Northwestern football injury notes: Clayton Thorson rehab on schedule, Nate Hall out for spring ball

EVANSTON — Clayton Thorson’s recovery from a torn ACL is going “according to what we thought the plan would be,” head coach Pat Fitzgerald said on Monday afternoon at a lunch with select members of the media.

Fitzgerald gave no word on whether the redshirt senior will be ready to play Aug. 30 when Northwestern opens its season against Purdue, but Fitzgerald said Thorson was off crutches and out of his brace, all of which is according to his rehab schedule. He added that Thorson would be meeting with his surgeon Monday for a follow-up.

“I would expect things to just continue to progress in the fashion that they have been,” Fitzgerald said.

In other injury news, Fitzgerald said that linebacker Nate Hall will miss spring practice after suffering a knee injury leading up to the Music City Bowl last December. As a junior, Hall logged 16.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, and two interceptions.

Solomon Vault, who missed the 2017 season after undergoing surgery last spring, will be back for the duration of spring practice, which is a good sign for Northwestern’s depth at wide receiver and on special teams.

Fitzgerald also mentioned a handful of other players who will be limited or out for spring practice:

• Safety Jared McGee will miss spring practice.
• Wide receiver Bennett Skowronek will be limited in spring practice.
• Defensive back Roderick Campbell will participate in spring practice; he underwent shoulder surgery in September.
• Defensive back JR Pace will miss spring practice.
• Defensive back Brian Bullock will be limited in spring practice. Bullock underwent foot surgery in September after suffering an injury during the Nevada game.