Sippin' On Purple: FanPosts

My greatest fear about a new NU hoops arena

2013-05-16T22:35:57Z

I don't deny that Ryan Field needs work, but, as a basketball guy, I've always had a feeling that addressing the football needs is like renovating a 30-year-old house when the one next door is burning down. I understand football is top dog at NU, but the Welsh is laughable. At least, Ryan Field and the football facilities are passable.

And now, in today's Tribune, I saw what i thought was always coming - the first mention of Ryan Field in the same breath as the Welsh. Yes, the grand master facilities plan is lovely and all, but the ability to execute it scares the hell out of me. Frankly, if I were CC and I thought I had the leverage in a year or two, I'd start asking what NU can do for $20-$30 million to the existing structure. TG's blurb today screams about all the problems for the basketball program with the overall facilities plan.

* A lack of existing funding for the football practice facility
* The lack of a commitment for a timetable on the football facility (I love the line about the "football program hoping it can open in the spring of 2015" - a clear attempt to communicate a disconnect. I'm guessing that would require one year to raise the money and one year to build. Good luck on that one, Fitz).
* The unknown about how long it will take to raise the next stash of cash for either Ryan Field or the new Welsh.
* Let's hope the basketball arena is next in line or else we're REALLY talking about a long wait. I wouldn't want to bet on whether basketball will be the next priority.

If NU decides a full renovation - let me emphasize the words "full renovation" maybe even "modernization" - of Ryan Field should be addressed ahead of the basketball arena, I think we're talking 2030 until basketball gets its turn.

Anyhow, here's TG's write-up.

Northwestern AD Jim Phillips is well aware Illinois plans to spend $165 million to renovate the rechristened State Farm Center and DePaul wants a $300 million arena near McCormick Place.

"We're paying attention," he said. "No question we have to address Ryan Field and Welsh-Ryan Arena. But we have to stay true to our priorities."

That means moving forward with the lakefront facility that will benefit NU's entire student body — and be a boon to programs such as football and women's lacrosse.

Phillips said $70 million to $80 million of the $220 million project has been raised. He declined to put a timetable on the groundbreaking, saying it depends on other on-campus projects and the opinions of board of trustees members who will meet in June.

The facility is in the design phase, with the football program hoping it can open in the spring of 2015. The fall of 2015 could be more realistic.

Northwestern, meanwhile, has pumped some money into the basketball program, putting a new floor in the practice area at Welsh-Ryan. But Phillips believes the purple-splashed court will stay.

"We're paying attention," he said. "No question we have to address Ryan Field and Welsh-Ryan Arena. But we have to stay true to our priorities."

That means moving forward with the lakefront facility that will benefit NU's entire student body — and be a boon to programs such as football and women's lacrosse.

The facility is in the design phase, with the football program hoping it can open in the spring of 2015. The fall of 2015 could be more realistic.

Northwestern, meanwhile, has pumped some money into the basketball program, putting a new floor in the practice area at Welsh-Ryan. But Phillips believes the purple-splashed court will stay.

Charity is good and Illinois is bad

2013-05-08T22:35:34Z

Every Day Should Be Saturday, my favorite overall football blog (despite its southern slant), is running their annual charity drive here. Proceeds go towards helping recently arrived refugees to America start new lives in the Atlanta area. What really got me interested was the opportunity to use charitable donations to taunt other schools via football scores and track donations by school to show who is the best at being charitable (make sure to select Northwestern University in the drop down menu when donating, or type it in the Other box below).

Personally, I donated $50.14 to commemorate last year's beatdown of the Illini. Tim Beckman isn't incompetent, just trying to inspire more charity.

Well, maybe it's both.

Feel free to donate other favorite scores, such as $54.51 for The Game That Invented The Spread And Also Michigan Sucks, $17.15 to commemorate Northwestern's 18 year and running win streak against That School In South Bend, $34.20 for the end of the bowl streak, or just $14.00 for next year's record.

So dig deep fellow Northwestern fans. Reach into the pockets of your Armani suits, search under the seats of your Ferraris, or just cut a little extra out of Jeeves' Christmas bonus. Just because Illinois can't have nice things doesn't mean new Americans shouldn't.

Go America, go donate, and Go 'Cats!

Personally, I donated $50.14 to commemorate last year's beatdown of the Illini. Tim Beckman isn't incompetent, just trying to inspire more charity.

Well, maybe it's both.

Go America, go donate, and Go 'Cats!

The early look at Big Ten basketball 2013-2014

2013-04-30T14:19:30Z

Now that the early entrant list is finalized, the Big Ten did not take a huge hit. Pretty much everyone on the first team (Burke, Oladipo, Zeller, Hardaway, and DThomas) is gone, but the Michigan squads were the most fortunate with guys maintaining their eligibility. So chime in with how you would rank the teams in terms of tiers:

Top tier:

Michigan State -- loaded with depth and Tom Izzo

Ohio State -- a ton of wing players and senior Aaron Craft

Michigan -- best sophomores (McGary, Robinson, Stauskas) with prized freshmen

Next NCAA-likely bound tier

Wisconsin -- never pick against them; Sam Dekker is legit

Indiana -- still have Sheehy and Ferrell plus a ton of freshmen

Iowa -- primed to move up with major returning talent

Could go either way

Minnesota -- new coach, excellent perimeter players, lousy bench

Purdue -- a lot of defections but a good nucleus

Unlikely to be NCAA-bound

Illinois -- a lot of graduations and sold their soul to State Farm

Northwestern -- the odds are against us but better than bottom

Penn State -- get back Tim Frazier; coach is crazy on sidelines but a lot of pundits like them

Nope

Nebraska -- not their sport

Top tier:

Michigan State -- loaded with depth and Tom Izzo

Ohio State -- a ton of wing players and senior Aaron Craft

Michigan -- best sophomores (McGary, Robinson, Stauskas) with prized freshmen

Next NCAA-likely bound tier

Wisconsin -- never pick against them; Sam Dekker is legit

Indiana -- still have Sheehy and Ferrell plus a ton of freshmen

Iowa -- primed to move up with major returning talent

Could go either way

Minnesota -- new coach, excellent perimeter players, lousy bench

Purdue -- a lot of defections but a good nucleus

Unlikely to be NCAA-bound

Illinois -- a lot of graduations and sold their soul to State Farm

Northwestern -- the odds are against us but better than bottom

Penn State -- get back Tim Frazier; coach is crazy on sidelines but a lot of pundits like them

Nope

Nebraska -- not their sport

Help Me Choose a Dorm!

2013-04-23T20:45:28Z

Hello! I'm an incoming freshman (class of 2017), and I know very little about the dorms and such at Northwestern. So I was just wondering, where would y'all recommend I live next year? What are the dorms I should request, and what are the dorms I should avoid? I'm leaning towards North Campus housing, and I'd like a dorm close to basketball courts, so I could play pick up on a whim. Any assistance would be much appreciated!

Big ten realignment

2013-04-21T20:40:55Z

Hey I'm a big northwestern fan and big fan of sippin on purple. I'm wondering how the realignment effects the cats. I personally don't think its fair to have MSU michigan OSU and in a few years PSU in one division. I understand that they want road attendance and it helps to have them closer. But, next year Michigan and Ohio State are going to have good teams it wouldn't be fair to not let one of them to Indy even tho they should go there. Wisconsin might be bad with this new coach and, it looks like Iowa and Nebraska can't recruit anymore. I am a season ticket holder and I want to see good games. I want to see Michigan and Ohio State and i'm disappointed we can't see them as often. Although I am looking forward to going to Indy to see the cats play in the B10 game. What's your thoughts on the realignment?

The Case for and against Carmody

2013-03-13T05:12:52Z

Throughout this blog and many other Northwestern related sites, the "Fire Carmody" v. "Keep Carmody" debate has been in full swing. The following is a consolidation of reasons that I've seen both in favor of Carmody and against. If there are any that I've missed, please post them in the comments.

The Case against Carmody

1. 13 seasons without an NCAA tournament berth - This is ~~probably~~ definitely the number 1 reason people have been calling for Carmody's head. How can a major conference coach last 13 years without an NCAA tournament bid? The fact that he hasn't gotten there in his first 13 means it's quite unlikely that Northwestern under Carmody will achieve much success...ever.

2. Not a good enough recruiter and developer of B1G level talent - The hoard of 2-3 star recruits is not going to cut it in the B1G. Additionally, Carmody's lack of developing talent, particularly that of big men, is also bothersome. Sure, in the Ivy league it's easy to win with strong 3-point shooting and good perimeter play. But it's a heck of a lot tougher to compete with that style in the B1G. Without being able to develop a strong post player, it's tough to see Northwestern reach the tournament or become a top-half B1G team.

3. Next year's team, and teams on the horizon, are not good enough for the tournament - Next year, Northwestern loses Hearn but gains Crawford/ loses Swopshire but gains Cobb/ loses Marcotullio but gains Sina/Taphorn. This year's team, pre-Swop injury, was destined for the NIT. Shouldn't next year's team, which looks to be quite similar, do just the same? And once Crawford leaves, there is no chance this team gets to the tournament. There is no go to player in the water or on the horizon that will bring Northwestern over the top.

4. Nikola Cerina - Carmody hates him and doesn't play him. But he's obviously going to be our savior and is a star in the making. A new coach will see that and play him all the timez.

5. The team has plateaued under Carmody - Prior to this season, it was 4 straight NIT seasons. That seems about all we'll ever get out of a Carmody team. We need a new coach - one that can take NU basketball to the next level and into the tournament.

6. A potentially exciting, young new hire could become "Basketball's Fitz" - Carmody is kind of bland. A new, young, fiery coach could bring some excitement into the program, and push Northwestern's program in an exciting new direction.

The Case for Carmody

1. Carmody has drastically improved Northwestern's basketball program - From 1984-2000, Northwestern had 2 winning seasons (both 15-14 campaigns), and only three seasons where they eclipsed 10 wins. This season would have ranked third best in that 17 season span. Just let that sink in. Prior to this season, Northwestern reached 4 straight NITs and had two 20-win seasons. Compared to the history of Northwestern basketball, Carmody has made monumental improvements, and we should continue to find similar success in the future under Carmody.

2. Possible attrition - Rumors are floating around that Drew Crawford might transfer if Carmody gets fired. Since any possible tourney chance next season hinges on Crawford, if the rumor has weight, isn't that reason enough to keep Carmody for one more season? Additionally, the axing of Carmody could lead to the departure of Sina, who committed in large part to Carmody's style of play. But hey, at least Cerina will probably stick it out.

3. Next year's team is good enough for the tournament - Demps, Turner, Olah, and Kale improved immensly by season's end. Add in Cobb, Crawford, Sobo, Lumpkin, Sina, and Taphorn, and this team looks not only deep, but quite dangerous. Couple that with the fact that Michigan will lose Burke, Indiana will lose Watford, and possibly Zeller/Oladipo, OSU will lose Thomas, MSU will lose Nix and Payne, Illinois will lose Paul (these are all either seniors or potential NBAers), and suddenly the B1G looks a helluva lot easier. A weaker B1G + a stronger Northwestern = 1st ever tournament bid?

4. Unfair to fire Carmody after this season - Really? Fire Carmody following a season in which 3 starters were out for the year and 7 freshmen were on the roster? Especially from a team that pre-injury/suspension could have been in tourney talks? That's just unfair to Carmody, especially after the relative success of the last 4 seasons.

5. Improved recruiting - Sina is arguably the biggest recruit in Northwestern history - a top 100 player according to ESPN with offers from basketball powers Villanova and Pitt. Kale, from Iowa, picked Northwestern over Iowa, Iowa St., and Stanford. Recruiting is trending from 2/3 stars to 3/4 stars. Now that Carmody is landing the young talent, let's see how he coaches it.

6. Carmody is a quality person - Yeah, the "well at least he isn't Kevin O'Neill (or Tom Crean, or Lane Kiffin, etc)" point. But in all honesty, Carmody is a good guy. He stresses academics and integrity, and possesses all the honorable characteristics you'd like to see in a Northwestern head coach. He didn't have to suspend Cobb for the season, and he surely didn't do it to improve the team's on the court play. He did it to teach the kid a valuable lesson about the importance of academics; a lesson most other coaches would have found too costly to attempt to teach.

7. No potential replacements excite - Ok, fire Carmody. Then...hire a life long assistant? Or a coach that once won an NCAA Tournament game at a small school? Yikes. Teddy Greenstein's list offered a bunch of names...and none really jumped off the page. Have any of them shown anything that would make them appear to be the guy that'll push our program to the next level?

My thoughts

Keeping Carmody is the safe option. Next year, behind Crawford, Cobb, Sobo, etc, we'll be either an NCAA or NIT team. Our program will be in a solid place and we'll probably hover between the 5-9 spot in the B1G in the years to come.

A lot of people that call for Carmody's head assume that any coach will be a better coach and do a better job than Carmody. That's just not true. I can just as easily see a situation in which we bring in a new coach that causes our program to regress into...pre-Carmody times. Sure, maybe a new coach will be awesome? However, if Carmody had achieved an NU-like turnaround at a comparatively bad program (like DePaul), I'd throw his resume towards the top of the so called "exciting" candidates list that Greenstein laid out, even without the NCAA berth. If there was an exciting, low-risk coach on the horizon, I understand firing Carmody. But I just don't see it. It's too big of a risk to fire Carmody without an inkling of guarantee towards future success.

While this is probably a terrible opinion, I believe we should give Carmody one more year. Quite frankly, I don't think it's fair to judge his coaching ability on a year in which he lost 3 starters and had a roster with 7 freshmen. If next year's team with Cobb and Crawford can't get it done, then I think he should be gone. However, I genuinely believe that next year's team can make the tournament, and I think Carmody can/should be the coach to take them there.

Welp, that's that. Feel free to attack me or support me or add new pro/con Carmody bullets.

The Case against Carmody

4. Nikola Cerina - Carmody hates him and doesn't play him. But he's obviously going to be our savior and is a star in the making. A new coach will see that and play him all the timez.

The Case for Carmody

My thoughts

Welp, that's that. Feel free to attack me or support me or add new pro/con Carmody bullets.

Northwestern's basketball history compares to...

2013-03-10T07:30:29Z

Heads up: This was not meant to be a super depressing, trolling, Northwestern sucks type-of-post. This is probably really dumb and unnecessary information, but I found it sort of interesting...and quite depressing and pathetic at the same time. Whatever. Here it goes.

It's been well documented that Northwestern is the only team from a major conference to have never received a bid to the NCAA tournament. I decided to search for those big time schools with only 1 or 2 NCAA bids to give Northwestern fans a decent school to compare our basketball woes to.

Yeah...none of those exist. Northwestern's basketball history is far behind even all those other historically-bad-at-basketball schools. South Florida, a more recent acquisition to the Big East (since 2005), has reached the tournament 3 times. Every other major conference team has reached the NCAA tournament at least 6(!) times. Those with 6 NCAA appearance include Nebraska (last appearance: 1998), Mississippi (last appearance: 2002 - but a bubble team this year), Minnesota (last appearance: 2010 - but probably will make it this year), Rutger (last appearance: 1991), and Washington State (last appearance: 2008).

To further put this in perspective, Northeastern has reached the tournament 7 times, and even Northwestern State has cracked the field twice.

I don't want this to turn into a fire/keep Carmody thread. All I know is that I'm hungry for an NCAA Tournament berth - and soon. Because as it stands now, our basketball history is ridiculously pathetic. Northwestern football just won a bowl game for the first time in 64 years. Let's hope we can get a second monkey off our back with an NCAA Tournament appearance ASAP.

To further put this in perspective, Northeastern has reached the tournament 7 times, and even Northwestern State has cracked the field twice.

In due time

2013-02-22T16:13:45Z

With full respect to Hearn and Marcotullio, after the season is done can we have a discussion on promising head-coach possibilities?

In recent years, we have seen dormant basketball programs make good hires from young (Fred Hoiberg to Iowa State) to old (GMason Jim Larranaga to Miami) to middle-age (out-of-work Mark Gottfried to NC State). This is a simplistic start, but I bet we can comprise a good list of attractive candidates from the college or pro ranks.

With full respect to Hearn and Marcotullio, after the season is done can we have a discussion on promising head-coach possibilities?

I lynchyed myself a jayhawker

2013-02-11T19:04:38Z

In Columbia we lynch Jayhawkers from the Hearne's Center and skin them while there being lynched. One time we sang us a song in glory as we saw one of them hanging from the rafters. We don't take kindly to folks from Lawrence and would gladly lynch them in our beloved Hearne's Center, God hates kU fans we chant and kU fans will burn in hell. Its fun to torcher them and they plotted 9-11 and must serve revenge for what they did. We also skin them and sell them as rugs and lamp shades in local stores in Columbia. This is also how there beloved coach died Phag Allen.

editor's note: the views expressed by this racist homophobic idiot are not those of Sippin' On Purple, however we are leaving this up as a testament to his ignorance and hatred

Thoughts on Carmody, National Signing Day, Jim Phillips, non-revenue sports, etc

2013-02-11T15:24:24Z

Carmody/NU Basketball

With 60% of the B1G season over, let's take a look at the season so far, factually.

Overall: 13-11

Non-conf: 9-4

B1G: 4-7

Home: 8-7

Away: 3-4

Neutral: 2-0

B1G Home: 2-3 (Minnesota, Purdue)

B1G Away: 2-4 (PSU, Illinois)

AP/Coaches Top 25 (When played): 2-4 (Illinois, Minnesota)

AP/Coaches Top 25 (Current): 1- 4 (Minnesota)

Utilizing RPI via www.teamrankings.com/ncb/rpi/ as of 02/11/13, NU's performance is as follows:

RPI Top 50: 2 - 4 (Illinois (Away), Minnesota (Home))

RPI Top 100: 3 - 9 (Wins Baylor (H), Illinois (Away), Minnesota (Home))

Strength of Schedule: 25

Good Wins: (better than RPI 50): Illinois (Away), Minnesota (Home)

Bad Losses: (out of RPI 100): None

Remaining: 4 home; 3 away

AP/Coaches (Current): 3 (@ OSU, home OSU, @ MSU)

It is reasonable to say that NU will not make the tournament for a thirteenth consecutive year under Carmody's leadership. My original prediction was 6-12, and I feel that will end up being the case. I predict NU will beat Illinois (home), and PSU (home). However, that still does not put the NU into the NIT unless NU gets to the B1G Tournament semifinals (2 wins), something that has NEVER happened in the Carmody era. While many of you dislike that I root against this team so that NU is forced to make a change, is going 6-12/7-11 and bringing back Carmody really what you want. At least with NU not making the NIT, the conversation to get rid of Carmody is a much more simple conversation. Howe can someone assume that you are moving the program forward when you can't even be in the top 8 or 9 in a conference of twelve?

Next Year

Like many sports fans of teams, people look to next year as the year of improvement/success/reaching new goals, etc. But, let's be honest, if you could take Hearn/Swopshire/Marcotuillo or Crawford/Cobb/Sina, who would you take? While I think Drew Crawford is a solid player, brings leadership, and can have some phenomenal games, is he that much better than Hearn? To me, Reggie Hearn is one of the grittiest, toughest, and most exciting NU players I've seen. Swopshire vs. Cobb, well, I don't think this is that debatable given Swop's defense, toughness, and size. While Cobb can be amazing at times, his propensity towards injuries and bad games just doesn't make him as relaible. Now, with Sina vs. Marcotuillo, I could lean towards Sina based on potential. But, the overall point remains, this teams brings back a great deal of their players, many coming off injuries, redshirts, etc, but is next year's team dramatically better than this one? Perhaps, one or two games better, but is that enough for NU to make the tournament. I don't think so. I've seen a team with Crawford and Cobb coupled with an all-time NU great and a 1st-team All-B1G player (Shurna), and yet, they still failed to make the tournament, so I don't see how 'next year is going to be amazing.'

National Signing Day
I give Pat Fitzgerald and staff tons of credit for a) bringing in NU's best class ever, b) bringing in a top six B1G class (as ranked by most recruiting services), and c) making recruiting the top priority it should be. However, while I do see NU continuing it's upward trend, I have a hard time seeing how NU will win a B1G championship in Fitz's tenure. With the strength of UM and OSU, the B1G championship game, the possibility of more conference games (yes!), I really don't see NU breaking to that level. Now, with this class, I could see NU going to the Capital One Bowl in a great year, but still no B1G titles. To me, that would be a failure; however, I do realize that majority of NU fans would be more than content with that being the peak and would not call Fitzgerald a failure for not bringing NU a B1G championship.

Dr. Jim Phillips
While I strongly disagree with Chad's assertion that JP is the best AD in the country, I absolutely credit him for being an INCREDIBLE marketer, promoter, and leader for NU athletics. He is by far the best AD during my NU time (Rick Taylor and Mark Murphy), and he has brought an excitement to NU athletics that has never been there. While I still despise the premise of 'Chicago's B1G team,' I do like many ideas that he has executed such as Wrigley games, ND series, better non-conf football, facilities upgrades, etc, etc, etc. He has done an incredible job.

NU Facilities fundraising
First off, a HUGE THANK YOU, to the four SOP posters that let me know that they donated to NU athletics via the link I provided earlier. You are awesome for doing so, and I really appreciate you letting me know. NU is at almost $70 million donated, so it's clearly an effort that is going very, very well. Without giving up too much insider information, I do want to share some personal experiences while helping fund raise on a volunteer basis for this. I have called approximately 25 donors who have given significant (i.e. over $5k/household/year), and many of them have been more than willing to give to this cause. What I do find interesting is how many of them reference the following a) Pat Fitzgerald's integrity, b) the Gator Bowl victory, c) NU's athletic progress in all sports, d) women's lacrosse, e) individual non-revenue sport they have a connection to (many people I call are N Club members), and f) how their donation will further NU's athletic and academic reputation. However, what I found incredible is NOT ONE PERSON mentioned NU basketball or Bill Carmody. It was as if the program doesn't exist, there is no mention of it, no questions about NU basketball facilities, nothing, not one word. Sure, I am just giving you my sample size of information (very small), but I found it more than alarming that no one cared. I've said this over and over, the Gator Bowl victory showed many people, what is possible having the right coach at NU can do in terms of victory.

Academics
I've had this conversation in-person with many NU alums, including LaxPuck, and while there is a feeling of 'agree to disagree' that usually ends this debates, I want to reiterate something. To all the NU fans that think NU's academic standards are significantly higher than Stanford, Vanderbilt, Duke, Notre Dame etc, please know that you don't have a single fact to support your case. While NU's student-athletes do very well in the classroom and that is something to be incredibly proud of, so do Stanford's, Duke's, ND's, etc, so please, please don't think we hang the mythical banner/championship of most intelligent student-athletes around. Also, why does it matter so much? I just don't get why if NU loses to Stanford in football or basketball, that NU fans try to be proud of that they have 'tougher admissions' standards for their athletes. It's not true, and if that's what you're interested in bragging about, don't watch the games, b/c win or lose, you will have something to say you 'won', too bad it's not the game that you went to watch.

Random Thoughts
The reason I have not been posting as much is not due to a) having a baby or b) NU's performance, but rather, I just needed a break. I probably won't be posting as much going forward, but please know I'm reading!

I was speaking to a few readers of SOP, but not posters, and was thinking that if there are people that want to do a SOP meet-up to watch NU's women's lacrosse, men's tennis, or some other non-revenue sport, I would be glad to organize an event in the DC/Baltimore area.

Lastly, Go Cats!

Carmody/NU Basketball
With 60% of the B1G season over, let's take a look at the season so far, factually.

Overall: 13-11
Non-conf: 9-4
B1G: 4-7
Home: 8-7
Away: 3-4
Neutral: 2-0
B1G Home: 2-3 (Minnesota, Purdue)
B1G Away: 2-4 (PSU, Illinois)

AP/Coaches Top 25 (When played): 2-4 (Illinois, Minnesota)
AP/Coaches Top 25 (Current): 1- 4 (Minnesota)

Utilizing RPI via www.teamrankings.com/ncb/rpi/ as of 02/11/13, NU's performance is as follows:

RPI Top 50: 2 - 4 (Illinois (Away), Minnesota (Home))
RPI Top 100: 3 - 9 (Wins Baylor (H), Illinois (Away), Minnesota (Home))

Strength of Schedule: 25

Good Wins: (better than RPI 50): Illinois (Away), Minnesota (Home)
Bad Losses: (out of RPI 100): None

Remaining: 4 home; 3 away
AP/Coaches (Current): 3 (@ OSU, home OSU, @ MSU)

It is reasonable to say that NU will not make the tournament for a thirteenth consecutive year under Carmody's leadership. My original prediction was 6-12, and I feel that will end up being the case. I predict NU will beat Illinois (home), and PSU (home). However, that still does not put the NU into the NIT unless NU gets to the B1G Tournament semifinals (2 wins), something that has NEVER happened in the Carmody era. While many of you dislike that I root against this team so that NU is forced to make a change, is going 6-12/7-11 and bringing back Carmody really what you want. At least with NU not making the NIT, the conversation to get rid of Carmody is a much more simple conversation. Howe can someone assume that you are moving the program forward when you can't even be in the top 8 or 9 in a conference of twelve?

Next Year
Like many sports fans of teams, people look to next year as the year of improvement/success/reaching new goals, etc. But, let's be honest, if you could take Hearn/Swopshire/Marcotuillo or Crawford/Cobb/Sina, who would you take? While I think Drew Crawford is a solid player, brings leadership, and can have some phenomenal games, is he that much better than Hearn? To me, Reggie Hearn is one of the grittiest, toughest, and most exciting NU players I've seen. Swopshire vs. Cobb, well, I don't think this is that debatable given Swop's defense, toughness, and size. While Cobb can be amazing at times, his propensity towards injuries and bad games just doesn't make him as relaible. Now, with Sina vs. Marcotuillo, I could lean towards Sina based on potential. But, the overall point remains, this teams brings back a great deal of their players, many coming off injuries, redshirts, etc, but is next year's team dramatically better than this one? Perhaps, one or two games better, but is that enough for NU to make the tournament. I don't think so. I've seen a team with Crawford and Cobb coupled with an all-time NU great and a 1st-team All-B1G player (Shurna), and yet, they still failed to make the tournament, so I don't see how 'next year is going to be amazing.'

National Signing Day I give Pat Fitzgerald and staff tons of credit for a) bringing in NU's best class ever, b) bringing in a top six B1G class (as ranked by most recruiting services), and c) making recruiting the top priority it should be. However, while I do see NU continuing it's upward trend, I have a hard time seeing how NU will win a B1G championship in Fitz's tenure. With the strength of UM and OSU, the B1G championship game, the possibility of more conference games (yes!), I really don't see NU breaking to that level. Now, with this class, I could see NU going to the Capital One Bowl in a great year, but still no B1G titles. To me, that would be a failure; however, I do realize that majority of NU fans would be more than content with that being the peak and would not call Fitzgerald a failure for not bringing NU a B1G championship.

Dr. Jim Phillips While I strongly disagree with Chad's assertion that JP is the best AD in the country, I absolutely credit him for being an INCREDIBLE marketer, promoter, and leader for NU athletics. He is by far the best AD during my NU time (Rick Taylor and Mark Murphy), and he has brought an excitement to NU athletics that has never been there. While I still despise the premise of 'Chicago's B1G team,' I do like many ideas that he has executed such as Wrigley games, ND series, better non-conf football, facilities upgrades, etc, etc, etc. He has done an incredible job.

NU Facilities fundraising First off, a HUGE THANK YOU, to the four SOP posters that let me know that they donated to NU athletics via the link I provided earlier. You are awesome for doing so, and I really appreciate you letting me know. NU is at almost $70 million donated, so it's clearly an effort that is going very, very well. Without giving up too much insider information, I do want to share some personal experiences while helping fund raise on a volunteer basis for this. I have called approximately 25 donors who have given significant (i.e. over $5k/household/year), and many of them have been more than willing to give to this cause. What I do find interesting is how many of them reference the following a) Pat Fitzgerald's integrity, b) the Gator Bowl victory, c) NU's athletic progress in all sports, d) women's lacrosse, e) individual non-revenue sport they have a connection to (many people I call are N Club members), and f) how their donation will further NU's athletic and academic reputation. However, what I found incredible is NOT ONE PERSON mentioned NU basketball or Bill Carmody. It was as if the program doesn't exist, there is no mention of it, no questions about NU basketball facilities, nothing, not one word. Sure, I am just giving you my sample size of information (very small), but I found it more than alarming that no one cared. I've said this over and over, the Gator Bowl victory showed many people, what is possible having the right coach at NU can do in terms of victory.

Academics I've had this conversation in-person with many NU alums, including LaxPuck, and while there is a feeling of 'agree to disagree' that usually ends this debates, I want to reiterate something. To all the NU fans that think NU's academic standards are significantly higher than Stanford, Vanderbilt, Duke, Notre Dame etc, please know that you don't have a single fact to support your case. While NU's student-athletes do very well in the classroom and that is something to be incredibly proud of, so do Stanford's, Duke's, ND's, etc, so please, please don't think we hang the mythical banner/championship of most intelligent student-athletes around. Also, why does it matter so much? I just don't get why if NU loses to Stanford in football or basketball, that NU fans try to be proud of that they have 'tougher admissions' standards for their athletes. It's not true, and if that's what you're interested in bragging about, don't watch the games, b/c win or lose, you will have something to say you 'won', too bad it's not the game that you went to watch.

Random Thoughts The reason I have not been posting as much is not due to a) having a baby or b) NU's performance, but rather, I just needed a break. I probably won't be posting as much going forward, but please know I'm reading!

I was speaking to a few readers of SOP, but not posters, and was thinking that if there are people that want to do a SOP meet-up to watch NU's women's lacrosse, men's tennis, or some other non-revenue sport, I would be glad to organize an event in the DC/Baltimore area.

Lastly, Go Cats!

A History of Northwestern’s Top Recruits

2013-02-08T05:14:09Z

It’s well documented that Northwestern consistently develops talent out of generally middling recruits. Examples abound. Venric Mark – a 2-star wide receiver out of high school according to Scout turned 1,000-yard rusher at Northwestern. Corey Wooten – a 2-star defensive end turned 4th round NFL draft pick. The list goes on and on.

Every once in a while, however, Northwestern lands a top end recruit (I’m defining "top end recruit" as a 4/5-star according to multiple recruiting outlets). The following post is dedicated to evaluating how these rare and elusive top end players have fared at Northwestern.

Unfortunately, this post might disappoint, because 1. There haven’t been very many and 2. Most are at early stages of their Northwestern careers (yay young talent!). Anyways, here it goes.

(Note – Rivals/Scout recruiting services started in 2002. No real recruiting data exists prior to that.)

(Note 2 – If you are confused by what the stars mean, click here)

2002

Loren Howard

Scout: 4-star #13 DT

Rivals: 4-star #26 DT

Consensus: (Averaged among all sites) 4-star #20 DT

Offers: Arizona State, Notre Dame, Washington, Nebraska

Career: As a true freshman in 2002, Howard started every game at defensive end, accumulated 81 tackles (2nd among NU linemen), and earned First Team Freshman All American honors. As a sophomore it was much the same, as Howard started every game, led all defensive linemen with 65 tackles, and was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection. Five days before the start of his junior season, Howard injured his left ankle and was limited for most of the year. Prior to his senior season, Howard transferred to his hometown school – Arizona State. Howard redshirted in 2005 before quitting football altogether prior to the 2006 season. He left Northwestern ranked 5th on the all time career Tackle for Loss (34) and Sack (11) totals, and finished with 171 career tackles. Before he quit football, Howard was considered the #11 DE in the 2007 draft by ESPN, and #13 according to Phil Steele.

Evaluation: If it hadn’t been for the injury, Howard could have become one of the nation’s top defensive linemen. He had great explosion, power, and speed, and emerged as a dominant force on Northwestern’s defensive line. I know this is cliché to say about injuries, but jeez, this injury in particular really stings. Even though he was unable to finish his football career, Howard undoubtedly deserved his 4-star rating.

Most Accurate: Scout

(Huge gap without a highly touted recruit)

2009

Patrick Ward

*While he only earned 4-stars from one recruiting service, he was close enough on the other two to be considered a "top end" talent.

Scout: 3-star #25 OT

Rivals: 4-star #17 OT #219 overall

ESPN: 79 (3-star) #18 OT

Consensus: Borderline 3/4-star #20 OT

Offers: Illinois, Iowa, Notre Dame, Purdue, Stanford, Virginia, Wisconsin

Career: Ward played on the offensive line starting his true freshman year, which is practically unheard of for an offensive lineman, and locked down a starting spot sophomore year and onwards. This past season, Ward started every game at left tackle where he earned honorable All-Big Ten considerations. He finished his career with 39 career starts. Ward will most certainly find a home in the NFL either as a late round draft pick, or more likely as an undrafted free agent.

Evaluation: Ward excelled at Northwestern as a consistent and even dominant force on the offensive line. A solid 4-star rating accurately depicts his play.

Most Accurate: Rivals

2010

Kyle Prater

*Initially committed to USC

Scout: 5-star #2 WR #4 overall

Rivals: 5-star #1 WR #3 overall (Rivals placed Prater higher than Robert Woods – you know, the guy with nearly 3,000 receiving yards in his past 3 years at USC)

ESPN: 4-star #9 WR

Consensus: 5-star #4 WR (Even while taking into account outlier ESPN)

Offers: USC (obviously), Alabama, Auburn, Miami, Michigan, Missouri, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Tennessee. Surprisingly, I don’t see a reported Northwestern offer coming out of high school. Obviously wasn’t good enough for us.

Career: Unlike Howard and Ward, Prater’s career is still in progress. He committed to USC in 2010 and redshirted his first year. As a redshirt freshman, Prater caught 1 pass for 6 yards. Then he transferred to Northwestern, where he subsequently caught 10 passes for 54 yards. Prater may be able to crack the starting rotation this upcoming season with the graduation of Demetrius Fields.

Evaluation: Wow! Northwestern has never come close to having a player as talented as Prater on its roster. Unfortunately, the hype he received coming out of high school has not yet come to fruition. Hopefully Prater shows off his 5-star abilities the next two seasons, gains 2,000 yards, scores tons of touchdowns, and eventually becomes a 1st round draft pick. If his current trend of play continues, however, it would be hard to justify granting him anything more than a 3-star ranking.

Most Accurate: ESPN

2012

Ifeadi Odenigbo

Scout: 4-star #5 OLB #76 overall

Rivals: 4-star #9 DE #99 overall

ESPN: 4-star #6 DE #51 overall

247: 4-star #8 OLB #98 overall

Consensus: 4-star #8 DE or #7 OLB #81 overall (Odenigbo is the highest ranked player that Northwestern has ever picked up on the recruiting trail)

Offers: Alabama, California, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Vanderbilt, and others

Career: Odenigbo is a 6-3, 220 pound defensive end (a safety's build playing defensive end). He’s also a player that chose Northwestern over powerhouse programs such as Alabama, USC, Oklahoma, Michigan, Ohio State, etc., so he’s loaded with talent. Even with his weight limitations, Odenigbo cracked the two-deep and played five plays against Vanderbilt (I’m pretty sure they were all third-and-longs – AKA definite passing downs). After the game, Odenigbo suffered a super inconvenient/convenient and secretive shoulder injury that forced/allowed him to redshirt the season. If Odenigbo can gain 20-30 pounds and retain his quickness of the edge, he may turn into one of the premier pass rushers in the Big Ten.

Evaluation: TBD. Odenigbo has the talent, but not the size. I expect he will one day be a dominant force on the defensive line – maybe as early as next year. (Edit: just discovered this is only Odenigbo’s fourth year in organized football. He sure is an amazing athlete who has a super high ceiling).

Most Accurate: TBD

2013

Matt Alviti

Scout: 4-star #22 QB

Rivals: 4-star #11 Dual Threat QB

ESPN: 4-star #2 Dual Threat QB #164 overall

247: 4-star #7 Dual Threat QB #225 overall

Consensus: (Now made easy thanks to 247’s composite score) 4-star #7 Dual Threat QB #222 overall

Offers: Boston College, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Purdue

Career: TBD

Evaluation: Northwestern has churned out some top-notch QB’s in recent years, and Alviti arguably has more talent than any of them. Most likely will redshirt next year, backup Trevor Siemian for a year, and then duke it out Zack Oliver for his chance to start as a redshirt sophomore. This is all speculation – he may be good enough to take the job as a redshirt freshman, he may not get his chance until after Oliver graduates. Unless something goes awry, however, Alviti should be a multi-year starter at quarter back.

Most Accurate: TBD

Godwin Igwebuike

Scout: 4-star #22 S

Rivals: 3-star #39 ATH

ESPN: 4-star #55 ATH

247: 3-star #58 ATH

Consensus: Borderline 3/4-star #18 ATH #380 overall

Offers: Boston College, Duke, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, NC State, Wisconsin, and others

Career: TBD

Evaluation: I’m not going to lie – Igwebuike is a bit of a question mark. His offer sheet is not 4-star worthy in the slightest, and his future position is still murky. It looks like he’ll get a shot at running back, however, and I think that’s where he’ll stick. Nonetheless, I’m extremely excited for Igwebuike. He’s an amazing athlete who brings it every play, and will most likely make an impact at Northwestern in some way, shape or form. He’ll get a shot at the starting running back spot once Mark graduates, and may take the reigns as a redshirt freshman/true sophomore.

Most Accurate: TBD

While Northwestern has only landed a few top-notch recruits, they sure have gotten their money’s worth. Both Howard and Ward made impacts from the get-go, playing as true freshmen and locking down starting roles as sophomores. Prater has the talent to be a special player at Northwestern, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes the top guy next year (but then again, I said that prior to this season as well…). Odenigbo has the tools to be an All-Big Ten defensive end once he tacks on the weight. I’m especially excited to have top-end talent at the quarterback and running back spots in Alviti and Igwebuike – and we may see those two starting in the backfield a year and a half from now.

I think the above shows two things in particular.

1. While stars aren’t the defining characteristics as to whether or not a Northwestern player will be a difference maker, the extremely small sample size above indicates that top end recruits are more likely to make an immediate impact. Is this a cut and dry statement? Absolutely not (see: Prater, Kyle). But in general, the 4-star is more likely to make an immediate impact than the 3-star.

2. Northwestern’s recruiting is on the upswing. After Odenigbo committed, he said, "I’m hoping that by me committing there, hopefully I can attract a lot more big-time recruits to Northwestern. That’s the plan. It only takes one guy to make that happen." Well, that same year Northwestern scored Prater, and a year later landed two more 4-stars in Alviti and Igwebuike. That’s four top-end guys in two years, compared to just two in the previous ten years. This is really exciting. Northwestern was able to win 10 games with middling talent, just image the possibilities when this talent gets an upgrade.

Unfortunately, this post might disappoint, because 1. There haven’t been very many and 2. Most are at early stages of their Northwestern careers (yay young talent!). Anyways, here it goes.

(Note – Rivals/Scout recruiting services started in 2002. No real recruiting data exists prior to that.)

(Note 2 – If you are confused by what the stars mean, click here)

2002

Loren Howard

Scout: 4-star #13 DT

Rivals: 4-star #26 DT

Consensus: (Averaged among all sites) 4-star #20 DT

Offers: Arizona State, Notre Dame, Washington, Nebraska

Most Accurate: Scout

(Huge gap without a highly touted recruit)

2009

Patrick Ward

*While he only earned 4-stars from one recruiting service, he was close enough on the other two to be considered a "top end" talent.

Scout: 3-star #25 OT

Rivals: 4-star #17 OT #219 overall

ESPN: 79 (3-star) #18 OT

Consensus: Borderline 3/4-star #20 OT

Offers: Illinois, Iowa, Notre Dame, Purdue, Stanford, Virginia, Wisconsin

Evaluation: Ward excelled at Northwestern as a consistent and even dominant force on the offensive line. A solid 4-star rating accurately depicts his play.

Most Accurate: Rivals

2010

Kyle Prater

*Initially committed to USC

Scout: 5-star #2 WR #4 overall

Rivals: 5-star #1 WR #3 overall (Rivals placed Prater higher than Robert Woods – you know, the guy with nearly 3,000 receiving yards in his past 3 years at USC)

ESPN: 4-star #9 WR

Consensus: 5-star #4 WR (Even while taking into account outlier ESPN)

Most Accurate: ESPN

2012

Ifeadi Odenigbo

Scout: 4-star #5 OLB #76 overall

Rivals: 4-star #9 DE #99 overall

ESPN: 4-star #6 DE #51 overall

247: 4-star #8 OLB #98 overall

Consensus: 4-star #8 DE or #7 OLB #81 overall (Odenigbo is the highest ranked player that Northwestern has ever picked up on the recruiting trail)

Offers: Alabama, California, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Vanderbilt, and others

Most Accurate: TBD

2013

Matt Alviti

Scout: 4-star #22 QB

Rivals: 4-star #11 Dual Threat QB

ESPN: 4-star #2 Dual Threat QB #164 overall

247: 4-star #7 Dual Threat QB #225 overall

Consensus: (Now made easy thanks to 247’s composite score) 4-star #7 Dual Threat QB #222 overall

Offers: Boston College, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Purdue

Career: TBD

Most Accurate: TBD

Godwin Igwebuike

Scout: 4-star #22 S

Rivals: 3-star #39 ATH

ESPN: 4-star #55 ATH

247: 3-star #58 ATH

Consensus: Borderline 3/4-star #18 ATH #380 overall

Offers: Boston College, Duke, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, NC State, Wisconsin, and others

Career: TBD

Most Accurate: TBD

I think the above shows two things in particular.

When they look back at the anals of history...

2013-02-03T04:24:20Z

There gonna talk about the invention of fire, the submarine, and the greatness of mizzou sports and the historic treasures it brings us. Don faurot, Dan Devine, and Norm Stewart are sports legends that could be compared to Babe Ruth, Micheal Jordan, and Joe Demashio. Those men have stood the test of time and are American patriots and stood against tyrants like Phog Allen, Adolph Hitler and Don Fambrough, who have killed 3 thousand people during 9/11. Let us not forget the brave souls who wore the black and gold for Ole Mizzou like Doug Smith, Johnny Roland, Steve Stapanovich, Chase Daniel, Blaine Gabbert and many more. So join me in the lynch of a true-jayhawker Bill Self.

Glory glory the state of Missouri

glory glory the state of Missouri

Northwestern/Illinois Recruiting in the State of Illinois

2013-02-03T00:28:58Z

With National Signing Day around the corner, I decided to see how Northwestern faired at recruiting the state of Illinois - who they offered, where their targets went, and most importantly, how they competed against the University of Illinois. The numbers I'm using come from Rivals.com, the site I feel has historically been the most accurate evaluator of talent.

This has been a slightly weaker year in terms of top to bottom talent in the state - Rivals only considers 7 in-state prospects as 4-star talents. Comparatively, there were 9 4-stars in the 2012 class, 8 4-stars in the 2011 class, and 8 5/4-stars in the 2010 class (Kyle Prater is that lone 5-star, lolz).

The following are players from the state of Illinois that received a Northwestern offer:

#2 - Ty Issac (RB) - Committed to USC. Issac is a very, very, very good prospect. While Northwestern offered, they were never really considered. Early on, Michigan looked like the team to beat for Issac's services. Then Notre Dame and USC jumped into the picture, and Issac eventually chose the Trojans, opting for warm weather, attractive ladies, and a scumbag coach. He's the #4 RB in the nation, so I guess it's a good thing we won't have to deal with him in the B1G.

#4 - Kyle Bosch (OL) - Committed to Michigan. Michigan led from the get-go - and he committed to the Wolverines nearly a year ago. I'm a big fan of Bosch's abilities - he will be a very good tackle down the line for Michigan.

#5 - Aaron Bailey (QB) - Committed to Illinois. Bailey is a pretty good quarterback prospect, and early on stated that he was leaning towards the Wildcats. However, Northwestern was only looking for one quarterback in the class, and when Matt Alviti committed on April 14, 2012, Bailey's offer may no longer have been valid. 12 days later, Bailey committed to Illinois. Both Bailey and Alviti are similar in ability - Bailey is probably faster, Alviti probably has the better arm. In a few years, we may see a Kain Colter v. Nate Scheelhaase matchup reincarnated with Alviti and Bailey.

#6 - Matt Alviti (QB) - Committed to NORTHWESTERN. The aforementioned Alviti is your typical Northwestern quarterback, with potentially more talent and definitely more hype. I like Roger's comparison to Dan Persa with a better arm. This kid is a unanimous 4 star talent, and definitely a player to get excited about. Along with the Northwestern offer, he received offers from a ton of B1G schools (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Nebraska, Purdue), and Notre Dame. After redshirting next season and an additional year spent backing up Trevor Siemian, Alviti may very well be the Northwestern starting quarterback from his redshirt-sophomore year onwards.

#11 - Colin McGovern (OL) - Committed to Notre Dame. Northwestern was his first and only offer for a long time. It seemed like he was just waiting for Notre Dame to offer, and when they finally did, he pounced. He's definitely a good talent, with offers from the likes of Michigan, Alabama, and Ohio State.

#12 - Darius Mosely (CB) - Committed to Illinois. Mosely never really showed much interest in Northwestern. He's a solid 3-star prospect.

#13 - Jalen Banks (S) - Committed to Vanderbilt. Banks is a pretty good safety prospect who racked up 10 interceptions his senior year. As to why he chose Vanderbilt over Northwestern, Banks said, "People ask me why not Northwestern. They’re similar to Vandy but the SEC is the SEC. This is the best of both worlds. If I want to go to the NFL, NFL scouts will see me and make a legit evaluation." Damn it, SEC.

#16 - Tyler Lancaster (C) - Committed to NORTHWESTERN. Lancaster is rated as the #6 center in the country according to Rivals. His only other offers are from the MAC, but he had interest from other B1G programs. He committed fairly early on in the process, and may have earned other offers had he not committed so soon. He'll need a year to redshirt and bulk up, but looks like a solid potential multi-year starter down the road.

#21 - Matt Harris (CB) - Committed to NORTHWESTERN. Harris can play both WR or CB, but was recruited by Northwestern to play CB. An across the board 3-star, Harris had offers from Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, among others. He's a great athlete, albeit a bit raw. With more coaching, he should develop into a reliable CB.

#29 - Nathan Marcus (TE) - Committed to Vanderbilt. Marcus expressed interest in Northwestern, but eventually chose for Vandy. He had offers from bottom-feeding ACC schools, Indiana, and Toledo, along with Northwestern and Vanderbilt. Marcus needs to bulk up, as he weighs somewhere in the ballpark of 190-210 lbs. He's a strong pass catcher, but needs work on his blocking abilities.

#32 - Blake King (OL) - Committed to NORTHWESTERN. Northwestern's seconds commit of the class, King would have probably received more offers (he received offers from Toledo and Western Michigan) had he let his recruitment drag out further. He committed immediately upon receiving his offer. At 6'5'', 270 lb, King will most likely take a redshirt year to bulk up. He projects as either a guard or tackle.

NR - Tommy Fuessel (ATH) - Committed to NORTHWESTERN. Fuessel played quarterback in high school, and is a unanimously rated 2-star prospect. He's coming in as an athlete, and may get a chance at quarterback, wide receiver, or cornerback. I like getting athletes that played quarterback in high school because they typically are smart football players with good instincts. Prior to his Northwestern offer, he was committed to Northern Illinois.

Northwestern Commits from Illinois: *#6 Matt Alviti (4-star QB), #16 Tyler Lancaster (3-star OL), *#21 Matt Harris (3-star CB), #32 Blake King (3-star OL), NR Tyler Fuessel (2-star ATH). (* = holds Illinois offer)

Illinois Commits from Illinois: *#5 Aaron Bailey (4-star QB), *#12 Darius Mosely (3-star CB), #15 Reggie Spearman (3-star LB), #20 Dillon Cazley (3-star CB), #27 Merrick Jackson (3-star DT), #30 Kendrick Foster (3-star RB), NR Bryce Douglas (3-star DT), NR Jaylen Dunlap (2-star DB), NR Miguel Hermosillo (2-star ATH). (* = holds Northwestern offer)

Northwestern received 5 of its 19 commits from the state of Illinois, while Illinois received 9 of its 26 commits from Illinois. Out of Northwestern's commits from the state, 2 held Illinois offers. Similarly, out of the Illini's in-state commits, 2 held Northwestern offers (however Bailey's offer may have no longer been valid once Alviti committed). All in all, Northwestern and Illinois split in terms of in-state recruiting, both in quality of players and in head to head match-ups.

In comparison, last year, both Northwestern and Illinois took 2 of the state's top 30 players. In 2011, Illinois took 5 of the top 30 in-state prospects, while Northwestern took 3. In 2010, Illinois took 4 of the top 30 (including 1 4-star) to Northwestern's 1 (but hey...we also got the #1 guy in Prater). Northwestern is definitely closing its in-state recruiting gap against Illinois, and the playing field may just be even now. A couple more years of Northwestern being awesome and Illinois being...well...bad, may just turn Northwestern into the premier in-state recruiting power.

I'm fairly new to the blog and this is my first post. I'm a big fan of recruiting, and if this post goes over favorably, I'd be happy to help fill the recruiting void in this blog by posting more updates on how Northwestern is fairing on the recruiting trail.

Thanks!

The following are players from the state of Illinois that received a Northwestern offer:

#12 - Darius Mosely (CB) - Committed to Illinois. Mosely never really showed much interest in Northwestern. He's a solid 3-star prospect.

Thanks!

Congradulations on being better than kansas

2013-01-28T15:36:44Z

Kansas football has become such a joke that Northwestern has become a more prestigious football program than ku. Obviously Mizzou has more history than ku and Northwestern has combine, but nobody should feel worst about there football program than ku. I really do hope Charles Weis makes them the worst football program ever. I like workaholics and love that show the people of that show are savants of comedy. But anyways ku sucks at football they are turning into Indiana and hope they join futility u and rush the field after a loss saying were the worst. Kansas football is the Chicago cubs of college football.

A Metrics Breakdown of NU's Receivers and QBs

2013-01-26T03:19:16Z

Alright I'm definitely going to be putting the nerd in Nerdwestern right here. The strange timing of this (middle of January) is because I'm doing some of this stuff for the NFL draft and just did the NU numbers as a fun side project.

There's always a lot of talk about QBs and Receivers. We hear about deep threats, yardage, targets, and everything that goes into critiquing the offense. Due to the ridiculous amount of runs, this year is kind of boring in terms of breaking down the passing game, but there are still some fun tidbits (Kain Colter was Trevor Siemian's second favorite target!).

Let's start with Yards Per Catch and completion percentage. These two pair well together because you can get a good feel for whether a receiver is a short/deep threat and how much a QB forces the ball to the receiver, drops, and coverage. The completion percentage is just the completions divided by targets.

(I had to use images because SBNation wasn't taking kindly to my charts)

I've highlighted the top 3 and bottom 3 in each category. Some important things to take out of this:

Christian Jones is pretty much NU's best receiver when looking at these stats. He's got the highest yards per completion and a high completion rate. We can't separate out drops and throws into coverage, but it's fair to say that he's either not dropping a lot of balls or he's getting open when QBs want to throw it to him.
Dan Vitale is always open
Siemian was trying way too hard to get the ball to Colter or Colter was dropping the ball a lot. He's a playmaker when he's getting the ball as a receiver, but it's only being caught 55% of the time.
Tony Jones is also apparently a boom or bust player. Good deep threat, but for some reason not converting many targets into completions.
Interesting that the two new wide receivers, Dickerson and Prater both had lower YPC and completion percentages. This should tell us that it's not Prater or Dickerson's fault for low YPC but that the coaches are having them run shorter routes as they learn the offense. Prater haters take note.

Let's break the targets down by QB. Who did Siemian and Colter favor? When I was pulling the data I was confused for a second why Colter didn't have any targets in one category and then I realized I'm not very bright.

(I cut out some of the guys with lower targets like Prater, Dickerson, and Riley)

Interesting that they both had different 'favorite' targets. Siemian seems to have (slightly) favoted throwing to Rashad Lawrence (surprise surprise, his high school teammate) and Colter liked to throw to Demetrius Fields.
Colter also threw to Vitale and Mark 5% and 6% respectively, more than Siemian. This means there were either more designed screens/ short throws in the offense for Colter or he was looking to his outlet more often.
Tony Jones was also a favorite of both QBs, I'm going to assume he has the high percentage of targets and low completion % because there were a good amount of designed deep plays to him where both QBs tried to force the issue.
I found the fact that Siemian threw to Colter so often (during the few games he was being used at WR) interesting. Given the fact that his completion % was low as well, Siemian either really wanted to get it to him or there were a bunch of designed plays to Colter.

Anyway, that's all I have for now. If I posted anymore, I'd put people to sleep. This is all pulled from play by play data available from (http://www.cfbstats.com/blog/college-football-data/). I'm sure I'll get bored during the summer and pull more detailed stats from the game tape. Then, if people are interested I'll post things like how well Colter and Siemian threw to different spots on the field, what kind of Yards After the Catch we're seeing from WRs, and what receiver they're both likely to go to in the clutch.
Hope y'all find it interesting.

(I had to use images because SBNation wasn't taking kindly to my charts)

I've highlighted the top 3 and bottom 3 in each category. Some important things to take out of this:

Christian Jones is pretty much NU's best receiver when looking at these stats. He's got the highest yards per completion and a high completion rate. We can't separate out drops and throws into coverage, but it's fair to say that he's either not dropping a lot of balls or he's getting open when QBs want to throw it to him.
Dan Vitale is always open
Siemian was trying way too hard to get the ball to Colter or Colter was dropping the ball a lot. He's a playmaker when he's getting the ball as a receiver, but it's only being caught 55% of the time.
Tony Jones is also apparently a boom or bust player. Good deep threat, but for some reason not converting many targets into completions.
Interesting that the two new wide receivers, Dickerson and Prater both had lower YPC and completion percentages. This should tell us that it's not Prater or Dickerson's fault for low YPC but that the coaches are having them run shorter routes as they learn the offense. Prater haters take note.

(I cut out some of the guys with lower targets like Prater, Dickerson, and Riley)

Interesting that they both had different 'favorite' targets. Siemian seems to have (slightly) favoted throwing to Rashad Lawrence (surprise surprise, his high school teammate) and Colter liked to throw to Demetrius Fields.
Colter also threw to Vitale and Mark 5% and 6% respectively, more than Siemian. This means there were either more designed screens/ short throws in the offense for Colter or he was looking to his outlet more often.
Tony Jones was also a favorite of both QBs, I'm going to assume he has the high percentage of targets and low completion % because there were a good amount of designed deep plays to him where both QBs tried to force the issue.
I found the fact that Siemian threw to Colter so often (during the few games he was being used at WR) interesting. Given the fact that his completion % was low as well, Siemian either really wanted to get it to him or there were a bunch of designed plays to Colter.