With a trip to Lawrence this last weekend, Northwestern finally chalked up a W in their win column after a 27-14 victory over the Jayhawks.

When asked about the year, first year starter Jake Browning said, “This year has been a grind man, but we stayed true to ourselves and have continued to go out their and work our tails off at practice. We hope we can lay the foundation and that the incoming guys next year can continue to build off our success.”

Head Coach Clifford Herdon also chimed in, “I’m just so proud of this team. The wins and loss columns might not be a reflection of our growth, but our guys continue to trust the process, and I’m excited to see how we continue to build moving forward.”

Northwestern’s remaining schedule includes hosting Big Ten rival Ohio State, playing at Utah and then Oregon, before hosting Oklahoma and USC to round out their season.

With a record that improved 3x than the previous year, last years 6-10 record was great improvement for a roster that hadn’t experienced much winning. Manuel McNeil, WR converted RB, had this to say moving into this season, “We made a great step forward last year, but we’re still hungry. We’ve got to stay committed to each other. The Big 10 is no joke, we know we’ve got our work cut out for us to keep laying a great foundation here at Northwestern.”

With an opening season loss to division rival, Rutgers, the Wildcats hope to come out with more intensity against George in their second game of the season. Head Coach Clifford Herdon is looking forward to seeing growth from some of his younger players this year, “We’ve continued to work at bringing in good, quality, young men into our program. There’s a lot of good vibes as we enter this season, we know that we’re making progress. While these first few seasons as head coach has had challenges, it’s been fun to work at developing a culture where guys are ready to come out and grind for their brothers. We’re a family here at Northwestern, and we’re starting to see some guys stepping out in leadership roles, they’ve got us excited about this season.”

Northwester Wildcats Off Season Report

Graduation Class

• CB Daniel Smith
• DT Virgil Anderson

Coaches

• OL Michael Earle – Retired
• OL Bruce Alexander - Signed

Transferred Portal

• SS Manuel Nunez remained with the team
• HB Herman Jenkins entered transfer portal
• CB Richard Jordan transferred from Michigan
• DE William Stephens transferred from Clemson
• WR Michael Mitchell entered transfer portal

Incoming Freshmen Class

• QB Edgar Gallagher
• DE Steven Steen
• DT Vincente Chambers
• LB Antonio Miller
• LB Jeremy Prieto
• LT George Webb
• WR Jordan Robinson
• WR Brian Hickson

TRAINING CAMP REPORT

DAY 1 SIGNEE

QB EDGAR GALLAGHER – Edgar camp into training with the hopes and dreams of being the next Northwestern starter. After a season under the Tutelage Seniors Keith Watson and Michael Pittman he will be ready. +7/0

DAY 2 SIGNEE

DE STEVEN STEEN – Steven will be in the Wildcats defensive line rotation as a freshman. +14/+4

DAY 3 SIGNEE

DT VINCENTE CHAMBERS – There was uncertainty where Vicente was going to blossom. Vincente has found his home replacing the graduating senior Virgil Anderson. +10/+7

DAY 4 SIGNEE

LB Antonio Miller – Coaches rave about Antonio skills in high school but not at the corner position that he played. Last minutes discussions convinced Antonio to sign with the Wildcats but also moving to Linebacker. What a star he was during training camp he was and now he will be ready to be the next great Northwester Linebacker. +13/+10

DAY 5 SIGNEE

LB Jeremy Prieto – Jeremy had his trouble with his SAT and will not be able to attend Northwestern University. +1/-26

DAY 6 SIGNEE

T George Webb – George suffered a career ending injury but will continue his education at Northwestern University in Sports Management. +1/-3

DAY 7 SIGNEE

WR/KR – Jordan Robinson – Jordan will stay on and try to make the team as a Kick/Punt Returner. +2/-3

WALKON

WR Brian Hickson -Brian has made the team and has been offered a scholarship. Brian will try his hand at the wide receiver position, but it looks like his true calling will be at the running back position. +7/+1

After another tough lost fans are shouting for the head coach to put in Freshman Edgar Gallagher at QB

Northwestern 2046 Wildcats Off Season Report

Graduation Class

• QB Keith Watson
• QB Michael Pittman
• CB Peter Christner

Enter Pro Football Draft Early

• CB John Cliff

Coaches

• ST Thomas Hinojosa – Retired
• ST Jack Munoz - Signed

Transferred Portal

• LT Raymond Zaho remained with the team
• DE Justin Holland transferred from Tennessee
• WR Clinton Fischer remained with the team
• OL Michael Byers transferred from Tennessee
• OL Jerry Barrett transferred from Kansas
• DB Oliver Alexander transferred from Texas A&M

QB Keith Watson's years as an underclassman Starter for this team were pretty fantastic. I can't help but believe that a Pro Scout saw those years and some team may roll the dice on him.

FRESHMAN RECRUITING REPORT

DAY 1 SIGNEE

SS Michael Williams – Michael signing allows the Wildcats to move Manual Nunez to his more Natural position of Cornerback.

DAY 2 SIGNEE

LT Tommy Tucker – Wildcats are always looking for offensive line. Tommy has tremendous upside.

DAY 3 SIGNEE

WR Luis Smith – Panic set in when Athletic Director Jeff Ott could not be found so coaches went with WR Luis Smith. Could be a solid Wide Receiver down the road.

DAY 4 SIGNEE

LB Samuel Morey – Coaches love this kid. Just need to find him a position where he can excel.

DAY 5 SIGNEE

SS Andrew Cohen – Andrew adds much needed depth to the Defensive backfield.

DAY 6 SIGNEE

LB David Cummings – David has a future at the Linebacker position.

DAY 7 SIGNEE

RB/KR – Terry Brunson - Terry has exceptional upside hoping to make it as a RB/Kick Returner

I love Samuel Morey as well he was on my board big time

WILDCATS 2046 TRAINING CAMP REPORT

DAY 1 SIGNEE

SS Michael Williams – Michael opens some eyes during training camp and has taken the move to Strong Safety smoothly. Michael will be the day one starter as a freshman. +11/+3

DAY 2 SIGNEE

OL Tommy Tucker – Tommy had a not too good of camp. Wildcats learned that Center is his natural position and Tommy should be nice addition on the offensive line. +2/-6

DAY 3 SIGNEE

WR Luis Smith – The Coaches pick at wide receiver had a good camp in that he was able to showcase his skills that he already shown in High School but the potential to excel is just not there. Luis will be good roll player, but a superstar is not in the forcast+8/-4

DAY 4 SIGNEE

LB Samuel Morey – Wildcats had another hit on the fourth day of signings. Coaches rave about Samuel skills that he shown in camp. Samuel may not start right away but as he grows and learns the Linebacker position, he should find him in the starting lineup in a year or two. +9/+4

DAY 5 SIGNEE

SS Andrew Cowan – Andrew was another surprise during camp. He may start on day one but he will find himself playing a lot in the Wildcats Backfield. +8/+5

DAY 6 SIGNEE

LB David Cummings – David camp was tough but he will be a good situation player. +6/-6

DAY 7 SIGNEE

RW/KR – Terry Brunson – Terry dream of big-time college football came to an end as he just wasn’t ready. 0/-11

WALKON

QB Charles Curlee -Nothing was expected from Charles he had one role with the team and he will get to stay on the team for that role. +6/-1

CB Lucas Cano – Lucas showed that he has some skill. May not be a superstar but can help the Wildcats down the road. +8/+1