This used to annoy me. In the past few years, I actually kind of like it. It gives new guys a chance to show what they can do and shine. A little bit of a preview to what teams have for next year.

Sounds like there is steam building around that happening. Anyone able to confirm from the Big Ten HQ?

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Sheesh

Looks like ~15 guys are transferring, many not playing in the bowl game. Thoughts on how these personnel losses — including some major impact guys — will impact their play/team mentality?

Offer to a DT from the Ivy League. An area of need but the competition is stiff.

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The bowl game is two weeks away! Here's what you need to know about Utah as the Las Vegas Bowl looms.

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Hits keep coming for the Utes.

This makes me wonder how important High School recruiting is anymore.

FBS-best 98% graduation success rate. That’s 19 years in a row! No program does more and cares more for their student-athletes than NU. A true testament to our players, coaches and support staff. The fact our players graduate and rarely transfer as undergrads speaks volumes!

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@lou v talked to TrueNU's executive director Jacob Schmidt about Northwestern's status in the arena of NIL collectives.

Wide Receiver:

This season's receiving corps has been one of the best in recent memory. The top three of Cam Johnson, Bryce Kirtz and AJ Henning accumulated the most yards for Northwestern's top three wide receivers (1698) and touchdowns (13) since the 2016 campaign when Austin Carr almost reached those marks single handedly.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, Johnson, the leading receiver in that trio, is out of eligibility and will graduate. Kirtz could have one more year left after redshirting in 2019 and the COVID season of 2020, but that is not a guarantee. After rehabbing four knee injuries over the past four years to be able to deliver this season, he could choose to go out on a high note.

Henning was a transfer portal addition alongside Johnson, but graduated from Michigan and has one more year of eligibility. He's already been on social media recruiting a few other players in the portal to come to Northwestern, like ETHS grad and UNC LB Sebastian Cheeks, so signs are favorable that he will return next season.

So for now, our thinking is that Henning will return and if Kirtz comes back that will be a pleasant surprise. That means it's on new wide receivers coach Armon Binns to manufacture 1200 receiving yards and nine touchdowns next season to replace his top two guys in Johnson and Kirtz.

Looking down the existing depth chart, there are few strong candidates that fill into their archetypes. Frank Covey IV had a lot of hype coming into the season but suffered a nearly season-long injury and was only able to play in a handful of snaps versus Illinois. If he's as advertised, he could be one of the players to fill Johnson's role. Even though he's listed at 6-foot, Johnson was a physical and vertical presence at receiver, something he said he put in the time with Binns to emphasize. Covey will be in just his second year, but could aim for that similar trajectory as an athletic, dependable option even at 6-foot-1.

There are a few existing names on the roster who could step up. First of all is Henning, who was a third receiver this year but with another year of development could work his way out wide as a primary or secondary target. He has game changing speed and came to Northwestern for more receiving opportunities. He has gotten them and I expect that a larger role will be part of Northwestern's pitch to get him to return.

Two young players who fit the needed role are sophomore Reggie Fleurima, a 6-foot-2 former four-star who came in with tons of hype but hasn't found his way to the field. If Fleurima is going to make an impact, next year, his third in Evanston, will be as good of a window as he's going to get. Another is Ricky Ahumaraeze, a 6-foot-4 rangy three-star, who has also seen little to no time but is just a freshman so that's to be expected.

Veterans like Jacob Gill, who caught seven passes for 99 yards in 2022, CJ Johnson, who had four catches for 32 yards this season, or Donnie Gray, who has stuck with the program, could also be in the mix.

Also take into context that, hearing from recruits on the trail, one of Binns' main talking points has been early opportunities and instant impact. I think they want next year's receivers to be Henning and Covey, while hoping but not counting on Kirtz, with at least one new face.

That new face could be current commit and planned early enrollee Hayden Eligon II. He's listed at 6-foot-4 and will have spring ball under his belt before competing for the job in fall camp. Carson Grove is a smaller, slot-type receiver from nearby Arlington Heights (Ill.) Hersey, but has the makings of a special teams and slot maven cut from the same cloth as Ray Niro III. When I saw him play earlier this season against Patrick Schaller and GBN, he showed good route running and return skills with soft hands.

That being said about existing or committed talent, I think they'll be on the hunt for another veteran through the portal.

The portal was an absolute boon to Northwestern's passing game this season. Quarterback Ben Bryant, Johnson and Henning all went straight to work in their first seasons in Evanston.

Looking at last season's cycle, Johnson committed early on Jan. 18, Henning later on May 11. With Northwestern taking its time with its coaching hires and a new DPP, expect receiver to skew later in the cycle towards that second, April window as the Wildcats try to bring another veteran into the fold.

There is also the opportunity as a new offensive coordinator and, while I'm high on the work that Binns has done, there's the chance that a new OC will ask for a clean slate for their support staff, a new wide receivers coach comes in to bring players over from their pre-existing team or shuffle the deck to match their personal preferences.

Bryson Barnes (the infamous pig farmer QB) is apparently in the portal:

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Backup Nate Johnson had previously communicated his intentions, though haven’t officially seen him in just yet; perhaps he decides to stick around if he has a clearer path to starting?

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If neither of those guys play in the bowl game, then Utah is looking at starting either Luke Bottari, who I believe is a JUCO walk-on transfer with 10 career attempts, or Brandon Rose, a redshirt freshman with whom NU got involved late but has no career attempts.

Notably Barnes was their #2 going into the season and Johnson #3 behind Cam Rising, who has been out for a season and I don’t think expected to return.

Suffice to say that would be HUGE for our prospects in Vegas.

UPDATE: Just for good measure, Utah’s true freshman originally from Mississippi and 6th or 7th QB also in the portal:

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The hits keep coming for the Utes. Oklahoma native, could well be looking to transfer back home. Not yet clear if he will play in the bowl game.

I had a call with Lucas Austin yesterday, one of the visitors at the Minnesota game.

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Austin doesn't have an offer yet so didn't feel like it warranted a full story but here are some notes and quotes from the call:

His favorite part of the game was the comeback and it was great atmosphere around the program and in the locker room.

"They all work really hard, they have insane facilities and a great education."

"The first half didn't go there way but the second half they didn't quit, they didn't give up anything. They actually played harder. It looked like a completely different team out there and I see myself playing with that same mentality. That [mentality] is also something I really enjoyed about their team."

NU likes his frame and his skill set but want him to put on more weight, he's also a basketball player so they like his explosiveness and footwork. He's 265 right now, they didn't give him a target but he thinks he can add plenty of pounds over the next few years. He's from Sterling, Ill. one of the best public school programs in the state and a 5A powerhouse. He really likes the fact that it's just a 2.5 hour drive to campus for him and his family should he end up at NU.

Timeline for an offer and another visit is the same: 2-3 weeks to see what happens. His family is busy so he's not sure if he'll be able to get back up to campus for Howard or the bye week, but he said they told him that a decision on an offer will be coming in that time frame. If he were to get an offer from NU, it would rank "pretty high".

I predict (a lowercase I predict) that if he were to get an offer, he'd commit soon after. He holds 11 offers right now and hasn't committed. Notables are two service academies, Army and Air Force, then two MAC schools, Eastern Michigan and Miami (OH).

NU has two OL commits right now, Gabe VanSickle and Idrys Cotton. They lost tackle Peyton Stewart and guard Julius Tate to decommits. They're hosting Aiden Newbill and Aiden Pastoriza this week who are also OT, so I expect they'll want to offer two of three between them and Austin to get back up to four OL.

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Yesterday was the official opening of the first transfer portal window. Here are some stats From TheAthletic's Until Saturday college football newsletter:

The total number of portal entries yesterday from FBS, FCS and Division II players was 1,127, a 44 percent increase from a year ago (780). The total number from Division I was 1,049.

• In FBS, 532 scholarship players entered, a 16 percent increase from last year’s Day 1 total (456). Power 5 transfers made up 57 percent, and 43 percent were from Group of 5 programs.
• Also in FBS, 28 scholarship quarterbacks entered the portal yesterday.
• The most crowded position in the portal among FBS scholarship players was wide receiver with 63 Day 1 entries. Next in line were the defensive backs (54), offensive linemen (41), linebackers (34), defensive linemen (33), running backs (32) and tight ends (14). Five special teams players entered on Monday.
• By team (FBS-only), South Carolina had the most Day 1 entries with 15. NC State, Vanderbilt and Western Michigan had 14 followed by Cincinnati with 13; ECU, Georgia State, Kent State and North Texas with 11; Iowa State and Purdue with 10; and Kansas State and Michigan State with nine.

Wow! They have landed 2 of the top 3 players in next year’s class according to ESPN. One of them is another of Ron Harper’s sons. B1G does not usually pull in these types of recruits. Hope we have a home game with them next year.

Pearl Harbor today as we looked back from the Arizona Memorial's ferry to the permanently moored U.S.S. Missouri.

The consequent War Effort as Memorialized at the Nevada State Museum which was formerly the Carson City Mint:


In one way or another each of us, through our individual legacies, have been impacted by the aftermath of that December 7th day of 1941 which as stated in the words of the then President, "lives in infamy." Like many others, my own father in his personal history described the impact of that day on his decision to defend his Country.

He wrote, "After Pearl Harbor Day, I decided that i would prefer to serve my country in the Navy." At the time he lived on a ranch near Elko, Nevada. He enlisted in the Navy in Salt Lake City. It was during his service that he met my mother at church in Chicago where he was spending nine months in aviation metalsmith school which was located on Chicago's Navy Pier.

I, my siblings, and our progeny would not be here today but for Pearl Harbor.

Northwestern offered California guard Angelino Mark on Oct. 26 and he is looking forward to taking a visit to Evanston once his junior season wraps up this spring. @KennyKChoo has the story on the athletic guard Northwestern hopes is its latest addition to its backcourt pipeline.

Anybody else watching this game versus Penn State, and hearing what sounds like a demented chimpanzee?

Utah will now be without both their leading WR (Vele, who declared for the NFL draft) and third-leading WR for our bowl game:

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