Hard-hitting Sutton setting the tone for Cats
Does this sound familiar, Northwestern fans? Senior running back Tyrell Sutton sat out Thursday's practice with a tweaked ankle.
Before everyone starts to worry this might be a rerun of last season - when the Big Ten's top active rusher (2,996 yards) missed the equivalent of six games with a high ankle sprain - this year's malady might actually be a good sign.
Why? Because Sutton got hurt Wednesday when NU's offense and defense turned up the heat in what was slated to be a light contact drill in helmets and shoulder pads.
The excitement started once senior middle linebacker Malcolm Arrington took Sutton to the ground as he zipped through a hole.
"I took it upon myself to get (peeved)," Sutton said. "So I yelled at the (offensive) sideline, 'You see this? They're hitting us. Why aren't we hitting back?'
"So the next play I smashed (linebacker) Quentin Davie. You can tell him I said that."
Lest this sound like sour grapes from Sutton, he has nothing but love for the Wildcats' defense.
"I'm all for intensity and that's what the defense brings," he said. "They have a swagger. They're just coming after you. It's just one gear: Go.
"On offense, we've got to react. I took it upon myself to get mad, hit Quentin and the next thing you know, it's going. It's good."
The Mohawk Club: As soon as Northwestern finished taking team pictures Tuesday, junior safety Brendan Smith ran around the locker room looking for someone who knew how to use clippers.
When fellow safety Brian Peters stepped forward, Smith enlisted the redshirt freshman to shave the sides of his head.
The result was one of the mangier haircuts possible - but it didn't stop junior safety Brad Phillips and senior defensive end Kevin Mims from getting Mohawks of their own.
It's Smith's way of turning preseason camp, which shifts from Evanston to Kenosha, Wis., into something fun.
"I hit a point where I'm almost 23 years old and I've never had a Mohawk before," Smith said. "It's a serious game. You've got to take it serious, but you've got to find a way to be loose and have some fun.
"And if you have this, there's no way you can have a down day because you've got to back it up."
Smith also wants to carve his uniform number (4) into the side of his head, but he hasn't found anyone trustworthy enough for the task.
His ultimate goal is to have everyone on the defense adopt his look. Anyone who does so, though, only needs to sport it for a few weeks.
After that, coach Pat Fitzgerald's rules kick in: No crazy hair, no facial hair, look like a respectable citizen.
Depth chart: With Nagurski Award candidate John Gill suspended for the Aug. 30 opener against Syracuse, sophomore Corbin Bryant and junior Marshall Thomas are in the running for his defensive tackle spot.
NU's first-string offensive line looked like this Thursday: Redshirt freshman LT Al Netter, senior LG Keegan Kennedy, redshirt freshman C Ben Burkett, senior RG Joel Belding and junior RT Kurt Mattes.
The first three have never started a college game. And with Belding battling sophomore Keegan Grant, there's a chance NU could have four first-time starters on the O-Line.