Northwestern University Athletics
Photo by: Stephen J. Carrera
The Skip Report: Friday Notes - Indiana
10/21/2016 7:43:00 PM | Football
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
Quick Hitters. . . .
A TALE (WITH A HAPPY ENDING): Flynn Nagel has put the return back into the 'Cats punt return unit and this should be no real surprise. He first handled that job, he guesses, back when he was seven years old and, he says, "Ever since then punts and kicks are something I've always done." But, in a twist, his first special team role in high school was not catching punts. It was kicking them.
This story goes back to his freshman season at Marist, which he spent with both the junior varsity and the varsity. He could, by rule, play six quarters each Friday, and how he divided them depended on just how big the JVs were leading at halftime. If it was tight he would play with it the full four quarters and punt for two with the varsity, but those numbers were flipped if that lead was yawning. "So that was my role with the varsity since I actually punted my whole life too. So I would do that," he says. "Then I can't remember if someone went down or what happened, but then they put me back at kick return, gave me a chance to return kicks.
"The very first one I took it back against Marian Catholic. I'll never forget it. That was my first high school touchdown."
A POSTSCRIPT (WITH AN ENDING NOT SO HAPPY): That season Nagel would play with the Marist freshman team only in its rivalry game against Brother Rice. "They really wanted a win there," he explains, "but we actually lost."
THE QUOTE: Nagel also plays on the 'Cats kickoff return unit and last week, at Michigan State, threw the first of the many blocks that cleared the way for Solomon Vault's 95-yard touchdown run. "I think it's as big a part of the game as offense and defense," he says when asked the attraction of playing on those return teams. "Coach Fitz emphasizes that special teams is the character of the program, speaks to the character of the program. Special teams is just another part of the game, and another way for me to help the team. I take it as seriously as I do playing receiver (which is his day job)."
STEPPING IN: The 'Cats, through their first five games, started the same five on their offensive line. But last Saturday senior left guard (and team captain) Connor Mahoney was injured and replaced by redshirt sophomore J.B. Butler, a walk-on. No matter. Justin Jackson ran for a career-high 188, Clayton Thorson threw for a career-high 281 and their offense scored six touchdowns. "He was prepared mentally and physically," Pat Fitzgerald would say when asked about Butler's performance. "Was he perfect? No-o-o-o. No. Not at all. Neither one of our guards was. But he played hard, he played physical, he played fundamentally pretty darn sound. That gives Cush (O line coach Adam Cushing) and the offensive staff a lot of confidence that we've got a guy on the inside who can go in. I also think it's a big boost for his confidence."
"I think it really goes back to my off-season preparation," Butler himself said while discussing his success against the Spartans. "I really worked hard in the weight room this past winter— squat rack, bench press, everything you needed to be a successful lineman. I think that was why I was so ready to play and could trust myself. I knew i could physically do it. I think some young guys— I know last year when I played in some games as a redshirt freshman, you don't really trust yourself physically like the older guys do. So the physical aspect of it was pretty significant for me in just being able to go out and cut it loose."
ARF, ARF: Defensive end (and another team captain) C.J. Robbins, who last August talked of the 'Cats being a group of gritty dogs that grind, said back then that Butler was one of the offensive players who exemplified that model. "I wasn't surprised at all," he said this week when asked about Butler's performance. "J.B. works hard. He works really hard. He grinds all the time, no matter what role you put him in. I remember it was his freshman year, we had him playing scout D line and he embraced that. He embraced the role right away. J.B., from day one, whether it be off-season workouts or practice, he's out there grinding and giving his all. I was happy for him."
"I think that's the way I play," Butler himself said when asked about his dog designation. "I know freshman year, last year, me and C.J. used to get into it a lot during practice. I don't like to lose. I'm competitive. He doesn't like to lose. He's competitive. I think that's what built the dog in me. I had dudes like C.J. and (D tackle) Tyler Lancaster and those guys who're coming at you in practice. If you aren't ready to go, you're going to get embarrassed. That brought out the dog in me. I'm always trying to compete and succeed and beat those guys because they've set the standard for all of us."
QUICKLY NOTED: Last year, in anticipation of his redshirt freshman season, Butler bulked up to 310. "But not all of it was good weight," he recalled. This year, after working with the team's nutritionist and performance staff, he reported to camp at 298. "I lost some bad weight and gained some muscle," he explained. "It was a good transition. Last year it was pretty hard getting through some practices being so heavy.". . . The Spartans burned the 'Cats young secondary last Saturday for touchdown passes of 59 and 86 yards, lapses that Fitzgerald attributed to "Communication breakdowns that just can't happen." Safety Jared McGee later echoed his coach. "A lot of those long passes come from lack of communication from the safeties to the corners and not letting them know what we're doing and what coverages we're in," he said early this week. "This week we're going to harp on not being casual with our calls and making sure the young corners are on their Ps and Qs.". . . Indiana, which visits Ryan Field Saturday morning, is 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten. Its two conference losses were to No. 2 Ohio State and No. 8 Nebraska. . . . The Buckeyes entered their meeting with the Hoosiers averaging 57 points, 244.4 passing yards and 576.2 total yards per-game. Against them they scored just 38 points, passed for a mere 93 yards and totaled only 383 yards of total offense. "They're playing fast. They're playing physical," Fitzgerald said of Indiana's D. "They're bringing pressure. They're playing man up in your face. They're playing with an attitude. They're playing with an energy level that is fun to watch. I enjoy watching it.". . . Indiana is coached by Kevin Wilson, who was the 'Cats offensive coordinator back in 2000 when they introduced the no-huddle attack and ended up sharing the Big Ten title. No surprise then that the Hoosiers are number two in passing offense (285 ypg) and number five in total offense (433.5 ypg) in the conference.
AND FINALLY, ON A LIGHTER NOTE, Butler, who as a senior at Joliet Catholic teamed with some classmates to defeat a group from Providence Catholic in a pizza eating contest for charity: "We ate a pretty good amount of pizza. It was fun. The parking lot didn't like us too much afterward. But we had a good time. I miss those days."
NUsports.com Special Contributor
Quick Hitters. . . .
A TALE (WITH A HAPPY ENDING): Flynn Nagel has put the return back into the 'Cats punt return unit and this should be no real surprise. He first handled that job, he guesses, back when he was seven years old and, he says, "Ever since then punts and kicks are something I've always done." But, in a twist, his first special team role in high school was not catching punts. It was kicking them.
This story goes back to his freshman season at Marist, which he spent with both the junior varsity and the varsity. He could, by rule, play six quarters each Friday, and how he divided them depended on just how big the JVs were leading at halftime. If it was tight he would play with it the full four quarters and punt for two with the varsity, but those numbers were flipped if that lead was yawning. "So that was my role with the varsity since I actually punted my whole life too. So I would do that," he says. "Then I can't remember if someone went down or what happened, but then they put me back at kick return, gave me a chance to return kicks.
"The very first one I took it back against Marian Catholic. I'll never forget it. That was my first high school touchdown."
A POSTSCRIPT (WITH AN ENDING NOT SO HAPPY): That season Nagel would play with the Marist freshman team only in its rivalry game against Brother Rice. "They really wanted a win there," he explains, "but we actually lost."
THE QUOTE: Nagel also plays on the 'Cats kickoff return unit and last week, at Michigan State, threw the first of the many blocks that cleared the way for Solomon Vault's 95-yard touchdown run. "I think it's as big a part of the game as offense and defense," he says when asked the attraction of playing on those return teams. "Coach Fitz emphasizes that special teams is the character of the program, speaks to the character of the program. Special teams is just another part of the game, and another way for me to help the team. I take it as seriously as I do playing receiver (which is his day job)."
STEPPING IN: The 'Cats, through their first five games, started the same five on their offensive line. But last Saturday senior left guard (and team captain) Connor Mahoney was injured and replaced by redshirt sophomore J.B. Butler, a walk-on. No matter. Justin Jackson ran for a career-high 188, Clayton Thorson threw for a career-high 281 and their offense scored six touchdowns. "He was prepared mentally and physically," Pat Fitzgerald would say when asked about Butler's performance. "Was he perfect? No-o-o-o. No. Not at all. Neither one of our guards was. But he played hard, he played physical, he played fundamentally pretty darn sound. That gives Cush (O line coach Adam Cushing) and the offensive staff a lot of confidence that we've got a guy on the inside who can go in. I also think it's a big boost for his confidence."
"I think it really goes back to my off-season preparation," Butler himself said while discussing his success against the Spartans. "I really worked hard in the weight room this past winter— squat rack, bench press, everything you needed to be a successful lineman. I think that was why I was so ready to play and could trust myself. I knew i could physically do it. I think some young guys— I know last year when I played in some games as a redshirt freshman, you don't really trust yourself physically like the older guys do. So the physical aspect of it was pretty significant for me in just being able to go out and cut it loose."
ARF, ARF: Defensive end (and another team captain) C.J. Robbins, who last August talked of the 'Cats being a group of gritty dogs that grind, said back then that Butler was one of the offensive players who exemplified that model. "I wasn't surprised at all," he said this week when asked about Butler's performance. "J.B. works hard. He works really hard. He grinds all the time, no matter what role you put him in. I remember it was his freshman year, we had him playing scout D line and he embraced that. He embraced the role right away. J.B., from day one, whether it be off-season workouts or practice, he's out there grinding and giving his all. I was happy for him."
"I think that's the way I play," Butler himself said when asked about his dog designation. "I know freshman year, last year, me and C.J. used to get into it a lot during practice. I don't like to lose. I'm competitive. He doesn't like to lose. He's competitive. I think that's what built the dog in me. I had dudes like C.J. and (D tackle) Tyler Lancaster and those guys who're coming at you in practice. If you aren't ready to go, you're going to get embarrassed. That brought out the dog in me. I'm always trying to compete and succeed and beat those guys because they've set the standard for all of us."
QUICKLY NOTED: Last year, in anticipation of his redshirt freshman season, Butler bulked up to 310. "But not all of it was good weight," he recalled. This year, after working with the team's nutritionist and performance staff, he reported to camp at 298. "I lost some bad weight and gained some muscle," he explained. "It was a good transition. Last year it was pretty hard getting through some practices being so heavy.". . . The Spartans burned the 'Cats young secondary last Saturday for touchdown passes of 59 and 86 yards, lapses that Fitzgerald attributed to "Communication breakdowns that just can't happen." Safety Jared McGee later echoed his coach. "A lot of those long passes come from lack of communication from the safeties to the corners and not letting them know what we're doing and what coverages we're in," he said early this week. "This week we're going to harp on not being casual with our calls and making sure the young corners are on their Ps and Qs.". . . Indiana, which visits Ryan Field Saturday morning, is 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten. Its two conference losses were to No. 2 Ohio State and No. 8 Nebraska. . . . The Buckeyes entered their meeting with the Hoosiers averaging 57 points, 244.4 passing yards and 576.2 total yards per-game. Against them they scored just 38 points, passed for a mere 93 yards and totaled only 383 yards of total offense. "They're playing fast. They're playing physical," Fitzgerald said of Indiana's D. "They're bringing pressure. They're playing man up in your face. They're playing with an attitude. They're playing with an energy level that is fun to watch. I enjoy watching it.". . . Indiana is coached by Kevin Wilson, who was the 'Cats offensive coordinator back in 2000 when they introduced the no-huddle attack and ended up sharing the Big Ten title. No surprise then that the Hoosiers are number two in passing offense (285 ypg) and number five in total offense (433.5 ypg) in the conference.
AND FINALLY, ON A LIGHTER NOTE, Butler, who as a senior at Joliet Catholic teamed with some classmates to defeat a group from Providence Catholic in a pizza eating contest for charity: "We ate a pretty good amount of pizza. It was fun. The parking lot didn't like us too much afterward. But we had a good time. I miss those days."
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