Northwestern is leaving no stone unturned in its search for players who can help turnaround a program that finished 1-11 last season. Quintin O'Connell is a case in point.
O'Connell will play for the Wildcats this fall as a walkon graduate transfer from North Carolina. That's hardly unique in this era of wide-open transfer roles. What makes O'Connell an interesting addition is that he didn't play football for the Tar Heels. He played lacrosse.
Converting a lacrosse player to another sport worked wonders for Northwestern's basketball team with Pat Spencer a few years ago. Now, the football will try to do the same thing with O'Connell.
"I graduated UNC while a captain on the lacrosse team this past May and will be taking my fifth year to play football at Northwestern," he told WildcatReport.
O'Connell, a defensive midfielder, scored four goals for the Tar Heels last season, his fourth with the program. For his final year of college eligibility, he will return to football, a sport he hasn't played since the fall of 2018, for New Canaan (Conn.).
O'Connell did everything for New Canaan as a senior in 2018, amassing more than 1,700 all-purpose yards. He had 91 catches for 1,158 yards and 14 touchdowns as a wide receiver, and added 222 yards and five TDs rushing, as well as 362 yards and one more score as a returner. He was a top target for former Notre Dame and current Arizona State quarterback Drew Pyne.
But O'Connell was also a two-time All-American in lacrosse at New Canaan and decided to play the sport collegiately at North Carolina, where his older brother, Ryan, also played. After four years and a degree in Chapel Hill, he's coming back to play football in Evanston.
A 6-foot, 190-pounder, O'Connell will be a welcome addition to a wide receivers room that lost its top two pass catchers from an offense that ranked 128th in the nation at scoring in 2022, with 13.8 points per game. While it remains to be seen how much he can contribute on game days, if nothing else O'Connell will give the unit some depth.
O'Connell didn't have nearly the lacrosse career of Spencer, who won the Tewaaraton Award in 2019, the lacrosse equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. But he is following a similar path as Spencer, who played four years of lacrosse at Loyola-Maryland before transferring to Northwestern in 2019-20. Spencer wound up starting 29 of 31 games for a Wildcat team that scuffled through a 8-23 season and was often its best player. He led the Wildcats in assists (3.9 per game) and was their second-leading scorer (10.4 points per game).
If O'Connell has a fraction of the success that Spencer had, coaches will be thrilled with their new addition.
Lacrosse Bio
goheels.com
High School Highlights
(NOTE: I'm trying to line up an interview with O'Connell before I post a story about it on the front page.)
O'Connell will play for the Wildcats this fall as a walkon graduate transfer from North Carolina. That's hardly unique in this era of wide-open transfer roles. What makes O'Connell an interesting addition is that he didn't play football for the Tar Heels. He played lacrosse.
Converting a lacrosse player to another sport worked wonders for Northwestern's basketball team with Pat Spencer a few years ago. Now, the football will try to do the same thing with O'Connell.
"I graduated UNC while a captain on the lacrosse team this past May and will be taking my fifth year to play football at Northwestern," he told WildcatReport.
O'Connell, a defensive midfielder, scored four goals for the Tar Heels last season, his fourth with the program. For his final year of college eligibility, he will return to football, a sport he hasn't played since the fall of 2018, for New Canaan (Conn.).
O'Connell did everything for New Canaan as a senior in 2018, amassing more than 1,700 all-purpose yards. He had 91 catches for 1,158 yards and 14 touchdowns as a wide receiver, and added 222 yards and five TDs rushing, as well as 362 yards and one more score as a returner. He was a top target for former Notre Dame and current Arizona State quarterback Drew Pyne.
But O'Connell was also a two-time All-American in lacrosse at New Canaan and decided to play the sport collegiately at North Carolina, where his older brother, Ryan, also played. After four years and a degree in Chapel Hill, he's coming back to play football in Evanston.
A 6-foot, 190-pounder, O'Connell will be a welcome addition to a wide receivers room that lost its top two pass catchers from an offense that ranked 128th in the nation at scoring in 2022, with 13.8 points per game. While it remains to be seen how much he can contribute on game days, if nothing else O'Connell will give the unit some depth.
O'Connell didn't have nearly the lacrosse career of Spencer, who won the Tewaaraton Award in 2019, the lacrosse equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. But he is following a similar path as Spencer, who played four years of lacrosse at Loyola-Maryland before transferring to Northwestern in 2019-20. Spencer wound up starting 29 of 31 games for a Wildcat team that scuffled through a 8-23 season and was often its best player. He led the Wildcats in assists (3.9 per game) and was their second-leading scorer (10.4 points per game).
If O'Connell has a fraction of the success that Spencer had, coaches will be thrilled with their new addition.
Lacrosse Bio
Quintin O'Connell - Men's Lacrosse - University of North Carolina Athletics
Quintin O'Connell (18) Defensive Midfielder - 2023 (Senior): Saw action in 12 games during his senior campaign • Scored four goals on the season • Had a c...
High School Highlights
(NOTE: I'm trying to line up an interview with O'Connell before I post a story about it on the front page.)
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