4 GAMEDAY SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20
NORTHWESTERN VS. RUTGERS
The Daily Northwestern
Friday, October 19, 2018
Nagel shines after rollercoaster career By COLE PAXTON
daily senior staffer @ckpaxton
Things haven’t always gone smoothly for Flynn Nagel. He didn’t get his Northwestern scholarship offer until the brink of National Signing Day. His freshman campaign was truncated by injury. He fell into a funk at the start of his junior year, costing him a key role on special teams. On each occasion, however, the senior receiver steadily built himself back up. His strong fundamentals and tireless work ethic have manifested into eye-popping numbers midway through his final season in Evanston: Nagel leads the Big Ten in catches and receiving yards. He’s outpacing other standout Northwestern receivers of years past and providing quarterback Clayton Thorson a major outside option, made especially important by Wildcats’ struggles to run the ball. “My senior year means a lot,” Nagel said. “I want to really enjoy it and put everything into it that I could. … This is something that I’m not going to get to do my whole life.” Nagel accentuated his strong play with a massive game against Nebraska last Saturday. His 12 catches and 220 receiving yards easily surpassed his previous career highs; the latter figure was the most yardage for a Big Ten receiver in five years. In many respects, it was the loud announcement of Nagel’s arrival as a standout receiver, one that came despite a hardscrabble path that always seemed to follow him. It began in 2013, when coach Pat Fitzgerald didn’t have a scholarship for Nagel — who watched two older brothers play for the Cats — until his commitment to Duke was nearly made official. “I said, ‘Listen, don’t be upset at me that this opportunity is happening now, but it is. I hope you trust me, I hope you know what direction we have for you,’” Fitzgerald said this week. “‘We’ll have a scholarship here for you.’” It didn’t take long for Nagel, a high school standout in south suburban Lemont, to meet his next challenge. Receivers coach Dennis Springer praised his physical and mental preparations as a freshman and he appeared in the first five games of the season, only to suffer a season-ending injury. “That was a big point for me. I could’ve dealt with it (poorly),” Nagel said. “(But) I wanted to bounce back and play this game for a long time.” Indeed, Nagel bounced back quickly. He earned a starting job as a sophomore, and finished the year second on the team in both catches and yards. He
was NU’s primary punt returner, and dabbled in kick return too. And he entered 2017 as the Cats’ leading returning pass-catcher, a player praised for his consistency who could marshal an expansive core of capable receivers. But that didn’t pan out in the season’s early going. He struggled to make an impact in September games, and true freshman Riley Lees became the primary punt returner. “I didn’t start (the season) the way I wanted to. … I just wasn’t playing the way I always do,” Nagel said. “I had dropped a couple balls in the first game that I normally never drop. It was kind of a test for me.” Nagel passed the exam. He had a career-best 87 receiving yards and a third-overtime touchdown in the upset win over Michigan State, and rebounded from his September lull to again finish first on the team in catches and second in yards. Soon after that season ended, Nagel began “embracing” the final winter workouts of his college career. Though he may not have suddenly developed flashy, newfound skills, his work off the field and deep connection with Thorson have contributed to his leap forward, Springer said.
“Flynn has always been a hard worker,” added Springer, who called Nagel the underrated “jokester” in the receivers room. “He has always loved the game of football and competing. … He was ready to step up and be that guy.” The numbers have borne out that preparation. He recorded the first two 100-yard games of his career against Duke and Michigan State. His 622 receiving yards through six games eclipses the midseason tallies of Austin Carr and other NU pass-catching standouts. Fitzgerald hinted that the 5-foot-11, 195-pound Nagel could get a chance to play in the NFL. Against Nebraska a week ago, Nagel jolted the Cats’ heroic, game-tying drive in the final moments of regulation with a 32-yard catch over his shoulder. The grab moved NU into Cornhuskers’ territory, and underscored the impact Nagel, four years after barely making it to Evanston, is having in his final games. “When he ran the wheel route, he turned to me and said, ‘Throw me the ball,’” Thorson said after the game. “‘This is why I’m here.’” colepaxton2019@u.northwestern.edu
Daily file photo by Alec Carroll
Notebook: Fitzgerald praises redshirt rule By BEN POPE
daily senior staffer @benpope111
Daily file photo by David Lee
The NCAA’s new rule that players can play in up to four games and still redshirt — thus essentially gaining a fifth year of eligibility down the road — has opened the door for more roster flexibility at Northwestern. Freshmen running backs Isaiah Bowser and Drake Anderson have appeared in three games and one game, respectively, due to the sudden medical retirement of starter Jeremy Larkin that dealt a big blow to the positional group’s depth. Yet coach Pat Fitzgerald said after last Saturday’s win over Nebraska, in which neither played, that the new rule is allowing him to hopefully maintain their redshirts nonetheless. Fitzgerald then doubled down on his praise of the change Monday. “It’s terrific. I wish it was around when I was playing,” he said. “I was the best worst freshman in the country and I played like eight games and was terrible. I would’ve liked to play in four and maybe got a graduate degree. It’s a great rule: it gives us access to our entire roster.” On the other side of the ball, defensive end Devin O’Rourke and defensive backs Greg Newsome and A.J. Hampton are among a handful of true freshmen who have made several appearances already but are still eligible — for now — to be redshirted. O’Rourke has played in four games, meaning his redshirt status will be burned if he appears again over the remainder of the season, and said he isn’t sure if he will see the field or not. But he still had positive words to say about the new rule. “Every freshman has the same opportunity to go in and play, and if they don’t play past their four games, they can still take advantage of the redshirt rule, so I think it’s affecting everyone in a positive way,” O’Rourke said. “ It’s not really affecting my mindset, it’s just a nice advantage to have.” The Big Ten accompanied the nationwide redshirt rule change by adjusting conference policy and allowing teams to bring 74 players to road games,
up from 70 previously. Fitzgerald said he hopes that traveling player limit will eventually be abolished completely. “I watch our basketball team and they take everybody — the third nutritionist gets to go too, it’s crazy,” Fitzgerald said. And we’ve got 112 guys on the team and (38) have to stay home. It doesn’t make sense to me.”
Wildcats not overlooking Rutgers, despite Scarlet Knights’ record
NU (3-3, 3-1 Big Ten) will travel this week to face a Rutgers (1-6, 0-4) team that has lost five of its last six games by 21 points or more, including a 34-7 beatdown at Maryland last weekend in which the Scarlet Knights totalled five interceptions and eight passing yards. That has been par for the course under coach Chris Ash, who has gone 3-19 in the Big Ten during his three years in Piscataway. This year, Ash’s squad has particularly struggled offensively, ranking 119th in the country in passing yards, 106th in rushing yards and 130th — dead last — in points per game. Still, senior defensive tackle Jordan Thompson said the Cats will try their best not to look past Saturday and toward upcoming bigger contests against Wisconsin and Notre Dame. “Rutgers is in the Big Ten, they’re a good team,” Thompson said. “Everyone has ups and downs, but that’s not an excuse to overlook them.”
Brown close to returning; Vault ruled out
Sophomore running back Jesse Brown, who rushed nine times for 64 yards and two touchdowns a year ago, has been sidelined all season so far with an undisclosed injury but practiced Monday and may return to game action soon, Fitzgerald has indicated. The Cats’ body-lacking, success-starved backfield suffered another discouraging setback Thursday when senior Solomon Vault was ruled out for Saturday’s game. Meanwhile, junior John Moten, who departed the Nebraska game with an injury, was cleared by the athletic training staff for the Rutgers game, an athletic department spokesman told The Daily. benjaminpope2019@u.northwestern.edu