One Less Day Til Football, Nos. 26 and 25, Terrance Brown and Jordan Perkins

Double-dipping today to make up for me sleeping through one of the days this weekend. More stuff later, as always, but for now a pair of dudes from Cali who ain't never played for Northwestern before!

No. 26, Terrance Brown, freshman, safety

Who he be: Terrance is a true freshman from Los Alamitos, California - translation: the tiny Alamos - where the 6-foot-1 safety was ranked as having three stars by Rivals. Which is weird, because he apparently didn't have offers from any other schools?

Dearly departed: Last year Northwestern lost Jordan Mabin, who now is trying to hang on to a roster spot with the Baltimore Ravens, leaving Northwestern as one of the best defensive backs in school history. Mabin started his career with a bang with three picks and a spot on virtually every freshman All-America team. He led the Big Ten in passes broken up as a junior in his last season alongside Sherrick McManis, and capped the season off with his only career pick-six in the bowl game against Texas Tech. Sadly, his career ended with injury against Michigan State this season, but he only missed one game because of it after starting almost every game for four years. Mabin proved his worth as a corner in his early career, but couldn't cause much of a difference in a poor backfield his senior year. Without him, that unit will probably decline further.

The Terrance and Phillips Show: A Comcast Sports Net Chicago production featuring Terrance farting while Jim Phillips discusses his attempts at making inroads into the Chicago media market and his relationship with Pat Fitzgerald while also farting.

Looking forward: T-Brown, as I call him and always have, will probably not play this year!

No. 25, Jordan Perkins, RS Freshman, running back

Who he be: Jordan had committed to Stanford when Jim Harbaugh went to the pros, allowing the Lodi, California native - Lodi Dodi, Lodi likes to party - to choose again. He picked Northwestern and redshirted his freshman season.

Dearly departed: Stephen Simmons was a modest running back and a good return man. He broke onto the scene with a 99-yard touchdown return in an awful game at Ohio State, the last time NU went into the Shoe, which would be NU's only kickoff returned for a touchdown until an equally dreary game against Wisconsin in 2010. Simmons got a few starts with Tyrell Sutton and Omar Conteh hurt, including a notable 21-yard touchdown on a simple draw against Michigan that made him seem like a passable back. He'd put up some alright numbers in meaningless games, but never really played RB that much - he earned a few more starts due to injuries and whatnot, including in 2010 with Jacob Schmidt out and Arby Fields considering transferring, but NU never seemed comfortable giving him the rock. We'll miss the decent kickoff returns, although Venric Mark's better kickoff returns sort of make up for it.

Looking forward: I'm intrigued to see what becomes of Perkins' career. I thought he might have been a candidate to play as a true freshman last year, instead Treyvon Green earned carries while Perkins rode pine. A year later, he's hopefully more physically ready to compete at a Big Ten level. Northwestern will hopefully have some stability at the running back slot with Mike Trumpy healthy, but I think Perkins will earn a few reps this season - perhaps as a pass-catching back? I'm curious to see whether he'll be a successful back and what style he brings.