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Analyzing Northwestern’s official 2018 football roster

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Freshmen, number changes, and other roster-related notes.

By Martin Oppegaard
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Northwestern v Nebraska Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images

Another installment of Big Ten Media Days have come and gone. The start of the college football season is just five short weeks away. It behooves us at Inside NU, where we’re counting down the days until Aug. 30, to overanalyze Northwestern’s roster for the upcoming season. Without further ado:

Class of 2018

Number Name Position Height Weight
Number Name Position Height Weight
7 Jason Whittaker QB 6'5" 197
11 A.J. Hampton DB 5'11" 167
12 JJ Jefferson WR 5'10" 165
21 Drake Anderson RB 5'11" 180
25 Isaiah Bowser RB 6'1" 205
27 Jeremiah McDonald DB 6'3" 187
29 Greg Newsome II DB 6'1" 170
31 Jaylen Rivers LB 6'2" 202
33 Grayson Mann LB 6'0" 220
44 Khalid Jones LB 6'1" 225
46 Devin O'Rourke DL 6'6" 241
48 Brian Kaiser SB 6'7" 210
53 Andrew Leota DL 6'4" 218
67 Willy Boatman OL 6'2" 250
68 Wyatt Blake DL 6'4" 293
69 Charlie Schmidt OL 6'4" 294
74 Payne He'Bert OL 6'4" 273
78 Sam Stovall OL 6'4" 285
86 Raymond Niro III WR 5'10" 177
89 Charlie Mangieri SB 6'4" 230

Takeaways:

  • Jason Whittaker continues the recent No. 7 legacy at quarterback, joining Matt Alviti and Dan Persa.
  • Drake Anderson is wearing Justin Jackson’s No. 21. His father, Damien, wore No. 20 at Northwestern (‘97-’00).
  • Early-enrollee Jeremiah McDonald is Northwestern’s biggest DB.
  • Brian Kaiser is the tallest player on the roster. He made the transition from QB to WR in high school, but it looks like he’ll be a receiving-oriented SB in Evanston.
  • Devin O’Rourke is 6-foot-6 and 241 pounds. For comparison, Earnest Brown IV is listed at 6-foot-5 and 257 pounds.
  • Every linebacker on the roster is over 200 pounds, including a trio of freshman: Jaylen Rivers, Grayson Mann and Khalid Jones.
  • Another early-enrollee, Isaiah Bowser, is Northwestern’s biggest RB.
  • A.J. Hampton and JJ Jefferson are the lightest players on the roster.

Number Changes

  • No. 3, Trae Williams: Williams will wear Keith Watkins II’s old number.
  • No. 7, Travis Whillock: With the departures of Alviti and Marcus McShepard, Whillock makes the switch from No. 33.
  • No. 8, Kyric McGowan: McGowan wore No. 86 as a true freshman. Now, he’ll take Auston Anderson’s old number.
  • No. 9, Roderick Campbell: Campbell makes the transition from No. 27.
  • No. 10, Alonzo Mayo: It’s the third career switch from Mayo, who wore No. 28 his first two years in Evanston and No. 12 in 2017.
  • No. 13, JR Pace: Pace wore No. 4 last season but switches with the departure of Warren Long.
  • No. 15, Jace James: Macan Wilson’s legacy will be carried on by James, who switches from No. 82.
  • No. 16, Berkeley Holman: From No. 89.
  • No. 28, Chris Bergin: From No. 49.
  • No. 52, Sam Gerak: From No. 50.
  • No. 96, Trevor Kent: From No. 87.

Other notes

  • No. 15, Hunter Johnson: Johnson will sit out the season wearing the number he had at Clemson.
  • No. 49, Jake Collins: Collins will be Northwestern’s punter this season.
  • Freshman Wyatt Blake was recruited to play offensive line and even introduced as such. He’s listed at DL on the roster.

Non-seniors from 2017 that are not on the 2018 roster

  • Jr. Auston Anderson
  • Jr. Parrker Westphal
  • Jr. Heath Reineke
  • Jr. Eric Lutzen
  • So. Lloyd Yates
  • So. Mason Weissenhoffer
  • So. Andrew Otterman
  • So. Adam Lemke-Bell

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