Northwestern University Athletics
Five Wildcats Receive All-Big Ten Recognition
11/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 19, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Big Ten Conference announced its 2007 All-Big Ten football teams Monday night, and five Northwestern players received honorable mention recognition.
Three NU players -- linebacker Adam Kadela (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman), defensive tackle John Gill (Los Altos Hills, Calif./Bellarmine Prep) and center Trevor Rees (Pearland, Texas/Pearland) -- were consensus honorable mention selections by both the coaches and media. Wildcat quarterback C.J. Bachér (Sacramento, Calif./Jesuit) earned honorable mention honors by the media, while running back Tyrell Sutton (Akron, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban), who missed five-plus games with an ankle injury, received honorable mention recognition from the Big Ten coaches.
Kadela turned in an outstanding year for the Wildcats, leading Northwestern in tackles with 125 and ranking second in Big Ten tackles (10.4 per game) and 19th nationally. He closed his illustrious career with a career-high 17 hits Saturday against Illinois and 296 for his entire career.
Gill led all Northwestern defensive linemen in tackles (50) and ranked second in sacks (4). One of Gill's top season performances came against Michigan when he notched a career-high 10 tackles and helped slow U-M's Mike Hart to just 3.5 yards per carry. Seven of Gill's 10 tackles in that game were stopping Hart.
Rees, a four-year starter, helped the Wildcats lead the Big Ten in total offense for the second time in three years. Northwestern averaged 427.7 yards per game, just 1.5 yards more per game than Michigan State. Rees also helped the Wildcats set a single-season school mark for passing yardage, as NU averaged 307.9 yards per game, which ranked 12th nationally.
In his first full year as NU's starting quarterback, Bachér led the Big Ten in total offense (307.2 ypg) and passing (304.7 ypg). With five games of more than 300 yards, Bachér became NU's single-season passing yardage leader with 3,656 yards, 34 more than Brett Basanez's 3,622 in 2005. In a 48-41 overtime win at Michigan State, Bachér threw for a single-game record 520 yards and five touchdowns.
Sutton, NU's only repeat All-Big Ten honoree, led the Wildcats in rushing (74.6 ypg) despite playing in just five full games. He totaled 522 yards and scored four TD's. An outstanding receiver, Sutton averaged a team-best 114.9 all-purpose yards per game, and that includes the Nevada and Eastern Michigan games in which he played sparingly. Sutton's 804 all-purpose yards were just 65 yards shy of Eric Peterman's team-leading all-purpose total.
Sutton, who earned second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2005 and honorable mention kudos last year, is third on NU's all-time rushing list with 2,996 yards.
Northwestern concluded the 2007 season at 6-6 -- its fourth six-or-more win season in the last five years. The Wildcats also became bowl-eligible for the third time since 2003.
