Northwestern University Athletics
The Skip Report: The Driving Force
9/1/2017 1:26:00 PM | Football
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
ON REFLECTION: He was named the 'Cats new head coach on July 7, 2006, just eight days after the sudden death of Randy Walker. Now, on Saturday at Ryan Field against Nevada, Pat Fitzgerald will begin his twelfth season as their ballast and guiding light. "I'm a lot more gray. There's no doubt about that," he said with a chuckle when asked what has changed between then and now, but then his smile faded.
"It's just night-and-day, quite frankly. To take over in as difficult a circumstance as you can imagine to where we're at now is night-and-day, it's just totally different," he then said levelly. "But every year, every team is different, and this group, I think, took the momentum from the bowl win into the off-season and that went all the way through training camp. Leadership changes, you have 20, 20 percent of your squad graduate every year, so there's quite a bit of new every season. I would say, if you asked the guys who are fifth-year seniors, I think we're a different program today than we were five years ago from their perspective. To me, that's the focus -- Player and the student-athlete experience. Are we doing everything we possibly can to help these young men develop in all aspects of their lives, and then win football games because of that?
"On the field, we haven't won a championship. That's a driving force. We've been close. We've won bowl championships. We've been in a lot of great bowl games and played some of the most-entertaining games in program history. But to get over that hurdle is the next step for our program. Incredibly motivating."
YES. INCREDIBLY MOTIVATING: Defensive end Joe Gaziano was in the fourth grade when his sister Andrea, a high school freshman, died after a six-year battle with cancer. But, he recently said, "Everyday I think about her, and everyday I try to use the courage she had fighting cancer and transfer it onto the field. If I can have an ounce of the many ounces of courage she brought to her fight onto the field, I think I'll be all right on Saturdays. She was an amazing sister. She's an amazing role model for me. I'm just trying to emulate what she did in her fight against cancer."
THEY (ALSO) SAID IT: When asked about his goals for the coming season, running back Justin Jackson said, "I try to approach every single day trying to be great. I try to be closer to my teammates, try to be a better leader. I'm really trying to push us to start better, and to approach each week with a better mindset." Entering his final season as a 'Cat he also said, "As a senior it means you have more urgency every single day because your days are numbered."
When asked about his offensive line, quarterback Clayton Thorson said, "They've gotten a lot better. I think their mental toughness is something that's really improved. Since last season they've worked hard. (Strength and conditioning) Coach (Jay) Hooten's really pushed them this off-season. It's been fun to watch. But at the same time you're like, 'Man, these guys are getting killed out there because Coach Hooten's really working them hard.' It's starting to translate onto the field. It's great to see. I think they're ready for the game."
When asked about his relationship with Jordan Thompson, his roommate and fellow defensive tackle, Tyler Lancaster said, "This off-season, Jordan's had an explosive camp. He's probably impressed me the most. He just keeps working. It's a battle to see who can work harder between him and me. I get him in some aspects, and he gets me in others. But we're constantly pushing each other and that's what you need."
When asked about sophomore defensive tackle Alex Miller and his freshman brother Samdup, the backups to Thompson and Lancaster, Fitzgerald said, "They're very similar from the standpoint of work ethic and attitude and ability to play the game. They've got high motors, very physical players, high football IQs. It was kind of a unique situation. Alex came last year for summer school and then Sam shows up for the start of the winter quarter. So they were only apart for the football season, even though they're in different classes. So kind of a unique situation. As someone who did not have a brother, I can only imagine how cool it is for those guys. The opportunity to play together."
When asked about the Wolf Pack, Fitzgerald said, "We've got a huge challenge in front of us here in the opener. Nevada's got, I think, a huge advantage against us. New coach. New coordinators. They obviously know a lot more about us than we know about them. So we've got to try to put together a puzzle without having a picture, if that makes sense. When the three boys (his sons) are doing a puzzle at home, they usually put the box up to see what it looks like. That's the video you have from the previous year. So you've got to look at Nevada from a personnel standpoint from a year ago, the young men and how they played. Then you've got study what we project based on the coordinators that were hired to try and get a glimpse, a snapshot, of what we think they may or may not do. Then you just plan to adjust. We've had to do that before, and we'll have to do it again Saturday."
QUICKLY NOTED: Nevada's new head coach is the 54-year old Jay Norvell, who spent the previous 31 seasons as an assistant with (among his 11 stops) Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, UCLA, the Oakland Raiders and the Indianapolis Colts. He is characterized as an old-school guy with a blue-collar mentality. . . . The new defensive coordinator is Jeff Casteel, who has held the same job at (among other places) Arizona and West Virginia. He favors the funky (and rarely used) 3-3-5 stack. . . . The new offensive coordinator is Matt Mumme, who has installed a pass-happy, up-tempo offense called the Air Raid. Credit for its creation often goes to his father Hal, whom he played for at Kentucky. . . . The Wolf Pack is expected to use a pair of quarterbacks. The first of them, the 6-foot-2 Ty Gangi, was its starter at the end of last season. He is the more mobile of the pair. The other is the 6-foot-5 junior David Cornwell, a grad transfer from Alabama. He is the purer passer.
AND FINALLY, on a lighter note: If, on Saturday, you notice a bulge in Norvell's cheek, don't worry. He most probably is just sucking on an Atomic Fireball. He is, you see, addicted to that cinnamon-flavored, red-hot candy.
NUsports.com Special Contributor
ON REFLECTION: He was named the 'Cats new head coach on July 7, 2006, just eight days after the sudden death of Randy Walker. Now, on Saturday at Ryan Field against Nevada, Pat Fitzgerald will begin his twelfth season as their ballast and guiding light. "I'm a lot more gray. There's no doubt about that," he said with a chuckle when asked what has changed between then and now, but then his smile faded.
"It's just night-and-day, quite frankly. To take over in as difficult a circumstance as you can imagine to where we're at now is night-and-day, it's just totally different," he then said levelly. "But every year, every team is different, and this group, I think, took the momentum from the bowl win into the off-season and that went all the way through training camp. Leadership changes, you have 20, 20 percent of your squad graduate every year, so there's quite a bit of new every season. I would say, if you asked the guys who are fifth-year seniors, I think we're a different program today than we were five years ago from their perspective. To me, that's the focus -- Player and the student-athlete experience. Are we doing everything we possibly can to help these young men develop in all aspects of their lives, and then win football games because of that?
"On the field, we haven't won a championship. That's a driving force. We've been close. We've won bowl championships. We've been in a lot of great bowl games and played some of the most-entertaining games in program history. But to get over that hurdle is the next step for our program. Incredibly motivating."
YES. INCREDIBLY MOTIVATING: Defensive end Joe Gaziano was in the fourth grade when his sister Andrea, a high school freshman, died after a six-year battle with cancer. But, he recently said, "Everyday I think about her, and everyday I try to use the courage she had fighting cancer and transfer it onto the field. If I can have an ounce of the many ounces of courage she brought to her fight onto the field, I think I'll be all right on Saturdays. She was an amazing sister. She's an amazing role model for me. I'm just trying to emulate what she did in her fight against cancer."
THEY (ALSO) SAID IT: When asked about his goals for the coming season, running back Justin Jackson said, "I try to approach every single day trying to be great. I try to be closer to my teammates, try to be a better leader. I'm really trying to push us to start better, and to approach each week with a better mindset." Entering his final season as a 'Cat he also said, "As a senior it means you have more urgency every single day because your days are numbered."
When asked about his offensive line, quarterback Clayton Thorson said, "They've gotten a lot better. I think their mental toughness is something that's really improved. Since last season they've worked hard. (Strength and conditioning) Coach (Jay) Hooten's really pushed them this off-season. It's been fun to watch. But at the same time you're like, 'Man, these guys are getting killed out there because Coach Hooten's really working them hard.' It's starting to translate onto the field. It's great to see. I think they're ready for the game."
When asked about his relationship with Jordan Thompson, his roommate and fellow defensive tackle, Tyler Lancaster said, "This off-season, Jordan's had an explosive camp. He's probably impressed me the most. He just keeps working. It's a battle to see who can work harder between him and me. I get him in some aspects, and he gets me in others. But we're constantly pushing each other and that's what you need."
When asked about sophomore defensive tackle Alex Miller and his freshman brother Samdup, the backups to Thompson and Lancaster, Fitzgerald said, "They're very similar from the standpoint of work ethic and attitude and ability to play the game. They've got high motors, very physical players, high football IQs. It was kind of a unique situation. Alex came last year for summer school and then Sam shows up for the start of the winter quarter. So they were only apart for the football season, even though they're in different classes. So kind of a unique situation. As someone who did not have a brother, I can only imagine how cool it is for those guys. The opportunity to play together."
When asked about the Wolf Pack, Fitzgerald said, "We've got a huge challenge in front of us here in the opener. Nevada's got, I think, a huge advantage against us. New coach. New coordinators. They obviously know a lot more about us than we know about them. So we've got to try to put together a puzzle without having a picture, if that makes sense. When the three boys (his sons) are doing a puzzle at home, they usually put the box up to see what it looks like. That's the video you have from the previous year. So you've got to look at Nevada from a personnel standpoint from a year ago, the young men and how they played. Then you've got study what we project based on the coordinators that were hired to try and get a glimpse, a snapshot, of what we think they may or may not do. Then you just plan to adjust. We've had to do that before, and we'll have to do it again Saturday."
QUICKLY NOTED: Nevada's new head coach is the 54-year old Jay Norvell, who spent the previous 31 seasons as an assistant with (among his 11 stops) Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, UCLA, the Oakland Raiders and the Indianapolis Colts. He is characterized as an old-school guy with a blue-collar mentality. . . . The new defensive coordinator is Jeff Casteel, who has held the same job at (among other places) Arizona and West Virginia. He favors the funky (and rarely used) 3-3-5 stack. . . . The new offensive coordinator is Matt Mumme, who has installed a pass-happy, up-tempo offense called the Air Raid. Credit for its creation often goes to his father Hal, whom he played for at Kentucky. . . . The Wolf Pack is expected to use a pair of quarterbacks. The first of them, the 6-foot-2 Ty Gangi, was its starter at the end of last season. He is the more mobile of the pair. The other is the 6-foot-5 junior David Cornwell, a grad transfer from Alabama. He is the purer passer.
AND FINALLY, on a lighter note: If, on Saturday, you notice a bulge in Norvell's cheek, don't worry. He most probably is just sucking on an Atomic Fireball. He is, you see, addicted to that cinnamon-flavored, red-hot candy.
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