David Braun was in the building for Northwestern's loss at Rutgers and joined Dave Eanet for the halftime show on ESPN 1000. Here are my takeaways from what he had to say:
Alluded to transfer dynamics: Eanet asked Braun about the recent departure of defensive backs in the portal with two starters, Rod Heard and Garnett Hollis, as well as a key rotational player in Jaheem Joseph. Reading between the lines, Braun's comments here seemed directed at Joseph or similar players like RB Anthony Tyus who would have likely come back to contribute off the bench in a rotational capacity.
"I'm really excited about the depth in that DB room," Braun said. "To be honest, some of the decisions are solely made based off of 'Coach, can you promise I'm starting next year?' No. We're about earned opportunities here. Some young men are looking to make sure they get an opportunity late in their career to get on the field and make sure they get a lot of tape out there. The thing I'm proud of is that these guys are leaving Northwestern with a degree in hand. That's non-negotiable for us. We have some work to do on the O-line and we're excited about the young DBs we have."
Braun segued from direct roster examples to his plans for Northwestern to compete in the modern world of college athletics.
"The way that we are going to win Big Ten championships is we're going to out develop people, out team people," Braun said. "Then we have to find the right pieces in the transfer portal and the NIL factor is something we have to be aware of but that's not what we're going to lead with at Northwestern. It's going to be an opportunity to play Big Ten football, the highest levels of college football, and earn a world-class degree. Then we have to tap into the NIL resources with TrueNU and [Executive Director] Jacob [Schmidt] and all the work that he's doing to retain our student-athletes."
New coaches: Braun gave a quick briefing of the five new coaching hires or promotions, giving extra emphasis to McGarigle, Lujan and Barnett.
"I'm so excited for Tim [McGarigle]," Braun said. "Man, what a stud. Paul Creighton, really excited about what he's bringing to our special teams. Zach Lujan, I tell you what, it was tough to hire a guy from South Dakota State. They beat our butt in the national championship a couple years ago but Zach is a young, energetic great football mind. Then the addition of Harlon Barnett and Bill O'Boyle. Both mentors, veteran coaches. What Coach Barnett did at Michigan State last year navigating a really tough situation, I'm really excited about some of the things he's going to bring to the table to help me navigate this head coaching role."
Complimented Collins: Eanet opened the interview by saying that the football and basketball teams remind him a good deal of each other this season.
"Coach Collins has been an incredible friend through the last six months and I really appreciate the way his teams play. What a compliment. For his team to be playing the way they are and for our team to finish off the season the way we did, I think both groups really embody what Northwestern is all about."
Starting quarterback: The more things change, the more things stay the same. Braun listed Brendan Sullivan, Jack Lausch, Ryan Hilinski and the debut of Aidan Gray to the quarterback depth chart list in response to Eanet's question about next year's starter after the departure of Ben Bryant.
"Spring ball is going to be an incredible opportunity for that room to develop under Zach Lujan and the new offense...we're going to find out early in spring ball how those guys adjust to a new system while also being aware of what we need to do to make sure that we're positioning ourselves to win a ton of Big Ten football games. But right now, excited for Brendan, Ryan and Jack for a fresh start and also Aidan Gray, a freshman who is starting to get his cleats under him. Saw a lot of great things from him in bowl prep."
Appreciates the return of Henning and Hagarty, won't close door on outgoing transfers yet: Wide receiver and return specialist AJ Henning and defensive end Richie Hagarty are both returning to Northwestern next season after joining the Wildcats out of the transfer portal in 2023.
"It's huge," Braun said. "We're so excited, they were the right people. That's what this is all about. We're going to win the Northwestern way and that's by our team of people investing in their teammates and having an incredible experience. Very excited about how we'll continue to move through the transfer portal in the coming months."
With spring ball and position battles on the horizon, Braun said that he can't rule out the possibility that more players might leave for playing time elsewhere.
"As we navigate through spring ball, there's always some guys that make decisions. The thing I'm proud of is that the guys who are making decisions right now, that are deciding to leave, they're leaving with heavy hearts, tears in their eyes and with reasons. We're going to put all our time, energy and effort into the young men that want to be here, that want to invest in this team and we have something special brewing back in Evanston. What Coach Spanos is doing right now with strength and conditioning, it's a special environment right now."
