Despite the uncertainty of the 2020 season, the start of summer workouts brings Northwestern football’s newest group of student-athletes, so we thought it time to officially welcome in the newest class of Wildcat football players. Before we dive into who will be joining the squad this summer, let’s take one final look at those from the 2019 squad who are no longer with the program.

Who’s gone?

The class of 2020 graduated last month, and even though Wildcat fans should be excited to see a good amount of seniors returning for their fifth year, there are a few key departures.

(Note: This list does not include 2019 walk-ons who redshirted/did not play and have decided to leave the program)

OFFENSE (6)

RB - John Moten IV

WR - Bennett Skowronek (transfer)

TE - Trent Goens

OL - Jason Goosen

OL - Cam Kolwich

OL - Jared Thomas

DEFENSE (6)

DL - Joe Gaziano

DL - Alex Miller

CB - Trae Williams

CB - Joe Bergin

CB - Roderick Campbell (transfer)

CB - Brian Bullock (transfer)

SPECIAL TEAMS (3)

P - Daniel Kubiuk

P - Andrew David

K - Drew Luckenbaugh

Including transfers, these are the only 15 departing players who received playing time during their Northwestern careers. Although there are certainly a few key losses on both sides of the ball, NU returns the bulk of its roster. According to ESPN’s Bill Connelly, Northwestern ranks first (!) in the FBS for returning production in 2020, with 88 percent of offensive and 80 percent of defensive production coming back to Evanston.

Who’s new?

In a tweet last Wednesday, Northwestern officially introduced the 18 newest members of the team who have arrived in Evanston to kick off summer practices.

The class of 2024 includes 17 players who signed National Letters of Intent with Northwestern last December, as well as eight preferred walk-ons joining the program this summer.

The tweet did not include the seven players who enrolled early in January to join the team for spring practice: quarterback Carl Richardson; defensive linemen Jordan Butler, Te-Rah Edwards and Jaiden Cameron; offensive linemen Josh Priebe, Ben Wrather; and tight end Hunter Welcing. It also did not include quarterback Peyton Ramsey, tight end John Raine and punter Derek Adams, the three graduate transfers NU added this offseason.

Here’s a breakdown of all the new eligible faces on the roster this year:

(Note: All ratings are acquired from 247Sports composite)

OFFENSE (13)

QB - Peyton Ramsey (transfer)

QB - Carl Richardson (three-star)

RB - Cam Porter (three-star)

RB - Jake Arthurs (walk-on)

WR - Jack Moses (walk-on)

TE - John Raine (transfer)

TE - Hunter Welcing (early enrollee, three-star)

TE - Marshall Lang (three-star)

OC - Peter Skoronski (four-star)

OG - Ben Wrather (early enrollee, three-star)

OG - Josh Priebe (early enrollee, three-star)

OT - Max Skidmore (walk-on)

DEFENSE (12)

DE - Jaiden Cameron (early enrollee, three-star)

DE - Sean McLaughlin (three-star)

DT - Jordan Butler (early enrollee, three-star)

DT - Te-Rah Edwards (early enrollee, three-star)

LB - Joe DeHaan (walk-on)

LB - Owen Bergin (walk-on)

LB - Xander Mueller (three-star)

LB - Greyson Metz (walk-on, three-star)

LB - Cullen Coleman (three-star)

CB - Nigel Williams (three-star)

CB - Jaheem Joseph (three-star)

CB - Garnett Hollis (three-star)

S - Gunner Maldonado (three-star)

SPECIAL TEAMS (3)

P - Derek Adams (transfer)

P - Hunter Renner (walk-on)

LS - Will Halkyard (walk-on)