Northwestern Names Starting Quarterback For Opener Against Michigan State
As reported by multiple outlets, Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald has named Hunter Johnson the week one starter for the Wildcats.
Hunter Johnson will be #Northwestern’s starting QB on September 3rd.
— Lauren Withrow (@lolowithrow) August 17, 2021
The former five-star recruit and Clemson Tiger has won the job over Ryan Hilinski and Andrew Marty, who both seemed to have a shot heading into fall camp.
There were high hopes for Johnson when he arrived in Evanston back in 2018 but he's had some ups and downs. He had his best season back in 2019 when he played in six games and threw for 432 yards and a touchdown. He also finished the year with 64 rushing yards and one touchdown on the ground. Now heading into his fifth year, he's as confident as he's been and ready to lead the team. He gives a lot of credit to quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian for his preparedness.
"Coach Jake is great," Johnson said during last week's media availability. "Last year with COVID and everything getting shut down for a little bit we really were able to hammer down on some of the meeting times. So that was a big, big, big time for me to kind of sink in and try to learn and, yeah, I'm definitely feeling more confident this year.“
As things currently stand, Northwestern is a 3.5-point favorite heading into that game. It'll be interesting to see if there's any movement on that line with a clear-cut starter now in position for the Wildcats.
