Even with knee still healing, Thorson puts Northwestern's offense on his back

On the road to the school's first Big Ten West title, Northwestern's season had a strange turning point.

On Sept. 24, leading rusher Jeremy Larkin, a sophomore, retired from football because of a neck injury. The Wildcats had just lost at home to Akron and a loss to Michigan five days later dropped the Cats to 1-3 on the season.

At that point, no one would have been out of line declaring the season a lost cause.

Senior quarterback Clayton Thorson wasn't overflowing with confidence himself.

“When (Larkin) went down, me personally, I was like, 'Oh, man, this is horrible,' ” Thorson said. “But he came in and he was like, 'Clayton, this is a good thing for me. I'm going to be able to walk around again.' So that helped me.

“Losing those three games in there and losing Jeremy in that stretch as well, that was definitely tough. But I think it really brought us together, as an offense one, but as a team, too. Jeremy was big for that.”

The first step after losing Larkin was to pile more responsibility for the Wildcats' offense onto Thorson's back. It was a necessary choice, but a risky one.

Thorson, the Wheaton North High School graduate, is a four-year starter, but less than a year removed from tearing an ACL last December in the Music City Bowl. But there weren't any better options, so the message from head coach Pat Fitzgerald to Thorson was essentially, “Stand in the pocket and save our season.”

It worked. Thorson completed 31 of 47 passes the following week at Michigan State, then went 41-for-62 in a comeback win over Nebraska, with 6 total touchdown passes in the two games.

“I love sitting back there and throwing,” Thorson said. “I would love to throw the ball 70 times every game.”

The Wildcats not only started winning, they ran the table in the Western Division and will play in the Big Ten title game for the first time when they face Ohio State on Saturday in Indianapolis.

Thorson's workload has settled down as true freshman Isaiah Bowser stepped in solidify the running game. Behind a veteran offensive line, Bowser ran for more than 100 yards each against Wisconsin, Iowa, Rutgers and Illinois.

“So many different twists and turns over the last year. For us to be in this spot is pretty cool,” Thorson said. “Quarterbacks are judged on wins and losses. That is something I take pride in is winning.

“Thankfully, I've had a lot of great players around me. It takes a whole team, and we've had some great defenses. It's been a great ride.”

Thorson ranks sixth on the list of Big Ten career passing yardage leaders. He has a chance to pass another Wheaton native, Iowa's Chuck Long, and Northwestern's all-time leader, Bret Basanez.

The path from torn ACL to the Big Ten title game was anything but a smooth ride for Thorson. His goal always was to be ready for the Aug. 30 season opener at Purdue, almost exactly eight months after the injury happened.

“Those first six weeks were pretty tough,” Thorson said. “I had never realized how much of it's really mental. Just dealing with pain and knowing pain is good, in a sense, in some of these things. It wasn't easy right away, but I think coming out and being able to throw in spring ball every day was a huge boost for me. And just moving around a little bit.”

Spring practice began just six weeks after surgery, but Thorson was able to do some standstill throwing. Teammate Cameron Green said Thorson was with his teammates all summer, doing as much throwing as he would in a normal off-season.

He met the goal of starting at Purdue, but split time with backup T.J. Green during the first three games. Fitzgerald compared it to being on a pitch count.

“He came back from the surgery and just attacked his rehab relentlessly,” Fitzgerald said. “That's really inspired our guys. It's been really neat to watch.”

It wasn't all happy news. Northwestern beat Purdue, but lost to Duke, then Thorson had a couple of interceptions returned for touchdowns in the home loss to Akron. He finally played a full game against Michigan on Sept. 29, but after a great start, the Wildcats couldn't hold a 17-0 lead. And their top running back had to retire from football.

“We just came together and said, 'Look, we're better than this. We've got some self-imposed wounds,' ” Thorson said. “We decided the past is in the past. We can't dwell on those things. Thankfully we moved on, we came together.”

Few people expect Northwestern to win Saturday, but Ohio State has allowed at least 30 points to three of its last four opponents. So if the Wildcats' offense clicks, who knows what could happen? And Thorson gets another week to heal from the knee surgery.

“I'm not there (100 percent) yet. But I'm getting stronger each week,” he said. “The doctors have said, you're not going to know what it's like to be back to your normal self pre-injury, because you've never had this injury. You've just got to go do it and that will build confidence each week.”

That last sentence sounds like Northwestern's season in a nutshell.

Big Ten career passing leaders

1. Drew Brees, Purdue (1997-200), 11,792 yards

2. Curtis Painter, Purdue (2005-08), 11,163 yards

3. Adam Weber, Minnesota (2007-10), 10,917 yards

4. Brett Basanez, Northwestern (2002-05), 10,580 yards

5. Chuck Long, Iowa (1981-85), 10,461

6. Clayton Thorson, Northwestern (2015-18), 10,223 yards

7. Mark Herrmann, Purdue (1977-80), 9,946

8. Chad Henne, Michigan (2004-07), 9,715

9. Trace McSorley, Penn State (2015-18), 9,654 yards

10. David Blough, Purdue (2015-18), 9,550 yards

SOURCE: Big Ten Conference