Why did we have to play a 4th string walk-on QB today?
- Thread starter DocCat2
- Start date
#1 Hilinski blew out his knee last week.
#2 Sullivan seemed concussed last week, but reports rolling around that he has a rib/sternum injury and done for the year
#3 Richardson apparently sucks.
Lausch is apparently not ready even for a run-heavy role, which is disappointing.
Stepping back further, Jason Whittaker was a giant recruiting miss, Aidan Atkinson got in a boatload of legal trouble, Cale Millen decommitted then we missed on Calzada, Beville, and others in the 2019 class, then Tate Rodemaker and Mike Wright in the 2020 class, etc.
To say quarterback recruiting has been problematic would be an understatement.
Wow! I didn't realize we pooped the bed on QB recruiting so badly! Geez.... Suit me up!
Richardson was the emergency plan for Atkinson. Lausch, of course, came when NU couldn't get any other QBs to commit. I don't think we should expect much from a guy no one else thought could play QB at the FBS collegiate level. It's hard to imagine the coaches could have accepted this outcome, when it's obviously problematic to anyone paying attention. But then, when we're not even close to competitive for 3 of the last 4 years, lots of coaching moves don't make any sense.
I don't know what they do next year. Hilinski isn't anything more than a backup. Sullivan will probably get hurt, due to his playing style. Richardson can't be redeemed. Lausch and Freeman will need a whole lot of help around them. The true freshman won't jump over everyone else, due to experience. Do they try to get a transfer yet again? That's a lot of scholarship for not a lot of production. But if you can't fix QB, nothing else matters.
Well one bit of good news is we can literally say to any transfer portal QB that, while of course there will "officially" be a competition, you have a 99.9999 percent chance of starting in the Big Ten next year. And you will always have a Northwestern degree - that's for life.
That will intrigue quite a few starters - some of whom are very good - at Sun Belt and Mountain West and obviously MAC schools.
That will intrigue quite a few starters - some of whom are very good - at Sun Belt and Mountain West and obviously MAC schools.
Whittaker never made sense. He attempted something like 14 passes as a senior in a wing T offense. What a scholarship offer that one was.
And the homers here have complete faith in the recruiting skills of our staff.
After what happened to Hunter Johnson and Ryan Hilinski, and if our OC and offensive philosophy doesn't change, no QB worth their salt (or other offensive player) is going to want to transfer to NU.
Yeah, he was a scouting/spring ball take by McCall. Alarm bells should’ve probably gone off based on how poor he was as a senior.
He was a bad high school senior!? Lolololol.
Wing-T never-played until-he-was-a-senior Kafka did work out, it’s worth noting.
But the Kafka we all remember didn't emerge until his final season at NU. (He had that one great game against Minnesota as a junior, but he ran for 200 yards that game. We didn't know how good of a passer he would be.) Kafka needed some development and finally bloomed to his potential as a senior.
High school stats are notoriously difficult to rely on, but… yes:
Jason Whitaker's High School Football Stats
Check out Jason Whitaker's high school sports stats, including updates while playing football at Grovetown High School (GA).
www.maxpreps.com
Even more worrisome we were hearing questions about his accuracy even in the rare instances that he did throw the ball.
And, if I recall correctly, Kafka offered after a camp before his senior year and didn’t commit until December 2004 after a solid senior year.
The dumb things that stick with you…I remember reading about Kafka playing ‘razzle dazzle’ at NU camp and getting the offer based on his athleticism…
NU metamorphosis continues with QB
I forget my nieces’ names, but I can remember weird details from a 16-year-old trib article. (I’m assuming Terry Bannon got his facts right
)oh geez those aren’t ‘not good’ stats, those are atrocious stats.High school stats are notoriously difficult to rely on, but… yes:
Jason Whitaker's High School Football Stats
Check out Jason Whitaker's high school sports stats, including updates while playing football at Grovetown High School (GA).
Even more worrisome we were hearing questions about his accuracy even in the rare instances that he did throw the ball.
