them right now.”
Simply put, though, the Bruins haven’t been able to stop anyone. Through three games, UCLA has been outscored 108-43 by its opponents. Against New Mexico, the soon-to-be visitors allowed two running backs to rush for more than 80 yards.
From studying the Bruins, Himon thinks that he and his teammates could have a productive weekend.
“There will be a lot of big plays that can be happening at the second and third level,” Himon said. “If we, as running backs, continue to trust our reads on the first and second level, then it’s up to us at the second and third level to make those guys miss and create those big plays.”
For Thompson, it doesn’t matter who is on the other side of the field. The level of excitement to go out there and play remains the same.
On Saturday, Thompson said he wants his running backs to show their identity.
“We need to put it on tape so that other people will turn it on saying, ‘Oh, hey, this is what the running backs at Northwestern are about. This is how they play. This is their style of play. This is their demeanor,’” Thompson said.
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