Sippin' on Purple

Timmy Vernon, Northwestern Wildcats football, No. 50

Timmy is a linebacker who should play some WOAH 50!!!!!

By Rodger Sherman Jul 12, 2013, 9:00am CDT

Timmy Vernon, Northwestern Wildcats linebacker, he wears No. 50!

50... huh. Wait, that number seems like it's significant in some way. It's 10 times five... no... that can't be it... it's two-thirds of 75... seems uninteresting.

Wait.

Wait

I GOT IT

WOAHHHHHHHHH WE'RE HALFWAY THERE WOOAHHH-OHHHHH BON JOVI REALLY SU-UCKS BUT THIS SONG GETS PLAYED AT SPORTING EVE-ENTS WOOOOAH-OAH LIVING ON A PRA-YAYER

WOOOO!

Origin myth

Timmy V. is a Philly kid, who played for Germantown Academy, which leads to my inevitable joke about how I don't know where Coach Taylor ended up coaching but that sounds about right. At 6'3, 225, he's not a bad size for a football player, and as such, he played linebacker and tight end, leading his team in tackles, receptions, and receiving yards as a senior and even had a 99-yard kickoff return at one point. He was a team MVP in baseball and football two years running, all-city in both sports his senior year, and his school's top scholar-athlete three years running, because, walk-on. It didn't generate any college recruiting buzz, though.

At Northwestern

As a redshirt frosh, he played special teams blocking on kickoffs and once returning a pooched one, and this past year, he played every game on special teams while backing up Damien Proby in the middle.

Career highlight

My only recollection of Vernon playing came against Michigan State, when MSU had creeped into NU territory and had something like third-and-goal at the two yard line. Then something bad happened: Damien Proby had to come out. I forget why -- I assume his helmet popped off, or maybe he got dinged up -- but in pretty much the worst situation, where a middle linebacker is vastly important, our middle linebacker had to come out and get replaced by a guy whose primary role was special teams. Vernon came in, and he doesn't get credit for the tackle, but he was definitely one of the people in and around Le'Veon Bell's legs as he was tripped up and left reaching for the goal line. (He might have scored, but it didn't get ruled that way.) NU pushed Bell back on fourth down and eventually won by three points.

Anagram of choice

Discovering the Wildcats' true inner selves through spelling

Timmy Vernon, anagrammed, is

NOT MY VERMIN

"Who's vermin is this?" is rarely answered with "DIBS!" (Also considered: "My minor vent." The "Timmy" really throws things off.)

Relevant musical selection

"Self-titled," Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld

Last year I went the route of picking songs off Vernon's profile page, but it's really hard, because he has "Wagon Wheel," which is the world's best song, and "Brooklyn's Finest," which is Jay-Z and Biggie trading fours, also, Puffy yelling "BUUUSHWIIIIICK" which makes me feel dumb for being a force of gentrification. So instead we go with South Park jokes, and also, yo, Timmy Vernon, at some point you're gonna have to start going by "Tim." You realize that, right?

How he can help

Where NU needs Timmy most is on special teams. Damien Proby hopefully plays nearly every snap at middle linebacker.

Depth chart projection

Vernon should be Northwestern's backup at middle linebacker, although, as we noted, that doesn't necessarily mean reps will be there.

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