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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