2010 Northwestern Recruiting Class

Northwestern Wildcats 2010 ... Head Coach: Pat Fitzgerald

2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 7-5
2009 Record: 8-5

9/5 Towson  W 47-14
9/12 Eastern Mich W 27-24
9/19 at Syracuse L 37-34
9/26 Minnesota L 35-24
10/3 at Purdue W 27-21
10/10 Miami Univ W 16-6
10/17 at Michigan St L 24-14
10/24 Indiana W 29-28
10/31 Penn St L 34-13
11/7 at Iowa W 17-10
11/14 at Illinois W 21-16
11/21 Wisconsin W 33-31
11/28 OPEN DATE
OUTBACK BOWL
1/1 Auburn L 38-35 OT

2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 6-6
2008 Record: 9-4

8/30 Syracuse W 30-10
9/6 at Duke W 24-20
9/13 So. Illinois W 33-7
9/20 Ohio W 16-8
9/27 at Iowa W 22-17
10/4 OPEN DATE 
10/11 Michigan State L 37-20
10/18 Purdue W 48-26
10/25 at Indiana L 21-19
11/1 at Minnesota W 24-17
11/8 Ohio State L 45-10
11/15 at Michigan W 21-14
11/22 Illinois W 27-10
Alamo Bowl
12/29 Missouri L 30-23 OT

Northwestern Wildcats

Top Five Prospects
WR	Rashad Lawrence	6-2	195	Orlando, FL
WR	Kain Colter	6-1	185	Englewood, CO
DB	Ibraheim Campbell	5-11	188	Philadelphia, PA
WR	Jimmy Hall	6-1	185	Sylvania, OH
LB	Chi Chi Ariguzo	6-3	215	Columbus, OH
The Rest of the Class
DB	C.J. Bryant	6-0	175	Gahanna, OH
DE	Chance Carter	6-4	235	Evanston, IL
LB	Collin Ellis	6-1	200	Baton Rouge, LA
DT	Will Hampton	6-3	270	Cypress, TX
DB	Daniel Jones	5-11	176	Tallahassee, FL
WR	Tony Jones	6-1	180	Grand Blanc, MI
OL	Paul Jorgensen	6-6	274	Dewitt, MI
WR	Venric Mark	5-9	160	Houston, TX
OL	Sean McEvilly	6-5	270	Orange, CA
QB	Trevor Siemian	6-2	180	Orlando, FL
RB	Adonis Smith	5-11	185	San Mateo, CA
OL	Brandon Vitabile	6-2	298	Edison, NJ

Jan. 1
OUTBACK BOWL
Auburn 38 … Northwestern 35 OT
In a thriller, Auburn overcame 532 passing yards from Northwestern QB Mike Kafka and survived a missed field goal from Stefan Demos at the end of regulation to get by in overtime. The Tigers got a 21-yard Wes Byrum field goal, and then the fun began as a Kafka fumble that would’ve ended the game was reversed, and a missed field goal by Demos was nullified by a roughing the kicker penalty. Demos was hurt on the play, and instead of trying for a short field goal on fourth down, Northwestern went for the fake and was stopped a few yards short of the goal line. In regulation, Kafka was picked off five times with Walter McFadden and T’Sharvan Bell each coming up with two. McFadden took his second one 100 yards for a touchdown and an early 14-0 Tiger lead,, but Kafka kept coming back with touchdown passes from 39 and 35 yards to Andrew Brewer and a 66 yarder to Drake Dunsmore to tie the game at 21 in the third. Auburn answered with Ben Tate touchdown runs from five and seven yards, and the game appeared to be over, but Kafka ran for a two yard score with 3:20 to play. The extra point was blocked, but the Wildcats had new life forcing a fumble that led to an 18-yard Sidney Stewart touchdown catch with over a minute to play. On a trick play, Brewer threw to a wide open Brendan Mitchell for the two-point conversion and the tie, and on the ensuing kickoff, Northwestern got the ball back on another forced fumble. But Demos missed the game-winning field goal attempt.
Player of the Game: In a losing cause, Northwestern QB Mike Kafka completed 47-of-78 passes for 532 yards and four touchdowns with five interceptions, and he ran 20 times for 29 yards with a touchdown.
Auburn: Passing: Chris Todd, 20-31, 235 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Ben Tate, 20-108, 2 TD, Receiving: Darvin Adams, 12-142
Northwestern: Passing: Mike Kafka, 47-78, 532 yds, 4 TD, 5 INT
Rushing: Jacob Schmidt, 8-36, Receiving: Andrew Brewer, 8-132, 2 TD
What It All Means: For all the amazing things that Mike Kafka did, he wouldn’t have had to come up with all the heroics had he not tried to make so many throws that weren’t there. The team was able to overcome two interceptions thrown into the end zone, but without a running game to take the pressure off the offense was forced to dink and dunk all game long. It’s a shame that the difference, in the end, was Stefan Demos and his missed kicks, but his misfires shouldn’t overshadow such a tremendous effort to fight back and come within a hair of pulling off a program-changing win.

Nov. 21
at Northwestern 33 … Wisconsin 31
Mike Kafka threw two touchdown passes and WR Zeke Markshausen connected with Sidney Stewart on a 38-yard touchdown pass as Northwestern shocked the Badgers. Wisconsin’s offense struggled after the early part in the second quarter, getting helped by a 68-yard punt return for a score from David Gilreath to stay alive. Garrett Graham caught two touchdown passes including a 13-yarder to pull the Badgers within two, and UW had two chances to take the lead but John Clay lost a fumble and Scott Tolzien threw an interception. The Wildcats only managed two field goals in the second half, and Stefan Demos nailed four field goals on the day.
Player of the Game: Northwestern QB Mike Kafka completed 26-of-40 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns and ran seven times for 17 yards
Northwestern: Passing: Mike Kafka, 26-40, 326 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Arby Fields, 8-28, Receiving: Andrew Brewer, 6-102, 2 TD
Wisconsin: Passing: Scott Tolzien, 19-30, 235 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: John Clay, 23-100, 1 TD, Receiving: Nick Toon, 7-80
What It All Means: Northwestern’s offense picked a fantastic time to have its best game of the year. Mike Kafka bombed away on the soft Wisconsin corners, and while the attack fizzled in the second half, it was the team’s third straight win and fourth in five games. Now, technically, Northwestern finished fourth in the Big Ten standings behind Ohio State, Iowa, and Penn State, but will that matter in the bowl picture? If Wisconsin beats Hawaii and finishes 8-4, because of the fan base, it might get a Florida bowl on New Year’s Day over the Wildcats. NU deserves to be in the Outback. 

Nov. 14
Northwestern 21 … at Illinois 16
Northwestern solidified its bowl position by getting up 21-3 on a 28-yard Zeke Markshauen touchdown catch, a one-yard Mike Kafka run, and a one-yard Arby Fields run. But Illinois didn’t quit with Jacob Charest running for a ten-yard score and hitting Chris Duvalt for a 32-yard touchdown to pull within five with just over four minutes to play. The Illini got the ball with one final shot, but sputtered deep in its own end.
Player of the Game: Northwestern QB Mike Kafka completed 23-of-37 passes for 305 yards and a touchdown, and he ran for 12 yards and a score.
Illinois: Passing: Jacob Charest, 14-27, 145 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: XX, Receiving: Arrelious Benn, 4-31
Northwestern: Passing: Mike Kafka, 23-37, 305 yd, 1 TD
Rushing: Arby Field, 9-50, 1 TD, Receiving: Zeke Markshausen, 6-104, 1 TD
What It All Means: Northwestern is up to seven wins with Wisconsin coming to Evanston next week, so going bowling is now assured, but to get closer to the level that head coach Pat Fitzgerald wants to get to, there’s a lot of work to be done. The running game wasn’t miserable against the Illini, but there were too many plays stuffed and not enough consistency. The bigger issue going forward might be the field goal kicking. Northwestern could’ve put this away without any drama, but Stefan Demos missed three field goals. 

Oct. 7
Northwestern 17 … at Iowa 10
Marshall Thomas came up with two fumble recoveries including one in the end zone, and Drake Dunsmore caught a four-yard touchdown pass as Northwestern scored 17 unanswered points to ruin Iowa’s dream season. The Hawkeyes started out how with Marvin McNutt taking a Ricky Stanzi pass 74 yards for a score and Daniel Murray hit a 39-yard field goal, but Stanzi suffered an injured ankle and was knocked out of the game. That was it for the Hawkeye offense as backup James Vandenberg completed a mere 9-of-27 passes for 82 yards.
Player of the Game: Northwestern S Brad Phillips made ten tackles with a forced fumble.
Iowa: Passing: Ricky Stanzi, 4-9, 134 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Brandon Wegher, 19-63, Receiving: Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, 6-63
Northwestern: Passing: Mike Kafka, 10-18, 72 yds
Rushing: Scott Concannon, 15-59, Receiving: Sidney Stewart, 4-24
What It All Means: Northwestern lost its starting quarterback, too. Dan Persa didn’t necessarily play a strong game, and he got hurt, but the Wildcats were able to go on without Mike Kafka thanks to a tremendous day from the defense and limited mistakes. There was a bad interception thrown by Persa in the end zone, but for the most part, Northwestern was able get the job done by not screwing up and letting the floundering Iowa offense sputter. This was easily the biggest win of Pat Fitzgerald’s tenure since it made the Cats bowl eligible, to go along with beating the unbeaten Hawkeyes, and now it’s about gravy. With Illinois and Wisconsin up next, Northwestern needs at least one win to secure a solid bowl.

Oct. 31
Penn State 34 … at Northwestern 13
Penn State was struggling in a 13-13 tie in the fourth quarter, and then the running game took over as Brandon Beachum ran for a two-yard score and Evan Royster ripped off a 69 yarder, to go along with a 53-yard Derek Moye touchdown catch as part of a 24-point run. Northwestern got two Stefan Demos field goals and a seven-yard Mike Kafka touchdown run in the first half, but Kafka left with a leg injury and the Penn State defense held firm led by 12 tackles from Sean Lee.
Player of the Game: Penn State QB Daryll Clark completed 22-of-31 passes for 274 yards and a score, and he ran for 16 yards and a score.
Northwestern: Passing: Mike Kafka, 14-18, 128 yds
Rushing: Dan Persa, 14-42, Receiving: Zeke Markshausen, 9-60
Penn State: Passing: Daryll Clark, 22-31, 274 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Evan Royster, 15-118, 1 TD, Receiving: Derek Moye, 6-123, 1 TD 
What It All Means: Northwestern’s offense might not be anything special, but it was able to keep the game alive for a half against a strong Penn State defense. But now the season might take an ugly turn as QB Mike Kafka suffered a leg injury just before a big date at Iowa. Dan Persa completed 14-of-23 passes for 115 yards, but he’s not Kafka and he only came up with one big run. Kafka is expected to be back, but a bowl game is hardly certain with the way Illinois beat Michigan and with Wisconsin to close out the regular season.

Oct. 24
at Northwestern 29 … Indiana 28
Northwestern overcame a 28-3 deficit with the final 26 points of the game finished off by a 19-yard Stefan Demos field goal with 21 seconds to play. IU had one last shot, but Nick Freedland’s 59-yard field goal attempt fell short. Mike Kafka ran for a touchdown and connected with Zeke Markshausen for an eight-yard score with seven seconds to play in the first half. He also hit Andrew Brewer for a 51-yard touchdown early in the fourth. IU got out to the big early lead helped by two big plays with Darius Willis running for a 70-yard score just 20 seconds in, and Ray Fisher returning a kickoff 93 yards for a score. Willis also added a three-yard touchdown run.
Player of the Game: Northwestern QB Mike Kafka completed 26-of-46 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions, and hr ran 17 times for 65 yards and a score.
Indiana: Passing: Ben Chappell, 15-26, 159 yds
Rushing: Darius Willis, 14-103, 2 TD, Receiving: Tandon Doss, 6-40
Northwestern: Passing: Mike Kafka, 26-46, 312 yds, 2 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Scott Concannon, 16-73, Receiving: Andrew Brewer, 8-135, 1 TD
What It All Means: It’s time to put Mike Kafka in the discussion among the Big Ten Player of the Year honors. Every week he’s producing as the team’s only offensive playmaker, and while he threw three interceptions against the Hoosiers, and while Scott Concannon provided a bit of rushing help, Kafka was the one who pulled out the comeback win. This was the big win the team couldn’t afford to give away to keep bowl hopes alive with Penn State and Iowa coming up next.

Oct. 17
at Michigan State 24 … Northwestern 14
Northwestern came up with a goal line stand and got a 15-yard Andrew Brewer touchdown catch for a 7-0 first half lead, and then Michigan State turned it on with 24 straight points with Blair White catching touchdown passes from 22 and 47 yards away and with Larry Caper running for a 22-yard score. Zeke Marskshausen, who caught 16 passes on the day, scores from one-yard out to pull Northwestern within ten, but that was as close as it would get. Eric Gordon and Greg Jones combined for 29 tackles, three sacks, and 4-5 tackles for loss for the Spartans.
Player of the Game: Michigan State WR Blair White caught 12 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns
Northwestern : Passing: Mike Kafka, 34-47, 291 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Mike Kafka, 18-42, Receiving: Zeke Markshausen, 16-111, 1 TD
Michigan State: Passing: Kirk Cousins, 21-31, 281 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Larry Caper, 16-63, 1 TD, Receiving: Blair White, 12-186, 2 TD 
What It All Means: The running game just isn’t going to produce this year, it has become obvious by this point, which means it’s going to be Mike Kafka or bust for the offense. He wasn’t able to do enough on the ground, even though he led the team with 42 yards, but he and Zeke Markshausen were fantastic throughout, and might be a combination to watch out for in the second half of the season. Defensively, the secondary has issues with Brendan Smith already out with a hand problem and with Brad Phillips getting knocked out with a shoulder injury.

Oct. 10
at Northwestern 16 … Miami University 6
Northwestern’s defense came up with seven sacks to help out the sputtering offense that got just 319 yards with Mike Kafka running for two short scores. The Wildcats forced four turnovers and only allowed a 23-yard Andrew Cruse touchdown catch in the fourth, but MU would never threaten. Stefan Demos started out the scoring for NU with a 46-yard field goal.
Player of the Game: Northwestern S Brian Peters made eight tackles with an interception and a fumble recovery to set up a score.
Miami University: Passing: Zac Dysert, 17-36, 176 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Zac Dysert, 22-63, Receiving: Brayden Coombs, 4-62
Northwestern: Passing: Mike Kafka, 15-31, 191 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Mike Kafka, 15-53, 2 TD, Receiving: Zeke Markshausen, 5-68
What It All Means: What is it with Northwestern and bad MAC teams? First it was a struggle to get by Eastern Michigan, and now the offense decided to take a siesta against a Miami team that gives up points in bunches. Once again, Mike Kafka was the offense, but that’s not going to work against Michigan State. The running backs, eventually, will have to start contributing and Kafka has to be more accurate. 15-of-31 isn’t going to win many games in the Big Ten when there are so many issues on the offense. 

Oct. 3
Northwestern 27 … at Purdue 21
Mike Kafka ran for a two-yard score, and he hit Drake Dunsmore for a two-point conversion, to give Northwestern a six-point lead with just over two minutes to play, but Purdue had one last chance. Deep in Wildcat territory, Joey Elliott misfired on a pass through the end zone and NU hung on after a big rally. Purdue got up to a 21-3 lead in the second quarter as Aaron Valentin caught touchdown passes from 67 and five yards away, and Keith Smith caught a five-yarder, but NU, helped by six turnovers, scored 24 unanswered points helped by three of Stefan Demos’s four field goals and a five-yard Arby Fields run.
Player of the Game: Northwestern LB Quentin Davie made nine tackles, a sack, a broken up pass, and forced a fumble.
Purdue: Passing: Joey Elliott, 20-28, 313 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Ralph Bolden, 18-53, Receiving: Keith Smith, 7-101, 1 TD
Northwestern: Passing: Mike Kafka, 28-44, 224 yds
Rushing: Arby Fields, 18-43, Receiving: Zeke Markshausen, 10-56 
What It All Means: The Wildcats might not always be pretty, and they can’t get any production out of the running backs, but they bounced back in a big way after the loss to Minnesota with a great rally, and a nice defensive stand, to get past Purdue. This was a huge step toward a bowl with winnable games against Miami University and Indiana ahead, but to beat the better teams, more offensive weapons have to emerge to help out Mike Kafka.

Sept. 26
Minnesota 35 … at Northwestern 24
Minnesota got revenge from last year’s tough loss to the Wildcats as Duane Bennett ran for three short touchdowns and Eric Decker caught two scoring passes. Northwestern held a 24-21 lead in the fourth quarter on a 13-yard Brendan Mitchell touchdown catch, but that was it for the Wildcat scoring with Minnesota scoring 14 unanswered points to pull out the win. Mike Kafka threw two touchdown passes for NU.
Player of the Game: Minnesota RB Duane Bennett ran 21 times for 89 yards and three touchdowns.
Minnesota: Passing: Adam Weber, 15-26, 186 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Duane Bennett, 21-83, 3 TD, Receiving: Erik Decker, 8-84, 2 TD
Northwestern: Passing: Mike Kafka, 32-47, 309 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Arby Fields, 9-43, 1 TD, Receiving: Zeke Markshausen, 6-70 
What It All Means: The Wildcats are relying too much on Mike Kafka, mainly because they have to. The offense is moving the ball relatively well, outgaining Minnesota 373 yards to 352, but 309 of the yards came from Kafka and the passing game. The ground game simply isn’t working well, and if Northwestern can’t run on the Gophers, it’s going to have a problem against the Big Ten defenses that can actually play.

Sept. 19
at Syracuse 37 … Northwestern 34
Freshman Ryan Lichtenstein connected on 41-yard field goal as time ran out to give head coach Doug Marrone his first win. Northwestern was driving looking for a chance for a game-winning score of its own, but Max Suter picked off a Mike Kafka pass to set up the final SU drive. The Orange held an early 17-0 lead helped by a 10-yard Greg Paulus run and a 66-yard pass to Mike Williams, but Northwestern roared back in the second quarter with two Mike Kafka touchdown passes and a three-yard run. Kafka also caught a touchdown pass on a trick play, but SU finished with the final ten points of the game helped by a second Williams score coming from 13 yards out. The two teams combined to throw for 760 yards.
Player of the Game: Syracuse WR Mike Williams caught 11 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns
Northwestern: Passing: Mike Kafka, 35-42, 390 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jacob Schmidt, 10-30, Receiving: Drake Dunsmore, 10-90, 1 TD
Syracuse: Passing: Greg Paulus, 24-35, 346 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Delone Carter, 18-84, 1 TD, Receiving: Mike Williams, 11-209, 2 TD
What It All Means: Northwestern might have lost the game and didn’t show any production against the Syracuse passing game, but there’s a big upside going into the Big Ten opener against Minnesota: Mike Kafka. He threw one awful late interception, but he threw for 390 yards and was sharp all game long. Now opposing defenses will have to worry about the passing game while also having to respect the run. However, the Wildcats need a running back to emerge. Jacob Schmidt wasn’t special and there’s no one who’ll keep defensive coordinators up at night. Minnesota QB Adam Weber should go crazy against the soft NU secondary.

Sept. 12
at Northwestern 27 ... Eastern Michigan 24
Northwestern was cruising along with a 21-0 lead on two Stephen Simmons touchdown runs and a Ben Johnson 70-yard interception return for a score, but Eastern Michigan cam roaring back with a 24-3 run helped by two Andy Schmitt touchdown passes and a three-yard Terrence Blevins three-yard score to tie it with 2:40 to play. But Northwestern was able to go 26 yards in nine plays leading to a 49-yard Stefan Demos field goal with six seconds left to get the win.
Player of the Game: Northwestern SS Brendan Smith made 12 tackles.
Eastern Michigan: Passing: Andy Schmitt, 20-28, 148 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Dwayne Priest, 17-127, 1 TD, Receiving: Jacory Stone, 7-61, 1 TD
Northwestern: Passing: Mike Kafka, 14-24, 158 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Stephen Simmons, 13-73, 2 TD, Receiving: Demetrius Fields, 4-25
What It All Means: Mike Kafka needs to keep working on his passing. He hit on a big pass play in the first week win over Towson, and he wasn't awful against Eastern Michigan, but he didn't do enough to scare anyone down the road. He wasn't able to make anything big happen down the field and he didn't use his legs enough. Soon, the Wildcat offense will have to go to its fastball and start letting him make things happen on the move. However, to beat Syracuse and its nice run defense, he'll have to keep the chains moving through the air.

Sept. 5
at Northwestern 47 … Towson 14
Northwestern was able to put it on cruise control after getting out to a 30-0 lead just 18 minutes in the game. Army Fields ran for scores from two and 22 yards out and Andrew Brewer broke the game wide open with a 72-yard touchdown play. Towson got a few cosmetic scores, highlighted by a 33-yard David Newsom touchdown grab early in the third, but the Wildcat defense put the clamps down the rest of the way.
Player of the Game: Northwestern WR Andrew Brewer caught six passes for 145 yards and a score.
Towson: Passing: Peter Athens, 15-25, 140 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: B.J. Greening, 9-35, Receiving: David Newson, 6-74, 1 TD
Northwestern: Passing: Mike Kafka, 15-20, 192 yds
Rushing: Stephen Simmons, 18-77, Receiving: Andrew Brewer, 6-145, 1 TD
What It All Means: This light scrimmage was all about one thing … could Mike Kafka throw. While Towson is hardly Penn State, it’s telling that Kafka only ran six times and was able to complete 15-of-20 passes. Andrew Brewer was excellent, breaking open the game with his 72-yard score, and if he can grow into a home run hitter, the rest of the offense will open up. The running game was fine, but nothing special even though it cranked out 221 yards. The offense all but mailed in the second half.