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Northwestern football’s Top 10 most important players for 2021

No. 1 — Willie O’Wildcat

By Inside NU Archives
NCAA Football: Citrus Bowl-Auburn vs Northwestern Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Having finished all of our position previews for the 2021 Northwestern football season, it’s time to break things down on the individual level, counting down who we here at Inside NU believe to be the 10 most important players on this year’s squad.

To start, here’s who our staffers have individually identified as their top 10 most important players for the coming season, as well as a composite rankings that roughly averages out each of our own choices. Keep in mind it’s the most important players rather than simply the best.

If we did the latter it would simply be a copy and paste of Brandon Joseph’s name at No. 1 over and over again, so we’re opting in favor of a less homogenous discussion.

Let the rankings commence!

2021’s Top 10 Most Important Players

Rankings Composite Daniel Olinger Mac Stone Ben Chasen William Karmin Michael Barthelemy Lia Assimakopoulos Jacob Brown Jack Izzo Sarah Effress Gavin Dorsey
Rankings Composite Daniel Olinger Mac Stone Ben Chasen William Karmin Michael Barthelemy Lia Assimakopoulos Jacob Brown Jack Izzo Sarah Effress Gavin Dorsey
1 Ryan Hilinski Ryan Hilinski Peter Skoronski Cam Porter Ryan Hilinski Ryan Hilinski Hilinski/HJ Ryan Hilinski Ryan Hilinski Ryan Hilinski Ryan Hilinski
2 Brandon Joseph Brandon Joseph Brandon Joseph Ryan Hilinski Cam Porter Cam Porter Cam Porter AJ Hampton Brandon Joseph Brandon Joseph Brandon Joseph
3 Cam Porter Peter Skoronski Cam Porter Brandon Joseph Peter Skoronski Brandon Joseph Brandon Joseph Brandon Joseph Chris Bergin Cam Porter Peter Skoronski
4 Peter Skoronski Chris Bergin Ryan Hilinski Peter Skoronski Brandon Joseph Chris Bergin Peter Skoronski Samdup Miller Cam Porter Peter Skoronski Cam Porter
5 Chris Bergin Adetomiwa Adebawore AJ Hampton Chris Bergin Stephon Robinson Peter Skoronski Chris Bergin Chris Bergin AJ Hampton Chris Bergin AJ Hampton
6 AJ Hampton AJ Hampton Adetomiwa Adebawore Adetomiwa Adebawore Adetomiwa Adebawore Adetomiwa Adebawore A Wide Receiver Adetomiwa Adebawore Samdup Miller AJ Hampton Chris Bergin
7 Adetomiwa Adebawore Cameron Mitchell Samdup Miller AJ Hampton Samdup Miller Cameron Mitchell Adetomiwa Adebawore Peter Skoronski Adetomiwa Adebawore Charlie Mangieri Adetomiwa Adebawore
8 Samdup Miller Sam Gerak Cameron Mitchell Cameron Mitchell Cam Porter Malik Washington Samdup Miller Stephon Robinson Peter Skoronski Adetomiwa Adebawore Cameron Mitchell
9 Cameron Mitchell Samdup Miller Charlie Kuhbander Samdup Miller AJ Hampton AJ Hampton AJ Hampton Charlie Kubhander Cameron Mitchell Malik Washington Malik Washington
10 Stephon Robinson Jr. Cam Porter Rod Heard Stephon Robinson Ethan Wiederkehr Sam Gerak Sam Gerak Sam Gerak Stephan Robinson Cameron Mitchell Samdup Miller

Stay tuned as we break down these selections over the next few days, and feel free to drop your own rankings in the comments below!

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