Nebraska Opponent Spring Review: Northwestern
Nebraska’s first offseason under new head coach Matt Rhule is fully underway. With that, it’s time to look at where things stand with the Huskers’ upcoming opponents following spring practices.
Northwestern is next on the docket. The Wildcats are fresh off a 1-11 season in which head coach Pat Fitzgerald’s program lost 11 straight games after beating Nebraska in Ireland to open the season. That made for Northwestern’s worst season in 34 years.
For the Wildcats, there’s nowhere to go but up and Fitzgerald has made moves to get his team heading in that direction. HuskerOnline caught up with Louie Vaccher of WildcatReport to get his insight on a busy offseason in Evanston.
Previous Opponent Spring Reviews: Minnesota, Colorado, Northern Illinois, Louisiana Tech, Michigan, Illinois
Half the staff is new
Northwestern had a tough go in 2022 from a defensive perspective.
The Wildcats finished 12th in the Big Ten for scoring defense (28.3 PPG), 11th in yards allowed (374.8 YPG), last in rush defense (191.3 YPG), 13th in interceptions with six and dead last in sacks at 18. In light of that, it’s no surprise that Fitzgerald elected to part ways with defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil in November of last year.
O’Neil is the first to attempt filling the shoes of the renowned Mike Hankwitz, who retired in 2020 after 12 years in Evanston. Fitzgerald pegged David Braun of North Dakota State as O’Neil’s replacement. Braun was the 2021 FCS Coordinator of the Year and the American Football Coaches Association selected him for its 35 Under 35 leadership list.
So far, the young gun has got a good response from his players according to Vaccher.
But, Braun isn’t the only new member of the staff. Over half Fitzgerald’s 2023 staff is new after he fired three assistants and two more departed for NFL jobs this past season.
The other additions include wide receivers coach Armon Binns (Youngstown State), running backs coach Chris Foster (East Carolina), cornerbacks coach LaMarcus Hicks (Utah State) and defensive line coach Christian Smith (South Dakota State).
None of Fitzgerald’s new assistants have Northwestern connections or Power Five experience.
Quarterback battle inbound
A trio of candidates are competing to be the Wildcat’s starting quarterback.
Brendan Sullivan entered the spring as the presumed starter and Vaccher said he looked good in spring practice. Yet, there are some concerns about injury following a season in which Sullivan played just five games and dealt with a broken hand.
Ryan Hilinksi is the presumed backup according to Vaccher and is coming off an ACL surgery. Northwestern’s passing leader in 2022 threw for 1,644 yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions. Two of his scores through the air game against Nebraska in the season opener.
Hilinski and Sullivan represent known quantities for Fitzgerald. However, there’s a new name in the mix this spring that might snag the top spot from both.
“The Wildcats landed Ben Bryant from Cincinnati in the transfer portal in May, and he’s a huge get,” Vaccher said. “He figures to have the inside track at the job, but he and Sullivan will battle for it in the fall.”
Bryant is a senior who racked up 2,732 passing yards along with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions last season. He threw for over 300 yards in three of his last four games in 2022. Bryant grew up in La Grange, Illinois which is about an hour away from Northwestern’s campus.
By the time the Wildcats come to Lincoln in late October, Fitzgerald should have firm grasp on who his starting signal caller will be.
David Braun and the new Wildcat defense
What will this defense look like under Braun? He gave an oddly measured answer.
“Braun said that his defense will be 50% what he ran at North Dakota State, 30% of what Northwestern ran under legendary Wildcat defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz, and 20% of what NU ran under fired DC Jim O’Neil,” Vaccher said.
He added that Braun’s biggest positional concern is along the defensive line. The Wildcats return just four scholarship players at the position and two defensive tackles. So Northwestern turned to the portal where it found some success.
Matthew Lawson of Fresno State and Reginald Pearson from Bethune-Cookman are graduate transfers. Meanwhile, defensive end Richie Hagarty joins the Wildcats from Southern Illinois.
The trio has minimal experience. Lawson totaled 12 tackles (four solo) and recovered a fumble last season while Pearson made eight tackles and 1.5 sacks. Hagarty has the better career line with 66 tackles and 11.5 sacks in the last two years. His 2022 campaign featured 6.5 sacks and a forced fumble in the Salukis 31-24 win against Northwestern.
Replacing an NFL Draft pick in Adetomiwa Adebawore, who had 5.0 sacks last season, will be a key storyline. Xander Mueller was the only other player on the roster had more than 2.0 sacks.
Early outlook on Nebraska Vs. Northwestern
Vaccher: “My prediction is that it will be an entertaining game. Beyond that, it’s very difficult to say. Nebraska has a new head coach, a new coaching staff, new systems and a new quarterback. Northwestern will be running a new defense under first-year coordinator David Braun, and Pat Fitzgerald has turned over half of his coaching staff. So there’s not a lot of carryover from last season – which is a good thing for two teams that combined to 4-14 in the Big Ten last year.”
“I think the Huskers have an edge in overall talent, and they have home-field advantage, so I would make them the early favorites. But who knows? Northwestern is coming off of its worst season since 1989, winning its season opener and then losing 11 straight games, the longest active streak in the nation. I don’t have to tell you who that lone win came against.”
2023 win-loss expectation for Northwestern
Vaccher: “Defensively, there is hope for improvement under new coordinator David Braun if he can plug holes up front. Offensively, some questions were answered with portal additions like Ben Bryant and AJ Henning, but the unit still lacks consistency and doesn’t have much big-play potential.”
“The Wildcats’ schedule isn’t bad: they have a manageable non-conference slate (UTEP, Duke and Howard) and traded Ohio State for Rutgers in the crossovers. If they just take care of the football – they had the worst turnover margin in the nation last year at -1.58 per game – they should be able to get back to respectability. There’s nowhere to go but up, right? I think a bowl game is probably a stretch, but they should be in the 4-8 or 5-7 range this season.”
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