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Although Northwestern students are just now beginning exam week, we realize that the summer has commenced for nearly every other student across that country. As we prepare to head into the warm summer months, Inside NU will be working hard to give you all the preview coverage you need ahead of Northwestern Football’s 2019 season.
With the season just 82 days away, it’s time to get started previewing the defending Big Ten West champions. We start our first of many summer football preview series by ranking and counting down the Top 10 most important players on Northwestern’s 2019 roster. Take a look at who our staffers identified in their Top 10 as well as the overall staff consensus rankings.
2019 Top 10 Rankings
| Ranking | Consensus | Noah Coffman | Avery Zimmerman | Joe Weinberg | Davis Rich | Lucio Vainesman | Claire Kuwana | Eli Karp | Graham Brennan | Matt Albert |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | Consensus | Noah Coffman | Avery Zimmerman | Joe Weinberg | Davis Rich | Lucio Vainesman | Claire Kuwana | Eli Karp | Graham Brennan | Matt Albert |
| 1 | Hunter Johnson | Hunter Johnson | Hunter Johnson | Rashawn Slater | HJ | Hunter Johnson | Hunter Johnson | Hunter Johnson | Hunter Johnson | Joe Gaz |
| 2 | Paddy Fisher | Paddy Fisher | Paddy Fisher | Hunter Johnson | RT (Vogel) | Fisher | Paddy Fisher | Joe Gaziano | Joe Gaziano | Hunter Johnson |
| 3 | Joe Gaziano | Gunnar Vogel | Joe Gaz | Paddy Fisher | Alex Miller | Joe Gaziano | Joe Gaziano | Rashawn Slater | Trae Williams | Paddy Fisher |
| 4 | Rashawn Slater | Travis Whillock | Slater | J.R. Pace | Trae Williams | Pace | Isaiah Bowser | Paddy Fisher | Rashawn Slater | Rashawn Slater |
| 5 | Alex Miller | Joe Gaziano | Alex Miller | Alex Miller | Rashawn Slater | Rashawn Slater | JR Pace | Jared Thomas | Ben Skowronek | Ben Skowronek |
| 6 | Gunnar Vogel | Greg Newsome | Vogel | Isaiah Bowser | Paddy Fisher | Isaiah Bowser | Alex Miller | Blake Gallagher | Paddy Fisher | Isaiah Bowser |
| 7 | J.R. Pace | Trey Pugh | Newsome | Joe Gaziano | Riley Lees | Pugh | Riley Lees | Trae Williams | JR Pace | JR Pace |
| 8 | Trae Williams/Greg Newsome | Rashawn Slater | Pace | some cornerback | Trey Pugh/Charlie Mangieri | Alex Miller | Trey Pugh | Earnest Brown | Earnest Brown | Earnest Brown |
| 9 | Isaiah Bowser | Alex Miller | Trae Williams | Jared Thomas | J.R. Pace | Earnest Brown | Rashawn Slater | Isaiah Bowser | Jared Thomas | Alex Miller |
| 10 | Trey Pugh | Samdup Miller | Kuhbander | Riley Lees | Charlie Kuhbander | Skowronek | John Moten IV | A punter | Ramaud-Chiaokhiao Bowman | Travis Whillock |
Stay with us over the course of these next few days/weeks as we break down our Top 10 selections and provide an analysis of every player on this list as well as a few honorable mentions. Feel free to drop your own Top 10 rankings in the comments below!