2 starters on ‘D’ out of bowl game
Hall, Thompson idled — but Gaziano, Fisher will return next year
Northwesternfans: Doyouwant the good news or the bad?
Let’s start with the bad: Two of theWildcats’ top defensive starters will miss the Dec. 31Holiday Bowl againstUtah.
LinebackerNateHall is out after shoulder surgery, and defensive tackle Jordan Thompson required knee surgery. Both made announcements Friday onTwitter.
The rangy Hall, dogged by shoulder issues most of the season, received honorable mention for the All-Big Ten team after coming up huge against Purdue (10 tackles and an interception) and Minnesota (two picks).
The 6- foot- 3, 292- pound Thompson might be the Big Ten’s most underrated player. He didn’t even make all-conference honorable mention, but Pro Football Focus graded him as the conference’s No. 2 defensive lineman in 2018. And it graded him as Northwestern’s top player in the Big Ten title game against Ohio State — by far. Hismarkof82.5 bested those of linebacker Blake Gallagher (73.0), defensive linemen Earnest Brown (70.4) and Samdup Miller (70.3) and receiver Kyric McGowan (68.5).
The Wildcats are deep on the defensive line and figure to give linebacker Chris Bergin his fifth start of the season inHall’s place.
Now for the good news: Two other defensive standouts will return to Evanston next season. End Joe Gaziano (20 career sacks) will be a graduate student, and linebacker Paddy Fisher returns as a fourth-year junior.
“I’ll be back for sure,” Fisher told theTribune. “I’m not ready (for the NFL) yet. I had a conversation with a close family friend of mine. He said: Once you know, you’ll know.
“RightnowI need to get healthy, fix things up body-wise, add some modifications to training in the weight room and work on some functional strength and mobility. One day I’ll be ready, but for now Defensive tackle Jordan Thompson will miss Northwestern’s Holiday Bowl game due to injury.
I’m atNorthwestern.”
Fisher made the coaches’ AllBig Ten first team and was a third-team AP All-American. His eight career forced fumbles is tied for the programrecord.
Fisher’s tackle numbers were down a shade from 2017 (from 8.7 per game to 8.0) as he battled knee ailments.
“Played through some minor stuff,” he said.
The NU defense will have a serious challenge in the Holiday Bowl. True, theUteswere held to a field goal by Washington in the Pac-12 title game. But they scored at least 30 points in eight games, and their No. 1 quarterback, Tyler Huntley, could return after recovering froma collarbone injury.
Huntley (64.1 completion percentage) is an obvious upgrade over Jason Shelley (57.7).
And Utah has an element of mystery, given that offensive coordinator Troy Taylor left to become head coach at Sacramento State. Taylor is a spread advocate, while head coach Kyle Whittingham is viewed as more of a run-first traditionalist.
Asked if that adds a variable to Northwestern’s preparation, NU coach Pat Fitzgerald said: “It does. You have to anticipate seeing things that aren’t ontape. Andthen you adjust. You treat bowl games like the opener. You look back to the previous year. Maybe if there is a coordinatorchange, youstudyhis tape. And then (Purdue freshman) Rondale Moore shows up. That dude’s pretty good! We knew that but we didn’t know he’d be that good.”