It didn’t take Aidan Chiles long to know he belonged in a Northwestern uniform.
While he was visiting another school, Chiles received a call from Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly and Quarterbacks Coach Jerry Neuheisel. The newly-minted Wildcat coaches were looking for a quarterback in the portal, and they found their target.
“They were like, ‘We want you to come up,’” Chiles said. “[I] came up, loved the people, loved the program, loved everybody around here, loved the facility. … I loved the team, and I felt this was going to be my home. I felt like this was somewhere I could thrive.”
Thrive is exactly what Chiles has done. Through six games at Northwestern, the fourth-year signal caller has a Big Ten-leading 71.4 completion percentage and has thrown for 1,172 yards and nine touchdowns with zero interceptions. He has added six rushing touchdowns as the Wildcats have started the season 4-1 and were ranked No. 25 in the latest AP poll.
Chiles is just the 11th FBS quarterback since 1995 to have a 70+ completion percentage, 1,000+ total passing yards, 15+ total touchdowns and zero interceptions through the first five games of a season.
The production that Chiles has had this season on Fridays and Saturdays is no fluke. It goes back to the way he approaches each and every single day.
“There’s just a correct way to practice and not a correct way to practice,” Kelly said. “Aidan is one of the best practice players I’ve been around. He does an unbelievable job in practice. Aidan’s harder on himself than any of the coaches ever are, so I think he holds himself to an internal standard that’s pretty high.”
Northwestern’s offense has reached nearly unprecedented levels this season under Chiles. This season, the Wildcats are averaging 35.4 points per game, tied for the second-best start by a Wildcat offense across the first five games of a season in program history.
Kelly’s lights-out offense has been a headcase for defenses to solve this season, but Chiles said that for he and his teammates, it has become increasingly easier through consistent repetitions and obtaining a better understanding of the purpose behind each play.
“We keep it simple for ourselves, but at the same time, we just want to make it harder for defenses,” Chiles said. “It’s nothing too complex for us, but it’s hard for defenses to see all the movement.”
Chiles’ ability to make plays out of thin air has wowed teammates and coaches alike. Fourth-year wide receiver Griffin Wilde and sixth-year tight end Alex Honig both complemented Chiles’ knack for improvising when plays break down following Northwestern’s most recent game against Ball State. Dan and Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach David Braun reverberated the same message.
Since joining the program in January, Chiles asserted himself as a leader and was ultimately voted one of the Wildcats’ six captains, which he called “an honor”. Even now, in October, Braun continues to see Chiles grow and demand respect from his teammates.
“He continues to be himself,” Braun said. “Something that we talk about with our leadership a lot is the foundation of leadership is credibility and authenticity. He earned that credibility when he arrived and has continued to earn that credibility in terms of the way that he operates. It’s so important that you don’t ask someone to be someone that they’re not. I think our team sees this level of authenticity in him continuing to be himself and demand excellence out of himself but also others.”
Braun said that he sees every day how much of an “incredible influence” Chiles is on his teammates. But Northwestern, too, has had an incredible influence on the Wildcats’ quarterback.
Between the positive culture, winning, support from his coaching staff and more, playing football at Northwestern has given Chiles new life. He feels rejuvenated as a Wildcat.
“I feel like I’ve regained my confidence a little more,” Chiles said. “I feel like the last few years haven’t been as fun playing football, and this year, I came back — and it took a little minute — but at the end of the day, football’s been fun recently.”
Saturday’s matchup against Michigan State in East Lansing will be a homecoming for Chiles, who played 21 games for the Spartans over the course of the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
While he will face plenty of familiar faces, he plans on saving reunions for after the game. He’s ready to treat the game as it’s any other.
“It’s a fun opportunity,” Chiles said. “That’s really all it is — another game, another nameless, faceless opponent coming out and competing. At the end of the day, we’re still cool. I’m going to talk to them after the game, but in between the lines, we got to play football the same.”