:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/43381134/20141101_jla_ca2_030.jpg.0.jpg)
It's no secret that Northwestern's passing attack has been one of the team's biggest weaknesses in 2014. The Wildcats' receiving corps has been largely average this season as most receivers have struggled to create separation from defenders and some key drops have plagued the offense at critical moments during the season.
The position is grouping is a veteran one but, in Northwestern's case, a new crop of receiving talent may not inspire too much confidence moving ahead.
Below, I breakdown how Northwestern's wide receivers and superbacks project over the next four seasons.
2014
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Elig. | Stars | Catches | Yards |
| Stephen Buckley | WR | 6-0 | 190 | SO | 2 | 7 | 74 |
| Pierre Youngblood-Ary | WR | 6-3 | 185 | JR | 2 | 5 | 77 |
| Macan Wilson | WR | 6-0 | 185 | RS FR | 3 | -- | -- |
| Miles Shuler* | WR | 5-10 | 180 | JR | 4 | 28 | 261 |
| Andrew Scanlan | WR | 6-2 | 210 | SO | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Kyle Prater* | WR | 6-5 | 225 | SR | 5 | 49 | 405 |
| Jordan Perkins | WR | 6-0 | 180 | JR | 3 | -- | -- |
| Mike McHugh | WR | 6-3 | 200 | SO | 3 | 4 | 71 |
| Tony Jones | WR | 6-0 | 195 | SR | 3 | 113 | 1301 |
| Christian Jones | WR | 6-3 | 230 | SR | 3 | 105 | 1275 |
| Cole Johnson | WR | 6-1 | 200 | RS FR | -- | -- | -- |
| Mark Gorogianis | WR | 6-0 | 190 | RS FR | -- | -- | -- |
| Tom Fuessel | WR | 6-4 | 185 | RS FR | 3 | -- | -- |
| Cameron Dickerson | WR | 6-3 | 210 | JR | 3 | 29 | 329 |
| Austin Carr | WR | 6-1 | 195 | SO | -- | 4 | 40 |
| Cermak Bland | WR | 5-11 | 185 | JR | -- | -- | -- |
| Quinn Baker | WR | 5-11 | 185 | RS FR | -- | -- | -- |
| Corey Acker | WR | 5-9 | 165 | RS FR | -- | -- | -- |
| Dan Vitale | SB | 6-2 | 235 | JR | 2 | 88 | 952 |
| Jayme Taylor | SB | 6-4 | 230 | RS FR | 3 | 7 | 37 |
| Mark Szott | SB | 6-4 | 260 | JR | 3 | 2 | 29 |
| Jack Schwaba | SB | 6-4 | 260 | SO | 3 | -- | -- |
| Eric Lutzen | SB | 6-6 | 250 | FR | -- | -- | -- |
| Tom Hruby | SB | 6-3 | 240 | JR | -- | -- | -- |
| Tim Hanrahan | SB | 6-0 | 220 | SR | -- | 1 | 1 |
| Doug Diedrick | SB | 5-10 | 215 | JR | -- | 1 | 13 |
| Garrett Dickerson | SB | 6-3 | 250 | FR | 4 | 4 | 51 |
| TOTAL | -- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
448 | 4921 |
The 2014 group has had mixed results. Senior Kyle Prater leads the team in both receptions and yards with 29 and 286, respectively, on the season. Not a single underclassmen wide receiver or superback has double-digit catches for the Wildcats this season. Part of this may have to do with Northwestern's emphasis on recruiting defense the past few seasons. When Northwestern has recruited an athlete who can play either defense or offense, the overwhelming tendency has been for Pat Fitzgerald and his staff to move him to defense. Matt Harris, for example, was commonly projected as a wide receiver coming out of high school, but he plays cornerback at Northwestern. Now, I'm not saying that Harris should have played wide receiver, I am just pointing out an example of when Northwestern has chosen for a player to play defense instead of offense. Also, Northwestern did not recruit a wide receiver in the 2014 recruiting class.
2015
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Elig. | Stars | Catches | Yards |
| Stephen Buckley | WR | 6-0 | 190 | JR | 2 | 7 | 74 |
| Pierre Youngblood-Ary | WR | 6-3 | 185 | SR | 2 | 5 | 77 |
| Macan Wilson | WR | 6-0 | 185 | SO | 3 | -- | -- |
| Miles Shuler* | WR | 5-10 | 180 | SR | 4 | 28 | 261 |
| Andrew Scanlan | WR | 6-2 | 210 | JR | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Jordan Perkins | WR | 6-0 | 180 | SR | 3 | -- | -- |
| Mike McHugh | WR | 6-3 | 200 | JR | 3 | 4 | 71 |
| Christian Jones | WR | 6-3 | 230 | SR | 3 | 105 | 1275 |
| Cole Johnson | WR | 6-1 | 200 | SO | -- | -- | -- |
| Mark Gorogianis | WR | 6-0 | 190 | SO | -- | -- | -- |
| Tom Fuessel | WR | 6-4 | 185 | SO | 3 | -- | -- |
| Cameron Dickerson | WR | 6-3 | 210 | SR | 3 | 29 | 329 |
| Austin Carr | WR | 6-1 | 195 | JR | -- | 4 | 40 |
| Cermak Bland | WR | 5-11 | 185 | SR | -- | -- | -- |
| Quinn Baker | WR | 5-11 | 185 | SO | -- | -- | -- |
| Corey Acker | WR | 5-9 | 165 | SO | -- | -- | -- |
| Cameron Green | WR | 6-2 | 195 | FR | 3 | -- | -- |
| Charlie Fessler | WR | 6-4 | 195 | FR | 3 | -- | -- |
| Jelani Roberts | WR | 5-8 | 153 | FR | 3 | -- | -- |
| Lloyd Yates | ATH | 6-1 | 180 | FR | 3 | -- | -- |
| Dan Vitale | SB | 6-2 | 235 | SR | 2 | 88 | 952 |
| Jayme Taylor | SB | 6-4 | 230 | SO | 3 | 7 | 37 |
| Mark Szott | SB | 6-4 | 260 | SR | 3 | 2 | 29 |
| Jack Schwaba | SB | 6-4 | 260 | JR | 3 | -- | -- |
| Eric Lutzen | SB | 6-6 | 250 | RS FR |
-- | -- | -- |
| Tom Hruby | SB | 6-3 | 240 | SR | -- | -- | -- |
| Doug Diedrick | SB | 5-10 | 215 | SR | -- | 1 | 13 |
| Garrett Dickerson | SB | 6-3 | 250 | SO | 4 | 4 | 51 |
| TOTAL | -- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
285 | 3214 |
Looking forward to 2015, Northwestern does get back senior Christian Jones from a season-ending knee injury. He could have been Northwestern's best target in 2014, but Northwestern gets to squeeze another year out of the big-bodied pass-catcher. Other than Jones, senior-to-be Miles Shuler will be the team's secondary option on the outside. Superback Dan Vitale is a weapon for Northwestern but has been used inconsistently throughout his time as a Wildcat. In 2015, he, along with Jayme Taylor and Garrett Dickerson, will have to be relied on to provide even more of a spark to Northwestern's passing game as the group will be largely unproven.
2016
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Elig. | Stars | Catches | Yards |
| Stephen Buckley | WR | 6-0 | 190 | SR | 2 | 7 | 74 |
| Macan Wilson | WR | 6-0 | 185 | JR | 3 | -- |
-- |
| Andrew Scanlan | WR | 6-2 | 210 | SR | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Mike McHugh | WR | 6-3 | 200 | SR | 3 | 4 | 71 |
| Cole Johnson | WR | 6-1 | 200 | JR | -- | -- |
-- |
| Mark Gorogianis | WR | 6-0 | 190 | JR | -- | -- |
-- |
| Tom Fuessel | WR | 6-4 | 185 | JR | 3 | -- |
-- |
| Austin Carr | WR | 6-1 | 195 | SR | -- | 4 | 40 |
| Quinn Baker | WR | 5-11 | 185 | JR | -- | -- |
-- |
| Corey Acker | WR | 5-9 | 165 | JR | -- | -- |
-- |
| Cameron Green | WR | 6-2 | 195 | RS FR/SO | 3 | -- |
-- |
| Charlie Fessler | WR | 6-4 | 195 | RS FR/SO | 3 | -- |
-- |
| Jelani Roberts | WR | 5-8 | 153 | RS FR/SO | 3 | -- |
-- |
| Lloyd Yates | ATH | 6-1 | 180 | RS FR/SO | 3 | -- |
-- |
| Jayme Taylor | SB | 6-4 | 230 | JR | 3 | 7 | 37 |
| Jack Schwaba | SB | 6-4 | 260 | SR | 3 | -- | -- |
| Eric Lutzen | SB | 6-6 | 250 | SO | -- | -- | -- |
| Garrett Dickerson | SB | 6-3 | 250 | JR | 4 | 4 | 51 |
| TOTAL | -- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
27 | 278 |
Northwestern currently has three wide receivers and one athlete committed for the 2015 class. The headliner of that group is Cameron Green out of Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois. He's not the fastest receiver, but he has good size and hands. Along with Green, Charlie Fessler brings another one of the tall receivers that Northwestern has utilized over the past few seasons. Jelani Roberts and Lloyd Yates (who is a high school quarterback and could play QB at Northwestern) are both smaller but they bother, especially Roberts, are quicker. Along with Mike McHugh, who has shown signs of his potential this season, and the continued development of Taylor and Dickerson at superback -- who could both be studs -- Northwestern's receiving group will largely unknown in 2016.
2017
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Elig. | Stars | Catches | Yards |
| Macan Wilson | WR | 6-0 | 185 | SR | 3 | -- | -- |
| Cole Johnson | WR | 6-1 | 200 | SR | -- | -- | -- |
| Mark Gorogianis | WR | 6-0 | 190 | SR | -- | -- | -- |
| Tom Fuessel | WR | 6-4 | 185 | SR | 3 | -- | -- |
| Quinn Baker | WR | 5-11 | 185 | SR | -- | -- | -- |
| Corey Acker | WR | 5-9 | 165 | SR | -- | -- | -- |
| Cameron Green | WR | 6-2 | 195 | SO/JR | 3 | -- | -- |
| Charlie Fessler | WR | 6-4 | 195 | SO/JR | 3 | -- | -- |
| Jelani Roberts | WR | 5-8 | 153 | SO/JR | 3 | -- | -- |
| Lloyd Yates | ATH | 6-1 | 180 | SO/JR | 3 | -- | -- |
| Jayme Taylor | SB | 6-4 | 230 | SR | 3 | 7 | 37 |
| Eric Lutzen | SB | 6-6 | 250 | JR | -- | -- | -- |
| Garrett Dickerson | SB | 6-3 | 250 | SR | 4 | 4 | 51 |
| TOTAL | -- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
11 | 88 |
Northwestern will obviously need to add recruits to this list because only Taylor and Dickerson have any experience. The Wildcats have already offered four-star wide receiver Austin Mack and superback Cary Angeline to help bolster the group for 2016, according to 247 sports. Someone from the recruiting class of 2013, whether it's Macan Wilscon, Tom Fuessel or a walk-on, will need to emerge as a target on the outside over the next couple of seasons. If Northwestern gets no wide receiving talent from its recruiting classes of 2012, 2013 and 2014, it could be a long few years for the Wildcat passing game. The superback position looks to be in decent hands over the next few seasons as Vitale will be able to pass playmaking responsibilities over the middle to Taylor and Dickerson, both of whom look like ample targets.