Inside NU - Full Coverage of Big Ten Media DaysRoll Damn 'Catshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52532/insidenu_fav.png2015-08-01T16:31:51-05:00http://www.insidenu.com/rss/stream/88375702015-08-01T16:31:51-05:002015-08-01T16:31:51-05:00Pound the Talk: Big Ten Media Days recap
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<p><i>Henry Bushnell and Ben Goren take a look back at Northwestern's and Pat Fitzgerald's Friday at Big Ten Media Days. They go over some interesting roster tidbits, discuss Fitzgerald's best quotes, and mourn the tragic closing of Wings Over Evanston.</i></p>
<p>Make sure to <a target="_blank" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-nus-pound-talk-wnur/id1019007360?mt=2">subscribe on iTunes</a>, or listen below:</p>
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https://www.insidenu.com/2015/8/1/9085069/northwestern-big-ten-media-days-recap-podcastInside NU Archives2015-08-01T05:55:03-05:002015-08-01T05:55:03-05:00Afternoon notes: Fitz, Vitale, Jones, VanHoose
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<p>A lot of words were said. We've picked out the important ones.</p> <p>CHICAGO — Big Ten Media Days have come and gone. And there's a lot to digest.</p>
<p>Later Saturday, we'll record a podcast featuring our reactions to the appearances of Pat Fitzgerald and Northwestern players at McCormick Place, and we'll take a look at the top storylines from Friday. But first, let's get caught up on everything that happened after lunch.</p>
<p>In the morning session, Pat Fitzgerald spoke about <a target="_blank" href="http://www.insidenu.com/2015/7/31/9079115/northwestern-football-quarterback-competition-2015-big-ten-media-days">the quarterback competition</a>, the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.insidenu.com/2015/7/31/9078603/pat-fitzgerald-northwestern-freshmen-class-receivers">freshman and redshirt freshman classes</a>, where he'll get <a target="_blank" href="http://www.insidenu.com/2015/7/31/9078599/northwesterns-offense-isnt-changing-after-miserable-year">explosive plays</a> from, and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.insidenu.com/2015/7/31/9079411/christian-jones-injury-update-northwestern-big-ten-media-days">Christian Jones' health</a>. Fitzgerald spoke for about 30 minutes in all in the morning, and comprehensive notes are <a target="_blank" href="http://www.insidenu.com/2015/7/31/9078255/big-ten-media-days-pat-fitzgerald-talks-recruiting-scheduling">here</a>.</p>
<p>Then came the afternoon session, in which Christian Jones, Nick VanHoose, and Dan Vitale all met the media, as did Fitzgerald once again. Short videos of all three, plus a slightly longer video of Fitzgerald, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.insidenu.com/2015/7/31/9082491/northwestern-players-address-the-media-at-big-ten-media-day">can be found here</a>.</p>
<p>Here are the text versions of those videos, plus over 30 minutes worth of off-camera notes and quotes from Fitzgerald:</p>
<h4>Pat Fitzgerald</h4>
<p>- Fitzgerald said the <b>quarterback competition</b> could be decided "internally" before the decision gets announced "externally."</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald had a lot of <b>criticism for the current state of recruiting</b>, some of which he has expressed in the past. Here's one interesting point on how early recruits are being pressured to commit (and how they are being pressured to take unofficial visits on their own dime before their official visits):</p>
<p>"That's whack to me. There's something wrong there. And it's definitely hurting the kid without the means. The kid that has money and can go jetset and travel around? Or gets caught by a shoe company and gets shuttled around? [He's fine]. But the kid without it, it's unfair to that kid and that family."</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald <b>spoke at Jim Harbaugh's camp</b> at Michigan in June. Fitzgerald said Harbaugh asked him to speak at it, but if his flight had been delayed, causing him to miss the Blackhawks game, he wouldn't have gone.</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald on <b>recruiting</b>: "I don't want anything to do with the [basketball] process. Talking to Chris [Collins] and Joe [McKeown, Northwestern's men's and women's basketball coaches], they're miserable. And they're only recruiting two a year. I look at them, and I'm like, ‘stop... try recruiting 24.'"</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald says the craziness of recruiting could see <b>coaches potentially start jumping to the NFL</b>. "You can't be a college coach unless you love recruiting," he said. "It's the lifeblood of your program. There could become a tipping point though. I've got a lot of close friends in the NFL, [and they say], ‘how's that recruiting nonsense going, buddy?'"</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald said <b>Drew Smith</b> was definitely a starter coming out of spring ball, but it's unclear where. "He's made a lot of plays in the nickel package, in the box. So I don't know, we'll see how that unfolds. I like Drew though. I think [defensive backs coach] Jerry Brown has got a nickname [for him], he calls him ‘Destructo' or something like that. He's pretty reckless."</p>
<p>- Here's what Fitzgerald had to say on <b>the other outside linebacker spot</b>: "I like what Jaylen Prater has done, I like what Joe Jones has done. Joe got married, and I think the pressure of all that stuff is off his shoulders. I like the things I'm seeing from Cam[eron Queiro] and Nate [Hall]. I like the things I'm seeing from Brett [Walsh], now that he's healthy. We have a lot of guys in that mix."</p>
<p>Fitzgerald says all those players are learning the outside linebacker positions. "The way [linebacker coach Randy Bates] teaches it, the middle position is kind of an anomaly. But you're going to learn SAM and WILL. You're going to learn both outside positions, because they're somewhat mirrored in our defense. And it's hard early on to learn two positions, but then you have position flexibility and multiplicity."</p>
<p>Could that last sentence be a hint that veterans like Jones and Prater are the favorites?</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald said <b>C.J. Robbins</b> is a starter at <b>defensive tackle</b>, and "after that, we'll see. I think we've got maybe 10 guys that I feel we can play with right now. And that's including getting <b>[Tyler] Lancaster</b> back. I really like where he's at. I really like what I've seen from <b>Ben Oxley</b>. I like it a lot. Another position I'm not going to be afraid to play young guys."</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald said he would much rather have media attention directed at him than players, and suggested two hashtags that fans could use to do that on Twitter: <b>#DoThisFitz</b> and <b>#WTFitz</b></p>
<p>- Fitzgerald on all the <b>Jim Harbaugh media hullabaloo</b>: "I think he's embraced it and has fun with it. I think he goes home at night and laughs his ass off. I mean, I would."</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald gives the Vitale brothers and freshman Steven Reese a hard time about their <b>long hair</b>, but told them, "If you guys think you can meet girls, or whatever you want to do, with long hair, you go ahead and do it. But on gameday, we're going to have our hair up inside our helmet. But you're style and all that... <b>if you want to look like Krusty the Clown, go ahead man."</b></p>
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<p>- I asked Fitzgerald if <b>Jack Mitchell</b> is definitely the <b>starting kicker</b>. His response: "Yeah. Today." I asked if <b>Mason [Weissenhofer]</b> was competing with him. His response: "Who?" He later said, "Oh I've never seen that kid kick. I mean, I've seen him kick in high school, but he hasn't kicked in college yet." Fitzgerald said he'd look to somebody like Arthur Omilian or Matt Micucci before Weissenhofer.</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald on <b>sports science</b>: We do "a lot of it. It starts with Katie Knappenberger, our sports dietician. We've been working with the guys on campus on a <b>comprehensive sleep study</b>. That's evolved from armbands to monitors in the guys' beds. It's constant. It's continual. And it's going to continue to evolve."</p>
<p>Fitzgerald said the players have taken to the <b>sleep monitoring</b>: "If you do something, and you see success because of it, you're going to continue to do it, and be intrigued to do more."</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald said four starting positions on the <b>offensive line</b> are still up for grabs.</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald said it hasn't yet been decided whether <b>Geoff Mogus</b> will play left guard or left tackle, but said, "I think if we were practicing today, he'd be playing <b>tackle</b>."</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald confirmed he sees <b>Miles Shuler as an outside receiver</b>, but noted that they can "change the formation and move him around." Shuler spent most of spring ball playing outside.</p>
<p>"He's got good top end speed to blow the top of the defense off to give us some space," Fitzgerald said. "Last year, we didn't have anybody stretching the field, and now we've got people sitting all over us, and mugging the you-know-what out of us. So we've got to have some speed to make defenses play honest against us."</p>
<p>- The Big Ten has imposed <b>new scheduling parameters</b> on its members that will take effect once schools are free of current contracts. They require every Big Ten team to play nine conference games, three non-conference games, at least one of the three against a fellow Power Five school, and none against non-FBS teams. Here's Fitzgerald on the new rules:</p>
<p>"Do I agree? No. The way that we've structured that, we've tried to keep that [FCS] game in-state. And I think it's been really good for the kids that go to Eastern Illinois, Southern Illinois, [Illinois State], Western, that are from Chicago or the Midwest, to play a Big Ten team. And especially for Chicago kids in their hometown.</p>
<p>"When you look at future scheduling, we're running out of inventory. We're kind of negotiating against each other for games, which makes no sense to me." Fitzgerald said he would've like the rule to require each school to play one 'academic comparable' Power Five team, one MAC team, and one FCS team.</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald on <b>graduate transfers</b>: "The intent of the rule was, if I'm at university X, and they don't have the graduate program, I'm going to transfer to University Y to go play that fifth year to get my graduate degree. The numbers of completion of graduation of those transfers is nonexistent. It's very, very low. So it's my understanding that the intent of why the rule is in place is not the true practice of the rule. So I would think that we probably want to look at the meaning behind that.</p>
<p>"We've had guys reach out and say, ‘I'm really interested in transferring for my fifth year.' And we say ‘great, you have to go through the graduate admissions process.' And that conversation did not continue... that's not the way it works at our place."</p>
<h4>Christian Jones</h4>
<p>- Jones on his <b>recovery from a torn ACL</b>, and a second surgery during the spring on the same knee: "I'd say I'm getting close to 100. Very close. This process is very interesting because even when there's weeks off or days off, I have to keep building and I have to keep working on certain things that I've gotten used to doing."</p>
<p>- Jones recently won a <b>FIFA</b> tournament played <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/NU_Sports/status/626927519296393220">on the Welsh-Ryan Arena video board</a>. I challenged him to a game on Twitter, and he said he'd "destroy" me.</p>
<p>- Jones on the <b>hardest part of coming back from the injury</b>: "Confidence. Until you get used to running those routes and doing everything you do over and over again, it's hard to really get confidence back because you constantly think back to when you tore that ACL or did whatever you did to yourself."</p>
<p>- Jones said the <b>mental aspect</b> of recovery is more important than the physical aspect for him.</p>
<p><i>Teaser: Our Michael Odom will have a profile on Jones next week.</i></p>
<h4>Nick VanHoose</h4>
<p>- VanHoose on whether or not this is the <b>best secondary</b> he's been a part of at Northwestern: "I want to say yes, but then again, I want to say no because losing Ibraheim [Campbell] is huge. [But] if [Godwin Igwebuike] can step up and show the leadership and work ethic as much as Ibraheim, then yes, I'd say it could possibly be." VanHoose did say it was definitely the deepest he's been a part of though.</p>
<p>- VanHoose ran through a few names of the younger members of the secondary and had rather generic compliments for them, but then singled out true freshman safety <b>Jake Murray</b> and compared him to <b>Brian Peters</b>. That's, um... high praise.</p>
<p>- VanHoose on the <b>difference without Campbell</b>: "Godwin will kind of look at me a little bit more for play-calling and what not, but I can't hold his hand forever, so I feel like he's gonna get his hands on the reins a little bit. He can always lean on Traveon."</p>
<h4>Dan Vitale</h4>
<p>- Vitale said he loves playing <b>Iowa</b>. Naturally, a reporter followed up with, "is that because Fitz hates Iowa?" Vitale's laugh and big grin was a good enough answer.</p>
<p>- Vitale on having <b>younger brother Tommy</b>, a true freshman, on the team: "I like to think I treat him just like everyone else. But I'll give him tips here and there.</p>
<p>- Dan noted that he and Tommy are the only set of brothers on the team that has one on either side of the ball. "The funny part about it is, <b>if I beat him, it's just the senior beating up on the freshman. But if I get caught once, I'll probably never hear the end of it."</b></p>
<p>- Vitale on the <b>different roles the superbacks occupy</b> within the position: "Garrett is more of our true tight end — hand down on the line, trips formations, trey formations — but he's also a phenomenal athlete so they'll split him out as well. Jayme's more of a receiver-type superback. Never really a hand-down type of guy but he runs phenomenal routes, is a great pass-catcher. And then myself, I have to do a little bit of both but also being able to line up in the wing in the backfield, kind of like a fullback too. We all have our niche."</p>
https://www.insidenu.com/2015/8/1/9083465/pat-fitzgerald-christian-jones-nick-vanhoose-dan-vitale-big-ten-media-daysHenry BushnellZach Pereles2015-07-31T16:32:36-05:002015-07-31T16:32:36-05:00VIDEO: Fitz, VanHoose, Vitale, Jones at Media Days
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<figcaption>Matthew Holst/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Christian Jones, Nick VanHoose and Dan Vitale and Coach Fitz all took the podium</p> <p>Northwestern's representatives at Big Ten Media Days were wide receiver Christian Jones, cornerback Nick VanHoose and superback Dan Vitale. All three addressed the media in the afternoon in addition to head coach Pat Fitzgerald.</p>
<h4>Christian Jones</h4>
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<h4>Nick VanHoose</h4>
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<h4>Dan Vitale</h4>
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<h4>Pat Fitzgerald</h4>
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https://www.insidenu.com/2015/7/31/9082491/northwestern-players-address-the-media-at-big-ten-media-dayHenry Bushnell2015-07-31T16:07:18-05:002015-07-31T16:07:18-05:00Christian Jones ready for camp — on "pitch count"
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<p>The senior's health and usage will be one of the key storylines in camp.</p> <p>Northwestern wide receiver Christian Jones and head coach Pat Fitzgerald both say the fifth-year senior will be ready to go for fall camp, which begins Aug. 9.</p>
<p>Jones spoke to the media Friday for the first time since April, and said he's "very close to 100 percent."</p>
<p>Fitzgerald said Jones will be on a "pitch count" early on, meaning Northwestern will limit him, and have him take drills, or even full practices, off.</p>
<p>Jones tore the ACL in his left knee the second week of fall camp last year, during a practice in Kenosha. He redshirted, and is back for a fifth year in 2015.</p>
<p>Jones returned for spring practice on a limited basis, but was forced to undergo a second surgery on the same knee due to cartilage damage. On April 4, <a href="http://www.insidenu.com/2015/4/4/8344759/christian-jones-out-for-four-months-after-surgery" target="_blank">Jones told Inside NU he was out for around four months</a>.</p>
<p>"I was at the workout yesterday morning, and he was getting after it," Fitzgerald said.</p>
<p>Fitzgerald mentioned Jones as one of the most important players on the offense, especially when it comes to throwing downfield — something NU struggled with mightily in 2014.</p>
<p>"He's a difference maker," Fitzgerald said. "He's a mismatch size-wise. He's a mismatch from a standpoint of experience. It's going to be great to get him back out there."</p>
https://www.insidenu.com/2015/7/31/9079411/christian-jones-injury-update-northwestern-big-ten-media-daysHenry Bushnell2015-07-31T11:48:07-05:002015-07-31T11:48:07-05:00Fitz will consult other players in deciding on QB
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<p>Pat Fitzgerald will consult the team's upperclassmen when making his decision.</p> <p>CHICAGO — By far the biggest issue facing Northwestern football heading into training camp in 2015 is the quarterback competition. During spring ball, there was no separation in the race to start the Sept. 5 season opener against Stanford, and even if there was, Pat Fitzgerald has not yet, and still might not ever, release that information to the public.</p>
<p>But Fitzgerald explicated a few interesting parts of the process Friday at Big Ten Media Days. There is, of course, the on-field evaluation process, and Fitzgerald said they had "plenty of information from the spring."</p>
<p>There is also an off-field evaluation. Fitzgerald said all three have had good summers "from a leadership standpoint," and that a big question that he and his staff have asked and will ask is, "Who's truly going to be the guy that walks onto the field and makes the other 10 guys on the offense better?"</p>
<p>Interestingly, Fitzgerald also said some senior members of the offense will have a say in who gets the job. "When you've got young men coming back like [Dan] Vitale and [Christian] Jones and [Geoff] Mogus — and I can keep going on and on with some of our seniors — Mick and I will have candid conversations with those guys privately on who they trust the most."</p>
<p>"I think Mick and I do a pretty good job of listening to the team and what they think is best," Fitzgerald continued. "We've used that in the past, and it's been a pretty good indicator."</p>
<p>Fitzgerald said that trust "goes back to the time in the locker room, in the apartments, all the little things that we don't all see that really makes a difference." That, he said, allows a quarterback to go into a huddle on third-and-4 with the complete confidence of the players around him.</p>
<p>As for whether or not the competition could carry into the season, with quarterbacks alternating drives, Fitzgerald said, "I would really prefer that that would not happen. I would prefer that we have some semblance of separation."</p>
<p>When asked about the possibility of a two-QB system, Fitzgerald was noncommittal.</p>
<p>He did have the following to say on the differences between the three quarterbacks:</p>
<p>"Two of the three guys [Clayton Thorson and Matt Alviti] from a skillset standpoint, are very similar. And then Zack [Oliver] is a little bit more traditional. He can run around a little bit, but I don't think he runs as well as Trevor, when Trevor was healthy."</p>
<p>We'll update this with anything Fitzgerald, or Dan Vitale or Christian Jones, say in their afternoon sessions.</p>
https://www.insidenu.com/2015/7/31/9079115/northwestern-football-quarterback-competition-2015-big-ten-media-daysHenry Bushnell2015-07-31T11:10:39-05:002015-07-31T11:10:39-05:00Notes/Quotes: Fitz talks QBs, recruiting, schedule
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<figcaption>Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Fitzgerald had plenty of interesting things to say.</p> <p>Pat Fitzgerald spoke for 15 minutes at the podium to open his time at Big Ten Media Days, and then for another 15 minutes off camera. Here's what he had to say:</p>
<h4>On Camera</h4>
<p>- Fitzgerald said it was "amazing, shocking and surreal," and "humbling" to be heading into his 10th season as a Big Ten coach.</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald said he was "emotionally drained" after a night with his teammates from the <b>1995 Rose Bowl team</b>. He hasn't shared much about the Rose Bowl reunion with his current team, but he will.</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald said <b>Jim Harbaugh</b> asked him to come speak at a camp in June.</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald on how the <b>Big Ten's perception</b> gets defined: "You have four weeks worth of evaluation from a national perspective based on head to head matchup games with power five teams. And then we'll go through the Big Ten gauntlet. And then we'll have that same evaluation happen in the postseason."</p>
<p>- It took nine minutes for someone to ask a question about the <b>quarterback situation</b>, and Fitzgerald said he was surprised it took that long. He said there was no separation, or not enough separation, in spring ball.</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald said part of the <b>quarterback competition</b> would be "off the field evaluation." He also said he and offensive coordinator Mick McCall will consult other seniors on the offense before making a decision.</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald on how the fact that <b>recruiting</b> is starting earlier and earlier affects the way in which he deals with Northwestern's <b>academic standards</b>: "It used to be the fifth semester transcript. Now you're getting the fourth and third semester transcript. And that's a pretty good early indicator of where the young person is going to be academically.</p>
<p>But from our standpoint, we can't talk about admission status until after the sixth semester on our campus. So it's the old risk/reward for us from the standpoint of if the kid fits our profile after three semesters of high school, we've got to put him on our list now initially.</p>
<p>So maybe where five, ten years ago our pool was really tight and really small, now as you're looking at that sophomore class, you can't be too quick to judge and too quick to evaluate because at least for our admissions standards, there's at least half of their academic credentials ahead of them."</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald on <b>recruiting</b>: "I have a real hard time doing a character evaluation of a young man who doesn't have a [driver's] license yet."</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald <a href="http://www.insidenu.com/2015/7/31/9079115/northwestern-football-quarterback-competition-2015-big-ten-media-days" target="_blank">had some interesting comments about how the decision will be made on the <b>starting quarterback</b></a>.</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald ended his session with "Go 'Cats." I realized that he did not end <a style="background-color: #ffffff;" href="http://www.insidenu.com/2015/7/30/9071037/pat-fitzgerald-obannon-lgbt-gay-athletes-concussions-union-beckman-interview" target="_blank">our Q&A on Wednesday</a> with "Go 'Cats." CONTROVERSY.</p>
<h4>Off Camera</h4>
<p>- Fitzgerald <a href="http://www.insidenu.com/2015/7/31/9078603/pat-fitzgerald-northwestern-freshmen-class-receivers" target="_blank">said he's prepared to play "maybe more <b>young guys</b> maybe than we ever have."</a></p>
<p>- Fitzgerald <a href="http://www.insidenu.com/2015/7/31/9078599/northwesterns-offense-isnt-changing-after-miserable-year/in/8837570" target="_blank">says solving Northwestern's <b>explosive play problem</b> is going to come down to personnel</a>, not a scheme change.</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald on the importance of the <b>Duke and Stanford games</b> for recruiting: "We've put together the blueprint from a scheduling standpoint for an number of years. We've tried to go and play academic comparables: Vanderbilt, Boston College, Notre Dame, Stanford, Duke, Rice, Cal."</p>
<p>"If we're going to win on the recruiting trail, we have to win on the field. Most of our guys looked at [Duke and Stanford] schools too. And we know a lot of guys on both of their rosters."</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald said he and athletic director Jim Phillips both have a hand in <b>scheduling</b>, and that he "appreciates" Phillips allowing him to be involved.</p>
<p>- I asked Fitzgerald if he regretted having <b>Stanford as the opener</b>, as opposed to the third or fourth game, because he'll be breaking in a new starting quarterback. He said he didn't. "When you set the schedule back however many years ago, you can't predict where your roster is going to be."</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald says one of his and his staff's focuses has been <b>winning close games</b>, and he said it'll be the subject of one of his presentations to the team in camp:</p>
<p>"We've looked hard at why we've not won the close games over the last two years. The calling card of my 10 years is we've won the overwhelming majority of close games. I think 10 of our 12 games last year were in the fourth quarter as a one- or two-score game. The bottom line is, we're going to be in those games, and we've got to do the little things."</p>
<p>However...</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">If Fitz’s "10 of our 12 games were 1- or 2-score games" line is supposed to fit the close games narrative, it's really, really dumb</p>
— Henry Bushnell (@HenryBushnell) <a href="https://twitter.com/HenryBushnell/status/627192021615288320">July 31, 2015</a>
</blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">That 10 would include the Western Ill. game, the Nebraska game, and the Illinois game… <a href="https://t.co/vc7Xq5BuYi">https://t.co/vc7Xq5BuYi</a></p>
— Henry Bushnell (@HenryBushnell) <a href="https://twitter.com/HenryBushnell/status/627192437858041856">July 31, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Northwestern?src=hash">#Northwestern</a> really only played four close games last year, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, and went 2-2 in those games</p>
— Henry Bushnell (@HenryBushnell) <a href="https://twitter.com/HenryBushnell/status/627193306754215939">July 31, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">NIU and Cal were fringe close games, but not really. Those were both teams NU should’ve beaten, but instead fell way behind</p>
— Henry Bushnell (@HenryBushnell) <a href="https://twitter.com/HenryBushnell/status/627193675848749056">July 31, 2015</a>
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<p>- Fitzgerald again hinted at the <b>union being a distraction</b>: "We've had some semblance of normalcy this offseason, and I really like where the guys are at. Our chemistry is in a good spot. I like how we're holding each other accountable again and talking about things related to our team and football."</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald: "I just think we've made way too many <b>self-inflicted errors</b> that have cost us, and as a coach, that makes you want to jump off the tower at Ryan Field, because that's on us as coaches."</p>
<p>- I asked Fitzgerald if there was any <b>chance the quarterback competition could carry into the season</b>. "I would really prefer that that would not happen," he said. "I would prefer that we have some semblance of separation." He noted that playing both Kain Colter and Trevor Siemian wasn't an ongoing competition, it was that they had decided that both had a role in the offense.</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald on the <b>differences between the three quarterbacks</b>: "Two of the three guys [Clayton Thorson and Matt Alviti] from a skillset standpoint, are very similar. And then Zack [Oliver] is a little bit more traditional. He can run around a little bit, but I don't think he runs as well as Trevor, when Trevor was healthy."</p>
<p>- Fitzgerald was enthusiastic when speaking about <b>sophomore superback Garrett Dickerson</b>. "I really think that Garrett Dickerson is coming on," he said. "He's a guy that has big play potential... He's had a great offseason. I mean, he's been terrific. I've been very impressed by him."</p>
https://www.insidenu.com/2015/7/31/9078255/big-ten-media-days-pat-fitzgerald-talks-recruiting-schedulingHenry Bushnell2015-07-31T10:13:45-05:002015-07-31T10:13:45-05:00Fitz: We'll play more young guys than ever
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AAtTKi4dDn_YtHijyZfCxiMmYpg=/101x0:4393x2861/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46872366/usa-today-8004014.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The redshirt freshmen, and even the true freshmen, will see the field.</p> <p>CHICAGO — Pat Fitzgerald says that Northwestern will play "maybe more young guys maybe than we ever have" in 2015.</p>
<p>A significant majority of Northwestern freshmen under Fitzgerald have redshirted, but with recruiting having improved in 2013, 2014 and 2015, this year could be different.</p>
<p>"I really like our freshman class," Fitzgerald said. "We're going to play young guys. And I'm talking freshmen and redshirt freshmen. I like those two classes a lot. They've got a little swag."</p>
<p>Fitzgerald wasn't ready to say specific names with regards to which true freshmen could play, nor would he put a specific number on it, but said of the freshmen receivers:</p>
<p>"I like them in shorts. We don't play our game in shorts. Do I predict that a lot of those guys will be in the mix, and in the mix quickly? Based on what I've seen in shorts, absolutely. It's going to be fun to watch those guys. We've recruited well at those positions."</p>
<p>"I'll be interested to see when somebody punches them back, and that's going to happen here in a couple weeks," Fitzgerald said. "But I like how they look in shorts."</p>
<p>Fitzgerald lamented how social media has affected true freshmen, and potentially their readiness, saying:</p>
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<p>"The first step is getting over the homesickness, and coming to summer school helps. But the bad thing is that phone. Back when I was playing, you were homesick for mom. Now your girlfriend will just not leave you alone; she's facetiming you... but you've got to give them their time, because they go through withdrawal.</p>
<p>We give them their iPads, and they're dialed in, but the minute we give them recess and break meetings up, they're like, ‘Oh, I've got to get my fix, what's going on on Instagram.' That's the society we live in."</p>
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<p>Back in February, Fitzgerald <a href="http://www.insidenu.com/2015/2/24/8104069/northwestern-spring-football-primer-lunch-with-pat-fitzgerald" target="_blank">explained</a> the five step process that he uses to decide which true freshmen are ready to play.</p>
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<p>1. Fitzgerald said that "80 percent of freshmen redshirt themselves," and in all seriousness, he thinks the number one reason for that is "that girl [from high school] that is just stuck to them... When I was in school, if I wanted to talk to Stacey [his future wife and high school sweetheart], I had to wait in line for the pay phone. And you weren't going to put your butt in front of the pay phone because all your boys would make fun of you for calling your girlfriend. Now, with this dang thing [holds up his cell phone], he can't get away from her. That's the number one reason why they redshirt."</p>
<p>2. Fitzgerald: "What kind of functional strength and conditioning do they have? So they can stay safe, and so they can compete. Some guys just aren't ready. Especially in the trenches."</p>
<p>3. Fitzgerald: "Do they pick up our system? Now with the summer time, we're able to work with them a little more, and that helps, but nobody hits back in the summer. It get's a lot different in camp when the game gets physical.</p>
<p>4. Fitzgerald: "Do we need them to play? I would prefer not to waste a guy's year on covering kicks and just being involved in the kicking game. Fitzgerald says if a guy is going to play over 100 scrimmage snaps, then he'll considering removing his redshirt.</p>
<p>5. Fitzgerald: "If we get one through four, number five is, 'do you want to play?' In my nine years, we've had no one tell me 'no.' We've had, in my time at Northwestern, one guy tell us 'no.'</p>
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<p>Fitzgerald also thinks the two most recent classes could solve Northwestern's <a style="background-color: #ffffff;" href="http://www.insidenu.com/2015/7/31/9078599/northwesterns-offense-isnt-changing-after-miserable-year" target="_blank">explosive play problem</a>, saying that "some of the young guys that you haven't seen yet in Big Ten play have explosiveness."</p>
https://www.insidenu.com/2015/7/31/9078603/pat-fitzgerald-northwestern-freshmen-class-receiversHenry Bushnell2015-07-31T09:51:12-05:002015-07-31T09:51:12-05:00NU's offense isn't changing after miserable year
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<figcaption>Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Get ready for some bubble screens!</p> <p>Perhaps the biggest complaint from fans and media members last year regarding Northwestern football's performance was how the coaches used their personnel.</p>
<p>In one sense, <a href="http://www.insidenu.com/2014/9/6/6115789/northwestern-started-losing-when-it-stopped-being-northwestern" target="_blank">the offense trended away from the spread</a> and what it had always done, but in another sense, the coaches refused to adapt their dink-and-dunk style, <a href="http://www.insidenu.com/2014/10/12/6964761/how-northwestern-misunderstands-offensive-strategy" target="_blank">even when it was grossly inefficient</a>. That style worked when NU had explosive players, but the Wildcats were dead last nationally in explosiveness, and the results suffered accordingly.</p>
<p>You don't have to tell Pat Fitzgerald that — he was in adamant agreement — and now the question becomes how NU is going to fix that. It appears that we won't see a change in scheme, but rather, a change in the players. It's a case of fitting the players to the offense, not fitting the offense to the players. And this year, Fitzgerald thinks he has the players to fit the offense.</p>
<p>"We've got to have the guys that are dynamic players get the ball in their hands," Fitzgerald said. "I look at a guy like Miles Shuler, he's got to make big plays. Getting Christian Jones back, he's got to make big plays. Danny Vitale has to make big plays for us. Those three guys are guys that, quickly, in their careers have all made big, explosive plays, and we've got to find a way to get them to ball in those types of settings."</p>
<p>Basically, Northwestern is looking for another Dan Persa-Jeremy Ebert connection. While Ebert had some long receptions in his career, most of the passes to him were relatively short. NU relied on Ebert's explosiveness, and it hasn't had anyone to fill that role.</p>
<p>Now, Fitzgerald claims, the Wildcats have the ability to play like that again.</p>
<p>"We'll see guys that you haven't seen yet who I think have explosiveness," he said. "And one of those things we've done in the past is bubble screens. They haven't been a 40-yard post. They've been a bubble, get a block, make two guys miss and there we go, we've got a 40-yard gain. We were almost void of that last year, and that's not just on the guy catching the ball. It's as much on the guy blocking for him and winning at the point of attack."</p>
<p>Bubble screens, short passes and breakaways. It's still Northwestern football, success TBD.</p>
https://www.insidenu.com/2015/7/31/9078599/northwesterns-offense-isnt-changing-after-miserable-yearKevin Trahan