Northwestern University Athletics
The Skip Report: Slater and the Seniors
11/1/2019 1:12:00 PM | Football
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
For two seasons he was the 'Cats starting right tackle, but this year he moved to the left side, the one that protects the quarterback's blind side. But which is his more natural position, the 305-pound junior Rashawn Slater was recently asked.
"I don't know if any of them are natural, really," he said, eliciting some soft chuckles. "The offensive line is a very unnatural position."
Why does he say that?
"You're not born wanting to be violent," he explains. "As human beings you want to eat, you want to sleep, stay safe. It's very different when you're on the gridiron and guys are being violent, throwing punches, and everything's coming at you at a thousand miles an hour. It's a very intense environment. So, for anyone to be in that position, not just offensive linemen, but running backs, receivers, quarterbacks, defensive backs, whatever it is— football's not a natural game, so you've got to get your mind right to do what we do on that field."
And how does he get his mind right?
"I don't know. I guess it comes from years of experience, and playing for your brothers to your left and your right, and your love for the game."
"There is a lot of Jekyll and Hyde," Kurt Anderson, his position coach, said when reading Slater's analysis. "A lot of the things I preach to these guys is who you are off the field will show up on the field. So you've got to be a man of integrity. You've got to be a man of character. You've got to be somebody who can be counted on. If you say you're going to do something, you do it. But off the field we're not violent people. So when we walk between those white lines, you have to flip a switch, and everybody has to have their why. Why am I playing like this? For some people it's for the brother next to you. For some it's for your mom, your brother, your sister. Everybody's got a story. . . .(since) it's not a natural thing. 'I got to go do this against another 300-pound man for 70, 80, 90 snaps?' There's nothing natural about that."
•••••
Two games ago, on that Friday night the 'Cats hosted Ohio State, Rashawn Slater went against defensive end Chase Young, who some say could be the top pick in the next NFL draft. Last Saturday, against Wisconsin, Young had four sacks and six tackles (five of them for losses), but Slater limited him to a single sack and two tackles (one for a loss). Then, with Iowa's visit to Ryan Field, he went against A.J. Epenesa, another defensive end some project as a top-10 draft pick, and held him to just a half sack and five tackles. After both performances, the NU coaches selected him as the team's Offensive Player of the Game.
"He's played great the last couple of weeks, and he's played really well all year, I think at an All-Big Ten level," Pat Fitzgerald said of him this week. "No one's been more consistent against those two guys than he was, and those two guys are great players. So Rashawn's playing great. First of all he's playing fundamentally strong. I think he's really benefitted from some of the technique changes we've made with Kurt taking over the offensive line. And he's also experienced. This is his third year playing. With all the battles he's been through and all the good players he has played against— I think Rashawn can play any position on the offensive line. I think he's that athletic. I think he's that smart. He's a Sunday player."
•••••
Reggie Slater, Rashawn's father, was a 6-foot-7, 255-pound power forward who lasted eight years in the NBA while playing for seven different teams. Anderson, in his first season coaching the offensive line, refers to these genes when asked if he could see early on that Rashawn could be special. "You watch him and you see he has some traits of a special player," he says. "His athleticism is his anchor power. Obviously, every guy that we have here is very bright. Just seeing his movement skills, how he moves efficiently... Sometimes for big guys that's one of the biggest things that holds you back on technique. How to move your body efficiently. Spatial awareness and knowing your body in space, and how it moves, and where you can still attack things with power. Guys who get beat, typically its because. . .they're not moving efficiently and guys can attack different leverages of your body and make a 300-pound guy feel 150 pounds, based on where your weight is and whether you're moving efficiently or inefficiently. And then, as good a football as player he is, he's an even better person. He's a great guy to have in the room. He does all the little things right."
"It just come down to preparation," Slater says, proving this, when asked about his award-winning performances. "Two very talented guys. It all starts Sunday night, film prep, watching what they do. And then, as the week goes on, we make a game plan for them. But it really comes down to trusting your technique. It really doesn't change for these guys. Whatever Coach Anderson's been coaching since camp, that's the same thing you've got to do and execute against them."
•••••
Slater has shined and the o line has held firm even as the Wildcats' offense has struggled. "We made a commitment to ourselves," Slater said when asked how the group has kept its morale high. "The Northwestern offensive line, we know who we are. We're a tough group, we're a physical group, and we're not going to change regardless of what's happening in the game. It's really us on the sideline saying, 'Look, things aren't going the way we want them to be going, but that doesn't mean we can change. Because the second we start to falter, then there's no hope at all. So for us it's just really being consistent."
"That's something I've addressed," Anderson said. "I understand the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results. But I firmly believe what we're doing in our room is the right thing, it's the recipe for success. So, what I've expressed to them is our attitude, our work ethic, our identity, they can't change. These are opportunities to teach the game of life through the game of football. Adversity hits you in all sorts of different ways. But we can only control what we can control. That's a big life lesson. But the key is to bring people along with you. When you see someone struggling, bring them along with you.
"I like the way our guys have approached (the year). Our attitude's been great. The team, our attitude's been great. We, as a team, just have to start getting those things to show up on Saturdays."
•••••
Last Saturday, after their loss to Iowa dropped their record to 1-6, Fitzgerald said he had challenged his team to now play for the seniors. This week, as they prepared for a Saturday night affair at Indiana and then the last month of their careers, a pair of them were asked what they want to see between now and November's end. "I'd like to see some tenacity from the guys, and resolve to finish the season and not give up," said defensive end Joe Gaziano. "We had high hopes coming into the season and even if we didn't meet our goals, we still have a goal left and that's to reach the postseason. I want to see guys not take that goal for granted. It is hard to win, and it's hard to get to the postseason. If we can achieve that goal, it will make a great story. How we didn't give up and how we came together in tough times. Anybody can do it when it's easy. Not a lot of people can do it when it's hard. So, for me personally, I'd like to see guys keep the attitude up and make sure we're attacking everything and not letting our record effect how we play."
"I want to win, definitely. I want to get to the postseason," senior defensive back Trae Williams said. "I just want us to play our game. Play tough. Play hard. Don't quit. We haven't done that yet. It hasn't been pretty on the field. We haven't gotten the results we wanted. But just keep playing hard. Stay together. We're a real tight brotherhood. Just keep doing what we've been doing, but do it better.
"Just get some Ws. Turn this thing around. That's really what I want."
NUsports.com Special Contributor
For two seasons he was the 'Cats starting right tackle, but this year he moved to the left side, the one that protects the quarterback's blind side. But which is his more natural position, the 305-pound junior Rashawn Slater was recently asked.
"I don't know if any of them are natural, really," he said, eliciting some soft chuckles. "The offensive line is a very unnatural position."
Why does he say that?
"You're not born wanting to be violent," he explains. "As human beings you want to eat, you want to sleep, stay safe. It's very different when you're on the gridiron and guys are being violent, throwing punches, and everything's coming at you at a thousand miles an hour. It's a very intense environment. So, for anyone to be in that position, not just offensive linemen, but running backs, receivers, quarterbacks, defensive backs, whatever it is— football's not a natural game, so you've got to get your mind right to do what we do on that field."
And how does he get his mind right?
"I don't know. I guess it comes from years of experience, and playing for your brothers to your left and your right, and your love for the game."
"There is a lot of Jekyll and Hyde," Kurt Anderson, his position coach, said when reading Slater's analysis. "A lot of the things I preach to these guys is who you are off the field will show up on the field. So you've got to be a man of integrity. You've got to be a man of character. You've got to be somebody who can be counted on. If you say you're going to do something, you do it. But off the field we're not violent people. So when we walk between those white lines, you have to flip a switch, and everybody has to have their why. Why am I playing like this? For some people it's for the brother next to you. For some it's for your mom, your brother, your sister. Everybody's got a story. . . .(since) it's not a natural thing. 'I got to go do this against another 300-pound man for 70, 80, 90 snaps?' There's nothing natural about that."
•••••
Two games ago, on that Friday night the 'Cats hosted Ohio State, Rashawn Slater went against defensive end Chase Young, who some say could be the top pick in the next NFL draft. Last Saturday, against Wisconsin, Young had four sacks and six tackles (five of them for losses), but Slater limited him to a single sack and two tackles (one for a loss). Then, with Iowa's visit to Ryan Field, he went against A.J. Epenesa, another defensive end some project as a top-10 draft pick, and held him to just a half sack and five tackles. After both performances, the NU coaches selected him as the team's Offensive Player of the Game.
"He's played great the last couple of weeks, and he's played really well all year, I think at an All-Big Ten level," Pat Fitzgerald said of him this week. "No one's been more consistent against those two guys than he was, and those two guys are great players. So Rashawn's playing great. First of all he's playing fundamentally strong. I think he's really benefitted from some of the technique changes we've made with Kurt taking over the offensive line. And he's also experienced. This is his third year playing. With all the battles he's been through and all the good players he has played against— I think Rashawn can play any position on the offensive line. I think he's that athletic. I think he's that smart. He's a Sunday player."
•••••
Reggie Slater, Rashawn's father, was a 6-foot-7, 255-pound power forward who lasted eight years in the NBA while playing for seven different teams. Anderson, in his first season coaching the offensive line, refers to these genes when asked if he could see early on that Rashawn could be special. "You watch him and you see he has some traits of a special player," he says. "His athleticism is his anchor power. Obviously, every guy that we have here is very bright. Just seeing his movement skills, how he moves efficiently... Sometimes for big guys that's one of the biggest things that holds you back on technique. How to move your body efficiently. Spatial awareness and knowing your body in space, and how it moves, and where you can still attack things with power. Guys who get beat, typically its because. . .they're not moving efficiently and guys can attack different leverages of your body and make a 300-pound guy feel 150 pounds, based on where your weight is and whether you're moving efficiently or inefficiently. And then, as good a football as player he is, he's an even better person. He's a great guy to have in the room. He does all the little things right."
"It just come down to preparation," Slater says, proving this, when asked about his award-winning performances. "Two very talented guys. It all starts Sunday night, film prep, watching what they do. And then, as the week goes on, we make a game plan for them. But it really comes down to trusting your technique. It really doesn't change for these guys. Whatever Coach Anderson's been coaching since camp, that's the same thing you've got to do and execute against them."
•••••
Slater has shined and the o line has held firm even as the Wildcats' offense has struggled. "We made a commitment to ourselves," Slater said when asked how the group has kept its morale high. "The Northwestern offensive line, we know who we are. We're a tough group, we're a physical group, and we're not going to change regardless of what's happening in the game. It's really us on the sideline saying, 'Look, things aren't going the way we want them to be going, but that doesn't mean we can change. Because the second we start to falter, then there's no hope at all. So for us it's just really being consistent."
"That's something I've addressed," Anderson said. "I understand the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results. But I firmly believe what we're doing in our room is the right thing, it's the recipe for success. So, what I've expressed to them is our attitude, our work ethic, our identity, they can't change. These are opportunities to teach the game of life through the game of football. Adversity hits you in all sorts of different ways. But we can only control what we can control. That's a big life lesson. But the key is to bring people along with you. When you see someone struggling, bring them along with you.
"I like the way our guys have approached (the year). Our attitude's been great. The team, our attitude's been great. We, as a team, just have to start getting those things to show up on Saturdays."
•••••
Last Saturday, after their loss to Iowa dropped their record to 1-6, Fitzgerald said he had challenged his team to now play for the seniors. This week, as they prepared for a Saturday night affair at Indiana and then the last month of their careers, a pair of them were asked what they want to see between now and November's end. "I'd like to see some tenacity from the guys, and resolve to finish the season and not give up," said defensive end Joe Gaziano. "We had high hopes coming into the season and even if we didn't meet our goals, we still have a goal left and that's to reach the postseason. I want to see guys not take that goal for granted. It is hard to win, and it's hard to get to the postseason. If we can achieve that goal, it will make a great story. How we didn't give up and how we came together in tough times. Anybody can do it when it's easy. Not a lot of people can do it when it's hard. So, for me personally, I'd like to see guys keep the attitude up and make sure we're attacking everything and not letting our record effect how we play."
"I want to win, definitely. I want to get to the postseason," senior defensive back Trae Williams said. "I just want us to play our game. Play tough. Play hard. Don't quit. We haven't done that yet. It hasn't been pretty on the field. We haven't gotten the results we wanted. But just keep playing hard. Stay together. We're a real tight brotherhood. Just keep doing what we've been doing, but do it better.
"Just get some Ws. Turn this thing around. That's really what I want."
Players Mentioned
A Day in the Life with Marcus Romain | Northwestern Football
Friday, May 01
Football - Caleb Tiernan Draft Night Press Conference (4/24/26)
Saturday, April 25
Jerry Neuheisel MIC'D UP | Northwestern Football
Friday, April 10
Football - Players Pro Day Media Availability (Beerntsen, Stone, Tiernan)
Tuesday, March 17
