2017 Northwestern Wildcats football team

2017 Northwestern Wildcats football
2017 Northwestern Wildcats football
Music City Bowl champion
Music City Bowl, W 24–23 vs. Kentucky
Conference	Big Ten Conference
	West Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 17
AP	No. 17
Record	10–3 (7–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	Pat Fitzgerald (12th season);
Offensive coordinator	Mick McCall (10th season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Mike Hankwitz (10th season)
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
Home stadium	Ryan Field
	Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

The 2017 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats played their home games at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois, and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by 12th-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald. This was the Wildcats' fifth ten-win season, three of which were led by Pat Fitzgerald. They finished the season 10–3, 7–2 in Big Ten play to finish in second place in the West Division. They were invited to the Music City Bowl where they defeated Kentucky.

2017 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
No. 5 Ohio State xy$	8	–	1	12	–	2
No. 15 Michigan State	7	–	2	10	–	3
No. 8 Penn State	7	–	2	11	–	2
Michigan	5	–	4	8	–	5
Rutgers	3	–	6	4	–	8
Indiana	2	–	7	5	–	7
Maryland	2	–	7	4	–	8
West Division
No. 7 Wisconsin xy	9	–	0	13	–	1
No. 17 Northwestern	7	–	2	10	–	3
Iowa	4	–	5	8	–	5
Purdue	4	–	5	7	–	6
Nebraska	3	–	6	4	–	8
Minnesota	2	–	7	5	–	7
Illinois	0	–	9	2	–	10
Championship: Ohio State 27, Wisconsin 21
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Recruiting

Position key

Back	B	Center	C	Cornerback	CB	Defensive back	DB
Defensive end	DE	Defensive lineman	DL	Defensive tackle	DT	End	E
Fullback	FB	Guard	G	Halfback	HB	Kicker	K
Kickoff returner	KR	Offensive tackle	OT	Offensive lineman	OL	Linebacker	LB
Long snapper	LS	Punter	P	Punt returner	PR	Quarterback	QB
Running back	RB	Safety	S	Tight end	TE	Wide receiver	WR

Recruits

The Wildcats signed a total of 19 recruits.

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Sam Gerak C	Avon, Ohio	Avon HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	270 lb (120 kg)	Dec 21, 2015
Sam Gerak C	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Sam Miller DT	Houston, Texas	Stratford HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	260 lb (120 kg)	Jan 24, 2016
Sam Miller DT	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Rashawn Slater OG	Sugar Land, Texas	Clements HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	269 lb (122 kg)	Jan 27, 2016
Rashawn Slater OG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Earnest Brown IV DE	Denton, Texas	Ryan HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	Mar 22, 2016
Earnest Brown IV DE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Trevor Kent DE	Pittsburg, Kansas	Pittsburg HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	253 lb (115 kg)	Mar 23, 2016
Trevor Kent DE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Austin Hiller S	Austin, Texas	Lake Travis HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Mar 24, 2016
Austin Hiller S	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Trey Pugh TE	Plain City, Ohio	Jonathan Alder HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Apr 3, 2016
Trey Pugh TE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Bryce Jackson S	Denton, Texas	Guyer HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	Apr 6, 2016
Bryce Jackson S	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Cameron Ruiz CB	Lake Villa, Illinois	Lakes Community HS	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Apr 11, 2016
Cameron Ruiz CB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Peter McIntyre LB	Toledo, Ohio	St. John's Jesuit HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	213 lb (97 kg)	Apr 21, 2016
Peter McIntyre LB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Andrew Marty QB	Cincinnati, Ohio	Wyoming HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Apr 26, 2016
Andrew Marty QB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
J.R. Pace S	Atlanta, Georgia	Woodward Academy	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	May 15, 2016
J.R. Pace S	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Jace James WR	Carol Stream, Illinois	Glenbard North HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jun 12, 2016
Jace James WR	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Charlie Kuhbander K	Springboro, Ohio	Springboro HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jun 13, 2016
Charlie Kuhbander K	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Ethan Wiederkehr OT	Shoreham, New York	Shoreham-Wading River HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	285 lb (129 kg)	Jun 13, 2016
Ethan Wiederkehr OT	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Berkeley Holman WR	Bellflower, California	St. John Bosco HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jun 18, 2016
Berkeley Holman WR	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Kyric McGowan RB	Dalton, Georgia	Dalton HS	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	Jul 27, 2016
Kyric McGowan RB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Blake Gallagher LB	Needham, Massachusetts	Saint Sebastian's School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Dec 14, 2016
Blake Gallagher LB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Chee Anyanwu S	Buford, Georgia	Buford HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jan 21, 2017
Chee Anyanwu S	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Northwestern Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017. "2017 Northwestern Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017.

Schedule

Northwestern announced its 2017 football schedule on July 11, 2013. The 2017 schedule consisted of 7 home and 5 away games in the regular season. The Wildcats hosted Big Ten foes Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, Penn State, and Purdue, and traveled to Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, Wisconsin.^[1]

The Wildcats hosted two of the three non-conference opponents, Bowling Green from the Mid-American Conference and Nevada from the Mountain West Conference, and traveled to Duke from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	2:30 p.m.	Nevada*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 31–20	33,018
September 9	11:00 a.m.	at Duke*		Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	ESPNU	L 17–41	20,241
September 16	6:30 p.m.	Bowling Green*		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 49–7	33,706
September 30	11:00 a.m.	at No. 10 Wisconsin		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ABC	L 24–33	80,584
October 7	11:00 a.m.	No. 4 Penn State		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ABC	L 7–31	41,061
October 14	2:30 p.m.	at Maryland		Maryland Stadium College Park, MD	ESPN2	W 37–21	38,325
October 21	11:00 a.m.	Iowa		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN2	W 17–10 ^OT	40,036
October 28	2:30 p.m.	No. 16 Michigan State		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN	W 39–31 ^3OT	39,369
November 4	2:30 p.m.	at Nebraska		Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	BTN	W 31–24 ^OT	89,721
November 11	6:00 p.m.	Purdue	No. 25	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN2	W 23–13	33,765
November 18	11:00 a.m.	Minnesota	No. 23	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	W 39–0	30,014
November 25	3:00 p.m.	at Illinois	No. 22	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	FS1	W 42–7	30,456
December 29	4:30 p.m.	vs. Kentucky	No. 21	Nissan Stadium Nashville, TN (Music City Bowl)	ESPN	W 24–23	48,675
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after October 31 released prior to game All times are in Central time

Schedule Source:^[2]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	23	20	20	17
Coaches	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	23	20	20	17
CFP	Not released									—	25	23	22	21	21	Not released

Roster

2017 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`2`	Flynn Nagel	Jr
WR	`4`	Solomon Vault	Sr
WR	`5`	Charles Fessler	So
WR	`6`	Jelani Roberts	Jr
QB	`7`	Matt Alviti	Sr
RB	`8`	Auston Anderson	Jr
SB	`9`	Garrett Dickerson	Sr
QB	`10`	T.J. Green	So
QB	`11`	Aidan Smith	Fr
QB	`13`	Andrew Marty	Fr
QB	`14`	Lloyd Yates	So
WR	`15`	Macan Wilson	Sr
WR	`16`	Kyric McGowan	Fr
WR	`17`	Jalen Brown	Jr
QB	`18`	Clayton Thorson (C)	Jr
WR	`19`	Riley Lees	Fr
RB	`20`	John Moten IV	So
RB	`21`	Justin Jackson (C)	Sr
WR	`23`	Steven Reese	So
RB	`25`	Corey Acker	Sr
RB	`26`	Chad Hanaoka	Sr
RB	`28`	Jeremy Larkin	Fr
RB	`36`	Jesse Brown	So
SB	`44`	James Prather	Jr
SB	`46`	Eric Lutzen	Jr
OL	`50`	Samuel Gerak	Fr
OL	`57`	Cam Kolwich	Fr
OL	`59`	J. B. Butler	Jr
OL	`61`	Jason Goosen	Fr
OL	`64`	Andrew Otterman	So
OL	`65`	Jared Thomas	So
OL	`66`	Nik Urban	Fr
OL	`68`	Connor Mahoney	Sr
OL	`69`	Brad North	Sr
OL	`70`	Rashawn Slater	Fr
OL	`71`	Tommy Doles	Jr
OL	`72`	Blake Hance	Jr
OL	`73`	Gunnar Vogel	Fr
OL	`74`	Graham Bullmore	Sr
OL	`75`	Ben Oxley	Jr
OL	`76`	Ethan Wiederkehr	Fr
OL	`77`	Jesse Meyler	Fr
OL	`78`	Adam Lemke-Bell	So
OL	`79`	Trey Klock	Jr
SB	`80`	Trey Pugh	Fr
WR	`81`	Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman	Fr
SB	`82`	Alex Oelsner	Fr
WR	`83`	Will Lansbury	Fr
SB	`83`	Heath Reineke	Jr
WR	`84`	Cameron Green	So
WR	`85`	Jack Tirmonia	Fr
SB	`86`	Cody Link	Fr
SB	`87`	Eric Eshoo	Fr
WR	`88`	Ben Skowronek	So
WR	`89`	Berkeley Holman	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
CB	`3`	Keith Watkins II	Jr
DB	`7`	Marcus McShepard	Sr
LB	`10`	Brett Walsh	Jr
DB	`11`	Parrker Westphal	Jr
DB	`12`	Alonzo Mayo	So
LB	`13`	Warren Long	Sr
S	`16`	Godwin Igwebuike (C)	Sr
DB	`18`	Cameron Ruiz	Fr
S	`21`	Kyle Queiro	Sr
DB	`22`	Bryce Jackson	Fr
DB	`23`	Donovan Sermons	Fr
CB	`24`	Montre Hartage	Jr
DB	`25`	Austin Hiller	Fr
DB	`26`	Brian Bullock	Fr
DB	`27`	Roderick Campbell	So
DB	`28`	J. R. Pace	Fr
DB	`29`	Trae Williams	So
LB	`32`	Nate Hall	Jr
DB	`33`	Travis Whillock	Fr
LB	`34`	Chee Anyanwu	Fr
LB	`35`	Erik Mueller	Fr
DB	`37`	Moe Almasri	Sr
LB	`40`	Peter McIntyre	Fr
S	`41`	Jared McGee	Jr
LB	`42`	Paddy Fisher	Fr
LB	`45`	Nathan Fox	So
LB	`46`	Troy Hudetz	Fr
DB	`47`	Joe Bergin	So
LB	`49`	Chris Bergin	Fr
LB	`50`	Jango Glackin	Fr
LB	`51`	Blake Gallagher	Fr
DL	`54`	Trent Goens	So
DE	`55`	Mark Gooden	Fr
DE	`56`	Xavier Washington	Sr
DL	`1`	Tyler Lancaster (C)	Sr
DE	`87`	Trevor Kent	Fr
DT	`90`	Jake Saunders	Fr
DL	`91`	Samdup Miller	Fr
DL	`92`	Fred Wyatt	Jr
DL	`93`	Joe Spivak	Fr
DE	`94`	Tommy Carnifax	Fr
DL	`95`	Alex Miller	So
DL	`97`	Joe Gaziano	So
DE	`98`	Earnest Brown IV	Fr
DL	`99`	Jordan Thompson	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K, P	`14`	Charlie Kuhbander	Fr
H, P	`17`	Daniel Kubiuk	Jr
K, P	`31`	Luke Otto	Sr
P	`37`	Cody Gronewold	Fr
K, P	`38`	Drew Luckenbaugh	Fr
PK	`39`	Mason Weissenhofer	So
LS	`43`	Tyler Gillikin	Fr
LS	`48`	Peter Snodgrass	Fr
LS	`58`	Trevor Stroebel	Sr
P	`96`	Hunter Niswander	Sr

Head coach

Pat Fitzgerald

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Randy Bates (linebackers)
Jerry Brown (assistant head coach / defensive backs)
Adam Cushing (offensive line)
Mike Hankwitz (defensive coordinator)
Bob Heffner (superbacks)
Marty Long (defensive line)
Matt MacPherson (running backs / recruiting coordinator)
Mick McCall (offensive coordinator / quarterbacks)
Dennis Springer (wide receivers)
Chris Bowers (director of player personnel)
Cody Cejda (director of football operations)
Darby Dunnagan (director of video operations)
Jay Hooten (director of sports performance for football)
Jacob Schmidt (director of player development)
Tim Brandon (offensive graduate assistant)
Erik Frazier (offensive graduate assistant)
Deonte Gibson (defensive graduate assistant)
Kevin Koch (defensive graduate assistant)
Mike Jasinski (recruiting assistant)
Bryan Payton (recruiting assistant)
Christian Sarkisian (recruiting assistant)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: August 18, 2017

Players in the 2018 NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Justin Jackson	RB	7	251	Los Angeles Chargers

References

^ "B1G Releases Nine-Game Conference Schedules for 2016, 2017" (Press release). Northwestern Wildcats Department of Athletics. July 11, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
^ "2017 Northwestern Wildcats Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved February 17, 2017.

[NU17-1] "B1G Releases Nine-Game Conference Schedules for 2016, 2017" (Press release). Northwestern Wildcats Department of Athletics. July 11, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2017.

[2] "2017 Northwestern Wildcats Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved February 17, 2017.

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