2010 Northwestern Wildcats

[Colonel_Reb]

The only private member of the Big 10 has been majority White since I started doing previews in 2005. They are starting 16 Whites right now. Some White backups to watch for include WR (Z) Drew Moulton, WR (X) Brendan Barber, Superback Josh Rooks, and CB Ricky Weina.

Offense
QB Dan Persa
TB Jacob Schmidt and Mike Trumpy-splitting carries
WR (Y) Jeremy Ebert
Superback (TE/H-Back) Drake Dunsmore
LT Al Netter
LG Brian Mulroe
C Ben Burkett
RG Keegan Grant
RT Patrick Ward

Defense
DE Kevin Watt
DT Jack DiNardo-Gerry DiNardo's nephew
DE Vince Browne
OLB Bryce McNaul
MLB Nate Williams
S Brian Peters
S Hunter Bates


Edited by: Colonel_Reb

 

[FootballDad]

Hey Colonel, what's happening with Scott Concannon? He was the starting RB for part of last season.

 

[FootballDad]

Nevermind. He's been labeled "Adrian Peterson" the second, allegedly because of fumbles......




Northwestern finished 95th nationally in rushing last year with just 117.5 yards per game. Not only did the Wildcats run the ball inconsistently (3.0 yards per rush), they couldn't find a go-to guy. Offensive coordinator Mick McCall rotated four guys depending on the situation. All four of those guys are back this season, but none of them made much headway during the spring.


Sophomore scatback Arby Fields, the team's top rusher with 302 yards and five touchdowns, split his time between spring practices and his duties as Northwestern's starting center fielder. Juniors Jacob Schmidt and Scott Concannon -- the latter of whom fell out of favor late in the year due to fumbles -- finished the spring healthy, but they combined for 52 yards on 25 carries in the spring game. Undersized senior Stephen Simmons, who entered the 2009 season as the starter but fell to the wayside in part due to injuries, carried three times for minus-4 yards.


More candidates will join the fray during Camp Kenosha in August. Northwestern hoped to get a good look at redshirt freshman Mike Trumpy in the spring after his solid fall on the scout team, but he was injured and missed most of spring. NU also has high hopes for incoming freshman Adonis Smith, a three-star runner from Oakland, Calif.


There's also an unknown variable to this equation. Graduated senior quarterback Mike Kafka, who was snapped up by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round, was the team's most potent rusher last year with 295 yards and eight TDs. As good as Kafka was, new quarterback Dan Persa is even more of a threat on the ground.


When Persa played the second half against Penn State and the first half against Iowa late last year due to a Kafka injury, the Wildcats didn't hesitate to send him on single-wing sweeps. He also looked terrific while scrambling out of the spread offense. Persa posted 109 rushing yards in those two halves and managed 167 rushing yards for the season in relatively limited time.


"It gives you more options," Northwestern running backs coach Matt MacPherson told the Daily Northwestern. "It gives you more possibilities. In some ways it's better for the back because the defense can't key in on him. Now it takes away probably some carries from him, but it gives you more weapons, more options."Edited by: FootballDad

 

[Colonel_Reb]

That's too bad about Scott, FootballDad. I wondered about him but hadn't looked him up yet. He isn't listed on the two deep at CFN. Except for the Caste System, the way some Whites disappear from one season to the next is really baffling. Maybe he'll see some action this year. We'll see.

I found this writeup about the spring game.

http://www.rivalryesq.com/2010/4/26/1446163/big-ten-2010-northwesterns

Relevant info:


The Spread offense is most effective when the draw plays and quick
hitting dives can pick up 4 yards every time. Although having a go-to
back is by no means imperative, a player like Tyrell Sutton made those quick hitters
especially dangerous. Due to injuries and lack of production in 2009, we
never learned who the favorite is to carry the rushing load in 2010. Arby Fields was mistake prone like a young
back usually is. Scott Concannon is a "two hands on the ball,
run like a fullback" player with little giddy up. Stephen Simmons was the de factor starter in
Spring Ball 2009, but injuries limited his effectiveness. <a href="http://www.laketheposts.com/" target="_blank">And then there's
this from LTP:</a>
<blockquote>


NU Rushing Attack


The Spring Game did little to quell concern about the
productivity of the ground game. Northwestern's statistical totals were
awful - 47 carries for a net of 92 yards. The longest run of the day
by a RB was Scott Concannon's 9-yard burst. There is a major caveat.
Arby Fields did not play as he is still in baseball mode. However, our
cadre of RBs looked like they were in short yardage situations all day
muscling out one and two yard gains. Candidly, I wasn't focused on our
OL play but across the board, the running game was one of the giant
unresolved question marks on this day.
</blockquote>Edited by: Colonel_Reb

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

Arby Fields was a disappointment for the Wildcats last year as a true frosh. Scott Concannon was a disappointment as well. Hopefully we'll see Alex Daniel or Mike Trumpy emerge this year, as those two have some serious talent!

It's been a while since I watched Daniel's film, but if I recall he was a quick cutter with a burst and vision. Mike Trumpy is a good blend back. He is kind of a X-Y cutback powerback, but has enough X-Z agility that he has some scatback qualities as well.

Who knows? Maybe Concannon will step his game up and grab his starting HB role back. Hopefully a white RB will emerge as the starter!

 

[TwentyTwo]

Dual-threat QB Dan Persa (transfer from West Viginia) had a solid game vs Vanderbilt last Saturday...Completed 19 of 21 passes for 222 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs; added team-high 82 rush yards on 17 carries

Former walk-on (go figure) Jacob Schmidt had 44 yards rushing on 13 carries

Not sure what happened to Concannon??

 

[Jack Lambert]

I'm not sure if he starts, but Jacob Schmidt, got 13 carries at Vanderbilt, and Rotoworld seems to think he could be the primary RB.

Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald indicated that while he doesn't mind quarterback Dan Persa running the football, he would like to get the running backs more involved this Saturday against Illinois State.

Running back Jacob Schmidt seems to be the logical guy to get more work. Schmidt carried 13 times for 44 yards last week against Vanderbilt

 

[Leonardfan]

Northwestern is a team that has been a real pleasure to watch the past few seasons.

 

[celticdb15]

Schmidt's a walk-on from Rhinelander, Wisconsin. I give the guy credit for working his way to the top and being able to fight off more highly rated recruits year after year.

He's quite the athlete earned 11 Varsity letter while in high school and he also graduated from the same high school as Steeler great Mike Webster.

High School: Two-time All-Wisconsin Valley Conference
selection at running back and cornerback (2005-06) ... Two-time team
MVP and team captain (2005-06) ... Rushed for 2,150 career yards and
piled up over 3,000 yards of total offense ... On defense, totaled 85
tackles and 7 interceptions ... Rushed for 148 yards on 18 carries and
scored 3 TD's vs. Lakeland ... Also had a 138 rushing yards, 3 TD's and
3 interceptions vs. Merrill ... Earned 11 varsity letters in four
sports -- three in football, four in baseball, two in basketball and
two in hockey ... All-conference honoree in baseball (team's leading
hitter and RBI leader) and a two-year captain ... Hit three grand slams
his senior season ... NHS member for three years ... Honor Roll all
four years ... Coached by Jim Moore.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Schmidt is listed along with two blacks as a possible starter. It appears NW will use them in a rotation for now. Hopefully Jacob can separate himself from the others and be the clear cut starter.

 

[FootballDad]

Schmidt is a good story, and I'm glad that he's making the most of his opportunity! Concannon though, is another thing. He had two fumbles while on his incredibly short leash last season and was quickly relegated to the doghouse. This young man is really fun to watch run as he has unbelievable quickness out of his cuts, and has great burst. It's disappointing that he wasn't given the same opportunities afforded to the majority of affletes. I hope that he makes a mark in practices and is able to get onto the field to show what he can do. Mark Ingram fumbles and gets a Heisman, Concannon fumbles and promptly is relegated to 4th or 5th on the depth chart.

 

[whiteathlete33]

Mawk Ingram will be the next big bust at running back in the NFL&gt;

 

[celticdb15]

It looks like Mike Trumpy and Jacob Schimdt will be the guys running the ball for Northwestern!! Arby Fields hasn't done ANYTHING. HE also put the ball on the ground and hasn't been in since. I really wish teams like Northwestern could get some top notch o line prospects, they would be scary good with all their underrated white skill kids they always seem to have..

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Nice to hear that news, celtic! I've been working today and haven't watched much football yet.

 

[Jack Lambert]

Northwestern starters update!

Keegan Grant starts at RG for Northwestern.
Bryce McNaul won the OLB job.
Hunter Bates starts at the other S spot right now.
Jacob Schmidt and Mike Trumpy are the two guys at RB right now.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Thanks for the update, Jack! Nice to see an increase, especially when its a DB.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Hunter Bates is also the primary punt returner. Go Northwestern!

 

[Highlander]

LB Ben Johnson looked good for NW today, especially with his INT at the end of the game. I don't see him as a listed starter in Northwestern's 2010 CF profile. I wonder if he's a starter now.

 

[Leonardfan]

To bad Northwestern does not play Ohio State or Michigan this year. It would be great to see Persa go against overrated Pryor and Robinson.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

They might be a bit overrated, but they keep winning. Plus Robinson has broken records for combined passing and rushing already this year in the entire history of the FBS- and he's only started 5 games in his entire career so far. I'm not sure either would pan out as a QB in the NFL (position switch maybe?), but I think they deserve a shot.

Also, good to see Mike Trumpy jump up the depth chart over overrated/under-performing Arby Fields.

 

[Leonardfan]

I give Robinson his due but Pryor has been media hype since he enrolled with the Buckeyes. He has had a few good games against decent competition but puts up most his heisman numbers against cupcakes like eastern michigan.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

Pryor seems to struggle with consistency on his accuracy, but runs his way out of trouble a lot. Robinson actually looks pretty accurate to me, even on long throws, but is listed GENEROUSLY at 6 foot. I hear he might be more like 5'10- and he might not have the strength or build to hold up as a running QB machine in the NFL as he is only about 188 lbs.

 

[White Power]

Dsn Persa is better and more athletic than both of these bums for what it's worth. If Persa was black he would be the heisman front runner.

 

[hfm1]

Northwestern has a shot to go undefeated,I'm guessing they finish a solid 10-2.

 

[icsept]

Northwestern has a shot to go undefeated,I'm guessing they finish a solid 10-2.

After their win against Minnesota, the announcers said with their schedule, they'd be lucky to get to six wins and be bowl eligible. They have two white running backs, but I think more carries for Mike Trumpy and fewer carries for Schmidt would do them well. Trumpy has more big play ability and I believe he's even bigger than Schmidt.