Northwestern counting on QB improvement for Game 2
Northwestern's quarterback quandary seemed to be playing itself out on the field Aug. 31 at Stanford.
Clemson transfer Hunter Johnson struggled in the first half of that game and was replaced by senior T.J. Green, who led the offense to a first-and-goal at the Stanford 5-yard line in the third quarter.
It's possible Green was about to cement his status as Northwestern's starting quarterback for the rest of the year. Then a big hit, sack, fumble and resulting broken bone in his foot sent Green to the hospital and ended his season.
So heading into Game 2 Saturday against UNLV at Ryan Field, the fate of the offense rests squarely on Johnson's shoulders.
"I hate it for T.J.," Johnson said this week. "I went and saw him last week and he's a tough kid. So he's been handling it about as well as you could. I just hate it for him, but I know this team's going to be playing for him this year."
Johnson didn't shy away from the fact that he needs to play better. In the 17-7 loss at Stanford, he completed 6 of 17 passes for 55 yards and 2 interceptions. Johnson did put the Wildcats in position to score their lone touchdown with some effective runs.
"I know at this point, I've got to step up and play better," he said. "You learn from it and grow from it and you become a better player because of it. That's just part of playing the position. It's all about responding. The team needs me to respond, and that's what I plan to do."
Northwestern doesn't have much time to get the offense on track. After facing UNLV, the Wildcats will play No. 18 Michigan State, No. 14 Wisconsin, Nebraska, No. 6 Ohio State and No. 19 Iowa in five consecutive weeks.
Leading rusher Isaiah Bowser and starting cornerback Trae Williams also left the Stanford game with injuries. NU coach Pat Fitzgerald said he wouldn't give any status updates until the injury report is released Thursday.
"It's the truth of life, you have to go through challenges to improve and you have to embrace that. And it's never perfect," Fitzgerald said. "I think Hunter learned a ton. I was really proud of the way he responded in the second half.
"I thought he played outstanding in the fourth quarter. There were some things he could still obviously do a lot better, but I saw him gaining confidence and just playing. Again, he had not started a game since high school. It was good to get him back out there."
Johnson was rated the top quarterback in the country by ESPN when he played at Brownsburg (Indiana) High School. He spent his freshman year at Clemson, then sat out last season after transferring to Northwestern.
"He's going to get better, just like every player does through experience," Fitzgerald said. "We have a hundred million percent confidence in that."
With Green out for the season, Northwestern will rely on untested backups at QB. This week's depth chart listed junior Aidan Smith and sophomore Andrew Marty on the second string. Neither has thrown a pass in a college game.
So Northwestern obviously needs Johnson to take a giant step forward and stay healthy. Johnson said, after watching the game film, he felt he rushed his footwork at times, which threw off his throwing mechanics. His receivers are keeping the faith.
"I see it in practice, there's a lot of fire in the way he plays," receiver Riley Lees said. "I think he's got that little bit of an edge that's going to help our offense go."
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