I suspect we are all going to need some distractions over the rest of this season, so figured I’d turn the page a bit and look at our 2023 personnel. Let’s not devolve this into yet another “JON needs to be fired” thread, don’t think there’s much consensus around here otherwise. This is simply trying to take a look at our available personnel by position group as it stands today once we get to the 2023 season.
Obviously the biggest unknown right now is the transfer portal, both in terms of additions as well as departures. I’m not going to pretend to have any kind of knowledge on players who might leave NU, just doing this as a “by the book” exercise with some collected observations at the end.
Candidly, I also tend to exclude walk-on’s in this context. While it is always a fun story to have a guy emerge as a contributor a la Carr, Niro, etc., it’s not really something you want to count on when it comes to roster planning and construction.
With that, we’re off!
Quarterback
Projected Two-Deep: Sullivan/Hilinski
Depth: Richardson, Lausch
Redshirting Depth: Gray
* Still early, but would wager we find ourselves in yet another competition come spring
* Sullivan showed JUSSTTTT enough mobility against Maryland that I think the offense could move more efficiently with him at the helm full-time
* Lausch is likely the wildcard, mostly whether he has the arm to push for full-time consideration or the athleticism to push for time as a package player
Running Back
Projected Two-Deep: Hull/Porter
Depth: Tyus, Himon
Redshirting Depth: N/A
* Hull has been much better than I thought this year, though I still hope Porter can push him even more with another year to heal up after his knee
* Have heard good things about Himon’s speed/quickness, might be a candidate in the pass game last year
* Tyus is a big ol’ dude that I still think would be better-served playing linebacker, but I’m not sure the depth chart is such that he could make that move absent a transfer addition
Wide Receiver
Projected Two-Deep: [N/A]
Depth: Gill, Dennis, Gray, Johnson III, Kirtz, Hooper-Price, Fleurima
Redshirting Depth: Ahumaraeze, Covey IV
* I don’t think any of these guys has done enough in 2022 to be certain of their spot atop the depth chart
* Best hope for this group is that the QB position gets solidified early to work on routes and timing throughout spring and fall
* There are some high-ceiling guys in this group (mostly Dennis, Hooper-Price, and Fleurima), but I also fear too many low-floor guys (mostly Gill and Gray on the current roster, then both incoming 2023 WRs)
Tight End
Projected Two-Deep: Gordon/Lang
Depth: Petrucci, Welcing, Albright, Olges
Redshirting Depth: Magee, Holt
* Gordon has flashed some very good things this year, though his lack of recent impact is worrisome whether due to injury or schematic issues
* Lang looks like a “perfectly fine” second TE that can do some things
* Have heard Welcing looks good when he is healthy enough to play, but keeps getting injured… don’t know for sure, but wouldn’t be surprised at a medical DQ
* Best case scenario might be for a couple of the younger guys to emerge as pass-catchers to take some pressure off the WR group
* Enough to work with here that Bajakian can get creative schematically
* Olges has been playing TE a lot the past few games, but not sure he should be included here just yet
EDIT: With Olges confirming at yesterday’s presser that he’s a full-time tight end, moving him here from DL… that is a LOT of guys in the tight end room, hopefully can start using them more creatively. Also get the feeling that we might see a medical DQ for Welcing announced at some point.
Offensive Line
Projected Two Deep:
LT: Tiernan/Franks
LG: Priebe/Carsello
C: Herzog/D’Antonio
RG: Wrather/McGuire
RT: Thompson/Franks
Redshirting depth: Senda, Birsa, Doost, Knox
* Obviously this group looks a WHOLE lot better if Skoronski returns for another year because of course it looks better when a likely first-round guy is on the field, but I don’t think we can plausibly count on that at this point
* If Skoronski is back then Tiernan flips back to RT, which would allow Thompson to compete for an interior spot, etc… would have a cascading positive impact, but not gonna happen
* Tiernan has at least looked passable in his first time at RT, has the frame and feet to flip to LT
* Anderson really liked Herzog coming out of HS, I wouldn‘t be at all surprised to see him as a 4-year starter after putting on a little more weight
* No matter who ends up starting, this is going to be a very inexperienced group… plenty of guys who have been in the program for a bit, but Priebe is really the only guy to see extended time at this point… time for Anderson to earn his keep with a group that is largely “his guys”
Defensive Line
Projected Two-Deep:
DE: McLaughlin/TBD
DT: Gold/Butler
DT: Story/Firestone
DE: Pate/Hubbard
Other depth: Cameron, Flakes, Saka
Redshirting depth: Kilbane, Robinson, Roberts, Gant
* I’m actually pretty excited to see Story with another year to grow and develop… he’s suddenly a very big, mobile kid who could be quite good
* Some toolsy guys in this room (Saka, Robinson, etc.), just wonder how quickly they can be gameday contributors, could really use a guy to step up at DE that can impact a game
* Gold has the size to play inside, has to stay healthy
* Just don’t know or haven’t seen enough to project Cameron or Flakes in the two-deep
* Would be great if one of the incoming guys were good enough to play in the rotation, particularly Gant or Roberts inside… Porter’s decommit hurts this angle big-time
* Tough to see a true impact DL out of this group, quite frankly
EDIT: * Removing Olges here… only reiterates my desire to see some added veteran bulk/depth on the interior via the portal.
Linebacker
Projected two-deep:
Will: Mueller/Uihlein
Mike: Gallagher/Davis
Sam: Metz/Soares
Other depth: Jones (still has a year left, I believe), Coleman (though wouldn’t surprise me to see him move to DE full-time), Reynolds, Brus
Redshirting depth: Cryer, Glover
* I sincerely hope Davis and Uihlein develop to the point they can push Mueller and Gallagher for playing time
* Interestingly I think those guys have “opposite” development to do — Davis could probably benefit from getting slimmer/quicker while Uihlein could probably benefit from getting bigger/stronger… either way, I hope they put it together to push the incumbent returning starters
* Metz hasn’t played nearly as much lately, but seems “mostly fine” when he plays
* Heard very good things about both Soares and Reynolds, maybe one of them could also emerge for PT come spring
Defensive Back
Projected Two-Deep:
CB: Mitchell/TBD
SAF: Azema/Joseph
SAF: Lewis (pretty sure he has one more year)/Turner
STAR: Heard/Wallace
CB: Hollis/Johnson
Other depth: Williams, Smith, Turner, Fitzgerald
Redshirting depth: Lewis, Shivers, Fussell, Walters
* Fourth corner would probably be Heard with one of the backup safeties coming into the STAR position
* At the very least this will be a very veteran group returning, which is generally a good sign for NU football
* Mitchell, Azema, and Lewis seem likely to assume a leadership role
* Hopefully Azema is healthy come fall 2023, as I think he’s our best player back there
* Mitchell has a lot of work to do to get anywhere near the platitudes he got from the program earlier this year, IMO
Specialists
K: Olsen
P: Akers
LS: Halkyard
* Akers has been pretty solid this year, great addition
* Olsen been dinged up, hopefully stays healthy and gets his swing back over the offseason
* Ideally one of the other K/P has the leg to handle KO’s, but I have no clue
OVERALL TAKEAWAYS
* QB: still not sure we have “that guy” in the room, but can at least muster some optimism that Sullivan or Hilinski can be serviceable
* RB: far and away the strongest position group on the team in my opinion. Still think Porter ends up better than Hull when fully healthy and re-integrated.
* WR: wish I had nicer things to say, but I hope we do whatever we possibly can to land at least a couple actual impact WRs out of the portal because I don’t see those guys on the roster as it stands today
* TE: decent young depth, especially if Gordon continues to emerge and one or more of the young guys takes a step forward. Might have to get creative using this group to cover shortcomings in the WR group. EDIT: Olges at TE full-time makes me wonder about a medical DQ for Welcing.
* OL: pretty veteran group, but haven’t seen a ton to go off just yet. Wouldn’t at all mind a veteran transfer or two to bolster the top-end of the depth chart.
* DL: lacks impact players unless one of the young guys surprises. Could use a veteran or two to bolster the depth chart, both inside and on the edge. EDIT: Olges moving to TE full-time makes me want to see veteran depth added in the portal even more.
* LB: unfortunately looks like mostly much of the same, fingers crossed that some of the guys currently on the bench can push the guys we are seeing regularly this year because they just haven’t been good enough
* DB: will be a very veteran group and should be the leaders of the team. Will see if that translates into better and more consistent performances.
* Specialists: Akers is solid, Halkyard mostly anonymous (which is a good thing), some consistency at K would be great (and is especially important in “Fitzball”)
Obviously the biggest unknown right now is the transfer portal, both in terms of additions as well as departures. I’m not going to pretend to have any kind of knowledge on players who might leave NU, just doing this as a “by the book” exercise with some collected observations at the end.
Candidly, I also tend to exclude walk-on’s in this context. While it is always a fun story to have a guy emerge as a contributor a la Carr, Niro, etc., it’s not really something you want to count on when it comes to roster planning and construction.
With that, we’re off!
Quarterback
Projected Two-Deep: Sullivan/Hilinski
Depth: Richardson, Lausch
Redshirting Depth: Gray
* Still early, but would wager we find ourselves in yet another competition come spring
* Sullivan showed JUSSTTTT enough mobility against Maryland that I think the offense could move more efficiently with him at the helm full-time
* Lausch is likely the wildcard, mostly whether he has the arm to push for full-time consideration or the athleticism to push for time as a package player
Running Back
Projected Two-Deep: Hull/Porter
Depth: Tyus, Himon
Redshirting Depth: N/A
* Hull has been much better than I thought this year, though I still hope Porter can push him even more with another year to heal up after his knee
* Have heard good things about Himon’s speed/quickness, might be a candidate in the pass game last year
* Tyus is a big ol’ dude that I still think would be better-served playing linebacker, but I’m not sure the depth chart is such that he could make that move absent a transfer addition
Wide Receiver
Projected Two-Deep: [N/A]
Depth: Gill, Dennis, Gray, Johnson III, Kirtz, Hooper-Price, Fleurima
Redshirting Depth: Ahumaraeze, Covey IV
* I don’t think any of these guys has done enough in 2022 to be certain of their spot atop the depth chart
* Best hope for this group is that the QB position gets solidified early to work on routes and timing throughout spring and fall
* There are some high-ceiling guys in this group (mostly Dennis, Hooper-Price, and Fleurima), but I also fear too many low-floor guys (mostly Gill and Gray on the current roster, then both incoming 2023 WRs)
Tight End
Projected Two-Deep: Gordon/Lang
Depth: Petrucci, Welcing, Albright, Olges
Redshirting Depth: Magee, Holt
* Gordon has flashed some very good things this year, though his lack of recent impact is worrisome whether due to injury or schematic issues
* Lang looks like a “perfectly fine” second TE that can do some things
* Have heard Welcing looks good when he is healthy enough to play, but keeps getting injured… don’t know for sure, but wouldn’t be surprised at a medical DQ
* Best case scenario might be for a couple of the younger guys to emerge as pass-catchers to take some pressure off the WR group
* Enough to work with here that Bajakian can get creative schematically
* Olges has been playing TE a lot the past few games, but not sure he should be included here just yet
EDIT: With Olges confirming at yesterday’s presser that he’s a full-time tight end, moving him here from DL… that is a LOT of guys in the tight end room, hopefully can start using them more creatively. Also get the feeling that we might see a medical DQ for Welcing announced at some point.
Offensive Line
Projected Two Deep:
LT: Tiernan/Franks
LG: Priebe/Carsello
C: Herzog/D’Antonio
RG: Wrather/McGuire
RT: Thompson/Franks
Redshirting depth: Senda, Birsa, Doost, Knox
* Obviously this group looks a WHOLE lot better if Skoronski returns for another year because of course it looks better when a likely first-round guy is on the field, but I don’t think we can plausibly count on that at this point
* If Skoronski is back then Tiernan flips back to RT, which would allow Thompson to compete for an interior spot, etc… would have a cascading positive impact, but not gonna happen
* Tiernan has at least looked passable in his first time at RT, has the frame and feet to flip to LT
* Anderson really liked Herzog coming out of HS, I wouldn‘t be at all surprised to see him as a 4-year starter after putting on a little more weight
* No matter who ends up starting, this is going to be a very inexperienced group… plenty of guys who have been in the program for a bit, but Priebe is really the only guy to see extended time at this point… time for Anderson to earn his keep with a group that is largely “his guys”
Defensive Line
Projected Two-Deep:
DE: McLaughlin/TBD
DT: Gold/Butler
DT: Story/Firestone
DE: Pate/Hubbard
Other depth: Cameron, Flakes, Saka
Redshirting depth: Kilbane, Robinson, Roberts, Gant
* I’m actually pretty excited to see Story with another year to grow and develop… he’s suddenly a very big, mobile kid who could be quite good
* Some toolsy guys in this room (Saka, Robinson, etc.), just wonder how quickly they can be gameday contributors, could really use a guy to step up at DE that can impact a game
* Gold has the size to play inside, has to stay healthy
* Just don’t know or haven’t seen enough to project Cameron or Flakes in the two-deep
* Would be great if one of the incoming guys were good enough to play in the rotation, particularly Gant or Roberts inside… Porter’s decommit hurts this angle big-time
* Tough to see a true impact DL out of this group, quite frankly
EDIT: * Removing Olges here… only reiterates my desire to see some added veteran bulk/depth on the interior via the portal.
Linebacker
Projected two-deep:
Will: Mueller/Uihlein
Mike: Gallagher/Davis
Sam: Metz/Soares
Other depth: Jones (still has a year left, I believe), Coleman (though wouldn’t surprise me to see him move to DE full-time), Reynolds, Brus
Redshirting depth: Cryer, Glover
* I sincerely hope Davis and Uihlein develop to the point they can push Mueller and Gallagher for playing time
* Interestingly I think those guys have “opposite” development to do — Davis could probably benefit from getting slimmer/quicker while Uihlein could probably benefit from getting bigger/stronger… either way, I hope they put it together to push the incumbent returning starters
* Metz hasn’t played nearly as much lately, but seems “mostly fine” when he plays
* Heard very good things about both Soares and Reynolds, maybe one of them could also emerge for PT come spring
Defensive Back
Projected Two-Deep:
CB: Mitchell/TBD
SAF: Azema/Joseph
SAF: Lewis (pretty sure he has one more year)/Turner
STAR: Heard/Wallace
CB: Hollis/Johnson
Other depth: Williams, Smith, Turner, Fitzgerald
Redshirting depth: Lewis, Shivers, Fussell, Walters
* Fourth corner would probably be Heard with one of the backup safeties coming into the STAR position
* At the very least this will be a very veteran group returning, which is generally a good sign for NU football
* Mitchell, Azema, and Lewis seem likely to assume a leadership role
* Hopefully Azema is healthy come fall 2023, as I think he’s our best player back there
* Mitchell has a lot of work to do to get anywhere near the platitudes he got from the program earlier this year, IMO
Specialists
K: Olsen
P: Akers
LS: Halkyard
* Akers has been pretty solid this year, great addition
* Olsen been dinged up, hopefully stays healthy and gets his swing back over the offseason
* Ideally one of the other K/P has the leg to handle KO’s, but I have no clue
OVERALL TAKEAWAYS
* QB: still not sure we have “that guy” in the room, but can at least muster some optimism that Sullivan or Hilinski can be serviceable
* RB: far and away the strongest position group on the team in my opinion. Still think Porter ends up better than Hull when fully healthy and re-integrated.
* WR: wish I had nicer things to say, but I hope we do whatever we possibly can to land at least a couple actual impact WRs out of the portal because I don’t see those guys on the roster as it stands today
* TE: decent young depth, especially if Gordon continues to emerge and one or more of the young guys takes a step forward. Might have to get creative using this group to cover shortcomings in the WR group. EDIT: Olges at TE full-time makes me wonder about a medical DQ for Welcing.
* OL: pretty veteran group, but haven’t seen a ton to go off just yet. Wouldn’t at all mind a veteran transfer or two to bolster the top-end of the depth chart.
* DL: lacks impact players unless one of the young guys surprises. Could use a veteran or two to bolster the depth chart, both inside and on the edge. EDIT: Olges moving to TE full-time makes me want to see veteran depth added in the portal even more.
* LB: unfortunately looks like mostly much of the same, fingers crossed that some of the guys currently on the bench can push the guys we are seeing regularly this year because they just haven’t been good enough
* DB: will be a very veteran group and should be the leaders of the team. Will see if that translates into better and more consistent performances.
* Specialists: Akers is solid, Halkyard mostly anonymous (which is a good thing), some consistency at K would be great (and is especially important in “Fitzball”)
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