Northwestern Wildcats Team Preview
By: Frank Tormey
Friday, August 27, 2004
OFFENSE
You can count them on one hand, Brett Basanez had just four touchdown
passes in 2003. If the Wildcats want to make back-to-back bowl
trips, the junior will need to do a lot better than that in 2004.
Head coach Randy Walker likes to point out that Basanez has found the
weight room, putting on about 10 or 15 pounds in the offseason.
Walker also points to his team’s depleted receiving corps from last
season. This season’s group of senior Ashton Aikens, juniors Mark
Philmore and Brandon Horn, and sophomore Shaun Herbert may be the most
talented bunch in Evanston in some years. Jason Wright is gone at
running back, but Noah Herron and Terrell Jordan should have enough to
fill the void, and Walker is the man who found a replacement for Damien
Anderson. The offensive line returns five men who started all 13
games last season, which is an awesome thing to say in the world of
college football.
DEFENSE
The Wildcats return 10 starters from last year’s Motor City Bowl,
although middle linebacker Pat Durr leaves a major void. Outside
linebacker Tim McGarigle led the team in tackles as a sophomore last
season, despite missing two games due to injury. The defensive
line will be playing together for a third season, with junior Loren
Howard and senior Luis Castillo making some preseason awards watch
lists. The secondary could be poised for success, with two-time
Big Ten defensive player of the week Marvin Ward at cornerback, and the
surprising former walk-on Bryan Heinz joining senior Dominique Price at
the safety spots.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Last year we saw a fastball and a changeup from the Wildcat special
teams unit, but Coach Walker hopes to avoid any knuckleballs in
2004. The first two were brilliant fake field goal plays, while
the knuckleballs were coming off the feet of placekickers Slade
Larscheid and Joel Howells. Walker tried to resist the urge last
year to give Brian Huffman the kicking job to go along with his punting
duties, but this year it’s all about the senior Huffman.
Meanwhile, the return game was a bit lackluster last season after the
team ranked near the top of the nation in kickoff returns two years ago.
Frank can be reached at f-tormey@northwestern.edu
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A Closer Look
Expectations
This Northwestern team is returning a
lot of hungry, talented young players for the 2004 campaign. The
biggest roadblock between the Wildcats and another bowl trip is their
schedule, which features eight bowl teams from a year ago. Included
in that list is a treacherous four-week stretch of games at
Wisconsin, hosting Purdue, at Penn State and at Michigan. The
Wildcats finish the slate with a trip to Hawaii, but they hope to be
finishing their season in a similar climate come January.
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