If you like the status quo, then Northwestern's spring camp wasn't the place to be.

After a frustrating 6-6 season where the Wildcats squandered fourth-quarter leads against Purdue and Iowa -- and somehow lost a home game to Duke -- Pat Fitzgerald shook things up during the offseason.

He brought in Bowling Green's Mick McCall as offensive coordinator -- and McCall convinced Fitzgerald to go back to the no-huddle attack that Northwestern used for several years under Randy Walker.

He brought in Wisconsin's Mike Hankwitz as defensive coordinator -- and Hankwitz installed an attacking 4-3 defense that's supposed to bring more big plays in 2008.

The new coordinators' arrivals meant Northwestern spent plenty of spring ball learning new systems and mastering their fundamentals. But everyone believes the Wildcats will be the better for it when Camp Kenosha rolls around in early August.

"I wanted to get everyone on the same page," Fitzgerald told the Chicago Tribune. "Our guys have understood the personalities of the coordinators, the expectations of what we want to do. Now, we can't get enough reps. I wish we had another month."

"It was a little fast and hectic in the beginning," senior quarterback C.J. Bacher told the Daily Herald about the no-huddle. "But we're starting to get it down. Things are going a little slower and we're getting it going in the right direction now."

Northwestern also needed to go a long way toward identify new starters during the spring. The Wildcats found at least two of their three new offensive linemen in redshirt freshman left tackle Al Netter and senior left guard Keegan Kennedy. They also seem to have Adam Kadela's replacement at middle linebacker in senior Malcolm Arrington.

With a schedule that doesn't include a 2007 bowl team until October 11 (Michigan State), the veteran-laden Wildcats could be well on their way to their first bowl game since 2005 by that time.

--Northwestern limited senior running back Tyrell Sutton to just three carries, including a sweet 22-yard cutback, during its spring game as a precautionary measure. After the game, Sutton promised he's 100 percent healthy and that's critical to the Wildcats' chances this fall. Yes, senior Omar Conteh is a quality player in his own right, but Sutton has the experience (2,996 yards, 25 TDs in his career) and the skills to make NU's offense special.

--QB C.J. Bacher threw for 3,656 yards last season, which set a Northwestern record and ranked No. 7 on the Big Ten's all-time charts. But Bacher also tossed 19 interceptions, several of them late in games to curdle NU comeback hopes. This year, new offensive coordinator Mick McCall has tried to emphasize to Bacher to be content to find the open receiver and let him do the work. With several veterans from which to choose, including seniors Eric Peterman (69 catches in '07), Ross Lane (49 catches) and Rasheed Ward (46 catches), the Wildcats should be able to move through the air.

SPRING MOVERS:

CB Jordan Mabin -- One of Ohio's all-time prep rushing leaders, the undersized Mabin was recruited as a cornerback and served an injury-plagued redshirt season. Now that he's healthy, the 5-foot-11 Mabin played well in spring ball and even started with the first-stringers in the spring game. That means he's in the mix to start alongside veteran corner Sherrick McManis in the Aug. 30 opener versus Syracuse.

LT Al Netter -- Another redshirt freshman with big upside, the 6-foot-6, 285-pound California native started spring ball as the first-string left tackle and just improved from there. This could be the start of a four-year stay at the line's premium position.

MLB Malcolm Arrington -- When Adam Kadela graduated, the Wildcats lost their most prolific tackler. But Arrington, a senior who started four games at OLB last year, shifted to the middle and appeared to win a tough competition with junior Nate Williams. He's a big hitter who'll make a few highlight films this fall.

OLBs Mike Dinard and Quentin Davie -- Both had a few opportunities to start last year, but both lost their starting jobs by midseason. Since the Wildcats lost two linebackers to graduation, Dinard and Davie took advantage of the situation and played well enough to push for starting spots.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We'd always thought of ourselves as a no-huddle offense -- until we truly became a no-huddle offense. It definitely was a newsflash when we had to run a few plays, come back, run a route, come back, run three runs. It's definitely good for us. It's definitely great conditioning for us. Here, we like to beat defenses down and wear them out in the fourth quarter." -- Northwestern RB Tyrell Sutton discussing the team's switch to a no-huddle attack in the Daily Herald.

2008 OUTLOOK: Northwestern retains all but one of its premier skill-position players from 2007, which is a good sign since the Wildcats were the Big Ten's No. 2 team in total offense. Alas, they were just 10th in scoring offense (25.8 ppg), so new offensive coordinator Mick McCall is trying to kickstart their productivity by introducing the no-huddle. He's also tweaking the spread offense to give his playmakers more 1-on-1 matchups in space. Northwestern hasn't been a good defensive team in years, which explains why Greg Colby was dismissed as defensive coordinator and Mike Hankwitz brought in. Hankwitz, who's making his 11th coaching stop, has introduced an attack-based defense that figures to force more mistakes.

Overall, Northwestern figures to have more than enough firepower to earn its first bowl berth in three seasons. If the defense, which has several redshirt freshmen champing at the bit to contribute, comes along faster than anticipated, it's not crazy to think the Wildcats could be in the Big Ten hunt when November hits.

SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: C.J. Bacher led the Big Ten in passing last year (304.7 ypg) and threw for 19 touchdowns, but he also shared the Big Ten lead with 19 interceptions. That's way too many picks for anybody, but especially someone who runs Northwestern's relatively risk-averse spread. New offensive coordinator Mick McCall wants Bacher, who has started NU's last 17 games, to make the easy throw and let his receivers do the work. Bacher should find lots of receivers open if senior running backs Tyrell Sutton and Omar Conteh stay healthy. Sutton missed 5 games last year, but he still owns 2,996 career rushing yards and 25 career scores and he'll an all-Big Ten caliber back. Conteh stepped in and produced 447 yards and 5 scores primarily in Sutton's absence, so NU wants to find ways to have both backs on the field as much as possible.

Northwestern lost three linemen to graduation, including New York Giants free-agent pickup Dylan Thiry at left tackle, but the Cats think they've found some winners in redshirt freshman LT Al Netter and converted defensive lineman Keegan Kennedy at LG.

SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: New defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz inherited a fistful of veteran linemen (including potential all-Big Ten tackle John Gill), several experienced outside linebackers and three-fourths of a veteran secondary. However, these veterans haven't known much success during their years in Evanston. Nobody, for example, managed more than 1 interception last year. Hankwitz hopes his attack-style defense, rather than the read-and-react scheme of old, will help the Wildcats shed their porous ways and force more turnovers. The Wildcats think they've found a middle linebacker in Malcolm Arrington, but they need to find a cornerback to work opposite Sherrick McManis. Redshirt freshmen Jordan Mabin and Mike Bolden showed quite a bit during spring ball.

SCOUTING THE SPECIAL TEAMS: Northwestern retains all of its specialists from last year, which could mean a lot if everyone improves. McManis averaged 23.2 yards per return, while backup Stephen Simmons returned a kick 99 yards against Ohio State. Punter Stefan Demos averaged 40.1 yards per punt and the Wildcats ranked second in the league in net punting, but their kickoff coverage was dead-last in the league. Kicker Amado Villarreal had a weird stat line in 2007. He made 3 of 4 kicks beyond 40 yards, but went just 1 of 5 between 30-39 yards. The latter can't happen this year.

ROSTER REPORT:

--Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald had 22 players sit out the spring game, including seven expected starters: Cornerback Sherrick McManis (pectoral surgery), safety Brendan Smith (shoulder surgery last year), defensive tackle Adam Hahn (shoulder surgery), defensive end Kevin Mims (shoulder), center Joel Belding (knee), punter Stefan Demos (hip) and kicker Amado Villarreal (hip).

--Converted defensive tackle Keegan Kennedy made a sparkling offseason transition to left guard. Kennedy, a 6-foot-2, 285-pound senior, looked so good that quarterback C.J. Bacher predicted Kennedy could be an all-Big Ten performer.

Previous Report: 03/29/2008