Northwestern Football Post Season Review: Defense

Defensive Tackle: Tyler Lancaster continued to improve this year. He is great at eating up double teams and freeing up the linebackers. Jordan Thompson improved, but needs to get stronger to better stand up to double teams.

Ifeadi Odenigbo led the Big Ten in sacks, with 10.

Defensive End: Ifeadi Odenigbo finally became a complete defensive end. He continued to be an elite pass rusher and was great at stopping the run this year. Xavier Washington had his moments, but he must round out his game and become a complete defensive end.

Linebacker: Anthony Walker Jr. had a second straight season with over 100 tackles. Brett Walsh, after a scary injury at Iowa, played very well when he was pressed into a starting role. Nate Hall was an underrated contributor who constantly made plays for the 'Cats.
Safety: Godwin Igwebuike continued his ascent into the conversation for best defensive player in the Big Ten. Igwebuike led the Wildcats in tackles and grabbed a pair of interceptions. Kyle Quiero made plays, but also had a problem with missed tackles. Jared McGee is a playmaker. There is no other way to put it. McGee was very impressive all year and should continue to get better.

Jared McGee was very impressive in limited action

Corner Back: Northwestern was decimated by injuries at corner back. Keith Watkins II was hurt before the season even started and Matthew Harris was forced to retire after the second game of the season. Marcus McShepard moved back over to the defensive side of the ball (he moved to receiver during the off-season) and his speed made him effective at corner. Trae Williams had some key interceptions, but he really struggled at times. Montre Hartage steadily improved throughout the season. By the end of the year, he looked like a good, staring-caliber corner. Hartage and Watkins II will lead an experienced group of corners into next season>

Beavers Basketball December Recap

Positives: Stephen Thompson Jr. is starting to catch fire at the end of the month. It would be nice when Tinkle returns to have Stevie really work together with him. The Beavs had glimpses of hope at the end of the month.

Negatives: The beginning of the month. They struggled.

Northwestern Football Post Season Review: Offense

Clayton Thorson's stats were vastly improved from his freshman season,
 but he has a few key areas he needs to work o

Quarterback: Clayton Thorson had a record setting season. He set the school record for touchdown passes (22) and also improved his yardage totals. While all these are fine and dandy, Thorson needs to work on two key areas. These would be his accuracy and how he handles pressure. Thorson's throws are consistently low which prevent his receivers from running after the catch. This really slows down the offense and can kill drives. Thorson also needs to work on leaving the pocket when he feels pressure. He needs improve upon what he does when he (every once in a while) actually leaves the pocket, as well. He tends to just throw it away. Instead, he should work on setting his feet again and look to throw down field.

Justin Jackson will continue tearing up the
 Northwestern rushing records

Running Back:  Justin Jackson is the best player on the team and it's not even close. That is all there is to say about the running back position this year. Jackson will look to solidify his place as the greatest running back in Northwestern history and further his case for the greatest player in Northwestern history.










Wide Receiver: Just like at running back, one player carried the wide receiver position this year. That would be Austin Carr. Carr had over 1200 yards and 12 touchdowns, to top it all off he was finalist for the Biletnikoff Award (awarded to the nation's top receiver). Lost in the shadows of Carr's monstrous season were some talented, but certainly not complete receivers. Solomon Vault showed promise as a deep threat. He made some very impressive, long touchdown catches. Vault's most impressive quality; however, was his blocking. Northwestern has, in my opinion, always struggled to get quality blocking from its wide outs. Vault (and Bennett Skowronek, for that matter) blocked tremendously all season long. Macan Wilson will be crucial to Northwestern's success next season. Wilson had some key catches, most notably on 4th & 3, in the bowl game.Wilson reminds me of Carr and he will need to play like Carr next season.
Superback: Garrett Dickerson is underrated. He was Thorson's favorite short yardage and red zone target (besides Carr obviously). Dickerson has tremendous speed for someone his size, he just needs Thorson to hit him in stride more often. I think Dickerson will have a huge year next year, as Thorson improves Dickerson's numbers can only go up.
Offensive Line: Northwestern's O-Line struggled at times this year (Illinois State), but they were reliable for the most part. Pass protection was more of a struggle than run blocking, but with 4 out of 5 starters returning the unit will continue to jell and get better.

Pittsburgh vs. Northwestern

THE GOOD: Justin Jackson. Jackson was the best player on the field for either team and it wasn't close. He dominated the Pittsburgh defense and carried Northwestern to victory with his quickness and sharp cuts. This was a tremendous way to end the year for the greatest running back in Northwestern history.
THE BAD: Clayton Thorson. Don't get me wrong, Thorson had some great throws and great decisions during the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, but on all of his positive plays, he faced no pressure. When there was pressure on Thorson, he struggled to do anything. This has been the most frustrating thing with Thorson all season; he must improve on this to have success.
THE UGLY: Adjustments. Defensively, Northwestern did not adjust. Pittsburgh ran the jet sweep with great success all game long. Trae Williams had some tremendous individual plays to slow down the jet sweep, but if Hankawitz actually made an adjustment for once, Northwestern wouldn't have had to rely on great individual effort.