Northwestern football head coach spoke for nearly 30 minutes to the media on Monday ahead of the Wildcats’ contest against No. 4 Oregon. Here’s what he had to say.
These quotes have been edited for clarity.
Opening statement: “After having a chance to review the Western Illinois film, certainly pleased with the outcome, pleased with the victory, but there’s plenty to work on. Challenge our staff, challenge our team, challenging mysef to be really objective with that evaluation and constructive in terms
of how we move forward, how we’re going to get better, what we can control. Incredibly opportunity this weekned with oregon coming into town, opening up Big Ten play. Coach [Dan] Lanning has done an exceptional job at Oregon. Not only are they very talented, but they are incredibly well coached. There’s not a single stone that will go unturned by him and his staff. They’re going to be aggressive. They’re going to try and apply pressure in a lot of different ways, in all three phases on top of being extremley talented. They are fundamentally sound, they’re physical, they play hard, they finish plays. Turn on the tape from last year, turn on the tape from their first two games, and it doesn’t take long to find a profound respect for the quality of football team that they have and the task we have right in front of us this Saturday.”
On Cam Porter’s injury update: “Unfortunately, Cam’s injury is going to result in his season being over, and all of us are crushed for Cam. There’s no one that’s worked harder. There’s no one that’s invested more in this program than Cam Porter. The thing that I’ll also say is there’s no one more suited and prepared to still have a profound impact on their team with these types of circumstances than Cam Porter. One thing that I’ve learned about Cam is he understands that his purpose is bigger than football. He’s a man that walks by faith and it’s not just some cliche post or tatto that he wears on his arm. I learned from Cam Porter daily. Every single room that he steps into, the people in that room are better because Cam’s in it. He was in meetings this morning. He’ll continue to be in meetings. He will continue that with profound impact on this football program. And the last thing that I’ll just share is, I don’t know what the Lord has in store for Cam long-term — more football, professional life — but what I will tell you is, that dude’s future is bright. Any NFL scout I’ve ever run into tells you that he makes every room and every organization he’s a part of better because he’s a part of it. Excited for the impact he’s still gonna have on this football team.”
On Caleb Komolafe and Joe Himon II taking bigger roles: “What we’re starting to see on game day is what we’ve seen out of Caleb in practice. We’ve been excited for his opportunity regardless of our depth in that room. His workload, Joe’s workload is certainly going to increase with the loss of Cam, but there’s going to be other young men in that room that are going to have to step us as well. We’re going to have to be solutions-based here. The ball in Caleb Komolafe’s hands, the ball in Joe Himon’s hands — those are things that we’re excited about, and they’re going to have to carry a heavier load now with the loss of Cam for sure.”
On first-years Daniel Anderson and Dashun Reeder possibly getting more playing time with the loss of Porter: “They’re gonna have to earn that, but both those guys have shown a lot of promise? Reeder specifcally is someone that we really challenged coming out of spring ball. To his credit, he’s answered that challenge and has become someone we can really rely on on special teams and continues to show improvement at the running back position. Daniel, having less time here as an early enrollee in the spring, but he has been really consistent in his preparation. We talked about developing the entire roster, and when your number’s called, you better be ready.”
On Porter’s influence torward the younger running backs: “Its invaluable. I don’t know if Caleb stated this publicly or not, but Caleb would be the first one to tell you that Cam’s influence on him has had a tremendous impact on his ability to be where he’s at right now. He’ll continue to have that impact on those guys in that room. Cam never talks about it, he just does it. It’s at meals, it’s in meetings, it’s catching guys outside the facility. Cam Porter has this unique ability to meet people where they’re at and then also inspire them to reach their fullest potential. He does it in such a genuine, authentic, real way and that will never change about him. I’m emotional because I’m feeling for Cam, but also just speaking truth, that dude will continue to be one of the best captains we’ve ever had and will continue to lead this football team.”
On Deuce McGuire and Martes Lewis both getting reps at right tackle: “Both are doing some really good things and both still have room to improve. Deuce’s effort and intentionality and the way he prepares and his consistency are things that really stand out. And one of the early plays that Tes is in the game, he just absolutely moves the defensive end. And also that B-gap goes from being, a decent running space to a huge running space for our back. Tes ultimately moves bodies in the run game. He’s played a lot of Big Ten football. Between Martes and Deuce, we’re gonna have to continue to rely on both those guys and and continuing just to figure out what that perfect match is. But with without a doubt, both are gonna have to play a lot.”
On the possibility of Porter getting a medical redshirt to return in 2026: “I don’t know what that looks like, to be very honest with you. But what I can tell you again, where I appreciate Cam Porter is he’s like ‘Coach, I can’t change what happened, but I can control how I approached it today.‘ When I spoke with him Saturday morning, I was shocked by just how positive and upbeat [he was.] [He said] ‘this is what I can focus on, coach, this is what I’m going to focus on.‘ So that’s how he’s going to approach things. That’s how we’ll approach things as a program. Ultimately, my hope and prayer is that there is more football in Cam Porter’s future. There’s no one that’s worked harder, been more loyal to this program, been more committed to this program and I know that will continue.”
On embracing the challenge of Oregon: “I think it’s so much just the way that this group has learned to operate in terms of our process and the standard. And I know those are cliche terms that all of us coaches utilize, but that’s where our leadership has done such a great job this offseason, defining what the standard is and what it looks like. Even challenging our team this this morning, like we’re going to acknowledge and respect our upcoming opponent, different than the way that we approach a Western Illinois game. We’re going to understand what they do well, and we’re going to prepare for that opponent. But what can we can control? We can’t control Oregon, but we can control the way that we go about our process and the standard that we adhere to. And I think our guys have a sense of ownership in that we know what Monday is going to look like. We know what our prep is going to look like this afternoon. We know that Tuesday’s practice is going to be a knockout drag-out. We’re going to get after it. We’re going to prepare ourselves for the arena and Big Ten football. This is what you want. The young men that are on this roster made a decision to come to Northwestern, because they believe it’s the most unique opportunity in all of college football — an incredible degree that will serve them the rest of their life, an opportunity to compete and aspire to win Big Ten championships. It’s one thing to talk about it, but what are you doing to actually deliver on that? And what an incredible challenge that we have with Oregon, with our Big Ten opener. In our prep over the summer, there was a tremendous amount of respect for for what they do and how they do it, and then you watch their first two games. They’re not leaving anything in the tank. This is a special football team that’s really well-coached and will present a ton of challenges for us, but that’s something that this football team is embracing.”
On what Oregon does well: “We could be here for a long time. The things that really stand out offensively — I just think they’re really well thought out. They allow their guys to play fast. They vary their tempos. They find ways to create a ton of explosive plays. They start fast. And that’s been something that’s been very consistent throughout Coach Lanning’s time. They’re offensively starting really fast. Coming into it with a new quarterback this year, you’d think maybe there’d be a fall-off there, that certainly isn’t the case. Their quarterback is playing at a really high level. They’re utilizing all their weapons. They’re lining them up in different places. Defensively young in the back half, but very talented. They don’t play young. Very veteran up front, two edges that are special players, veteran linebacker group and you can tell that that group’s playing with a lot of confidence on special teams. Sometimes when you when you face a team that’s as talented as Oregon, maybe special teams becomes an afterthought. They use it as an opportunity to use the skill that they have and be aggressive. They play in all three phases. Tremendous amount of respect for what those guys are doing.”
On the presence of FOX Big Noon Kickoff on Saturday: “During the week, it’s something you’re trying to block out. You’re just trying to focus on what you can control today. It’s also really important to acknowledge, this is exciting. This is why you play in the Big Ten. Big Noon Kickoff coming to campus. The students are back. We need Wildside at a whole other level. The lakefront needs to be packed with purple. We need to create a home field advantage. It may be a smaller venue, but it can still be an incredible advantage for the ‘Cats. These are days that you dream of when play college football. I think it’s really important that we tune that out during the week, acknowledge it on Saturday, take a moment to take it and say, ‘Yeah, this is awesome,’ and then focus on executing.”
On Oregon’s OL Isaaiah World, DB Dillon Thieneman, TE Kenyon Sadiq and OLB Matayo Uiagalelei: “Both edges are extremely talented. With those guys, you can’t pay attention to the stat line. Just turn on the film. I believe it was last week, I think [Uigalelei] had a two-sack game. [Sadiq,] they do such a good job of putting him at different spots. Like, it’s so easy to say, ‘oh, they’re talented’ You watch [Sadiq] block. He finishes and he’s physical. You can tell these guys are well coached, and they bought in. You mentioned [World]. Very impressed. If we were to rewind to last January and say, ‘where’s Oregon and be at next year?‘ you’d say ‘the O line is something that they’re going to have to address.‘ And they have. They really have impressed with that group and the continuity that they’re playing with. We’re familiar with [Thieneman.] Really good player and super instinctual. Grant O’Brien, who’s on staff with us now, actually coached Dillon at Purdue. Not only really good football player, but just is all about about all the right things. Oregon’s lucky to have him.”
On Ryan Boe’s stiff-arm against Western Illinois: “That’s Ryan. He’s a competitor, multi-sport athlete. Really excited to see him in that opportunity, make a decision to pull it, and then not pick up a chunk of yardage, but turn it into a touchdown. I think it’s just reflective of the confidence that he’s playing with, the progression that we’ve seen out of Ryan throughout spring, throughout the summer, throughout fall camp. I think that one play embodies just the level of confidence that he’s playing with right now.”
On whether the Western Illinois win helps boost team morale into the upcoming week: “We talk about our weekly mission. Last week for Western Illinois was ”prove it in the arena.“ We certainly didn’t prove it in week one. And regardless of FCS, FBS, I know I made a comment post-game, like my comment was coming from a place — a lot of my coaching career is at the FCS level. A tremendous amount of respect for the FCS, the level of footbal that’s played. Coach [Joe] Davis has done a great job over the course of the last year and a half.
There’s a level of confidence building within our group. Hayden Eligon has his first career college touchdown. Hunter Welcing, as a vet, has his first career college touchdown. Ryan Boe has his first career college touchdown. There’s guys that haven’t played a ton of college football that are starting to sense, ‘okay, this is what it feels like on game day to see success.’ Then there’s an acknowledgement of being objective, like, here’s all the positive things, but there’s a lull llate in the first quarter, in the second quarter, where we’re not operating offensively the way that we need to. There’s an acknowledgement defensively, at the end of the game, that regardless of who’s playing, our expectation is to get off the field and get stops. There’s things within our special teams game, where we’re leaving yards out on the field in terms of our punt return. So just finding this balance of acknowledging the things that should build our confidence, but also not hiding behind the fact that we won by a large margin and that everything’s okay. There’s a lot of lot of work to be done.”
On what needs to translate defensivley from the WIU to Oregon games: “I think Coach [Tim] McGarigle did an incredible job of, on a short week, of just putting our guys in situations where they could play fast and play with a ton of confidence and get all 11 on the same page. I think the thing that stood out most was our overall demeanor of play at all three levels. Still plenty to clean up. It’s definitely shown up on tape that you know, Garner [Wallace] and Rob [Fitzgerald] back at the safety position are just such critical pieces to what we’re doing. Excited about the way that that back half is really coming together. Braden Turner had a huge pass breakup that learned led to an interception for Mac [Uihlein]. Dillon Tatum got saw some more time at defense, which was really encouraging. We’re going to have to continue to lean into our depth with the defensive line, our ability to get pressure on the quarterback. Sometimes we get so tied up in the sack numbers, but we were disruptive in affecting the quarterback. That’s something that needs to continue to show up and will certainly be a huge challenge for us this week against Oregon.”
On the statuses of Frank Covey IV (who missed the WIU game) and Luke Akers (who was injured midway through the WIU game): “Luke’s full-go. Just had a cramping issue, nothing long-term. Frank’s going to be day-to-day, but very optimistic that Frank will be back here sooner than later.”
On what he saw from Hayden Eligon II and Chase Farrell with Covey out: “It’s really fun to see Hayden step up, and not just in the passing game, but blocking. He’s just such a big, physical presence. He’s put on a lot of lean muscle mass this off season. He’s really grown up and matured, really encouraged by that. And then, Chase is someone that we’re gonna have to continue to find ways to get to the ball, get the ball. He had his fumble. That’s something that he’ll flush. That’s behind us. It was good for Chase to get maybe some of those early-game jitters out, but he’s someone that we’re gonnaa lean on, and going to have to utilize a ton this year, and excited for him to continue to grow and improve.”
On Northwestern’s defense trying to limit Oregon’s “explosive plays:” “Oregon is going to make it really difficult. The way that they structure their plan early in the game, the way that they tempo, the way that they utilize their personnel quarterbacks playing at a really high level, there’s this balance of, we need to limit explosives. Oregon’s done a really good of also just being efficient and staying ahead of the sticks and not giving up TFLs, not allowing their opponents to get them behind the sticks. That’s where the challenge really presents itself. At what point defensively do you start to get more aggressive to make sure you position yourself on third down to have an advantageous third down? And Coach Lanning will be very aggressive on fourth down as well to eventually get off the field. It’s easier to talk about how critical those things are against these guys, it’ll be much more difficult to execute. But there is one thing that’s very evident, that they have been very explosive on offense. If we expect to win and to play winning football on defense, we’re gonna have to win with those explosives.”
On keeping Preston Stone grounded: “Ultimately, it just starts with the relationship between him and Coach [Zach] Lujan, him and I, and his teammates. He’s a competitor. He wants to do everything for his team. He wants to play a huge factor in helping this teamachieve and ultimately win every weekend. But it’s also just reminding him that efficient plays are good plays. You know, a check down. Forget what point it was in the game, but they’re in cover-two. He checks it down to Cam. I think it went from a third-and-10 to fourth and-1, or maybe a second-and-long to third-and-2. But those are good plays. They’re not always flashy. And understanding, we talk about trust in yourself in this program, but also trust in your teammates, that you know our O-Line is going to create opportunities for us to run the football. As you run the football, it’ll open up opportunities in the play action game. The shot to Griffin Wilde is a direct reflection of our efficiency in the run game. Tou never want to take an ultimate competitor that believes in himself as he should believe in himself, and take that out of him. It’s just a reminder to him that ‘you are well supported, man, not every play needs to be perfect, efficient plays are good plays.’
On maintaing Northwestern’s “complementary football” identity while being aggressive against Oregon: “We’re going to have to score points. That’s very clear. How do you do that in the strategic way that positions the offense to finish drives with touchdowns and doesn’t expose your defense to more snaps than you would want? The thought of Oregon’s offense having 85 snaps in a game — like that’s scary thought. Tt all has to tie together, but the biggest mistake you can make is become so passive that you don’t even allow your offense an opportunity to find ways to score points. We’ve started those discussions already. It’s going to have to be something that between all three phases as a coaching staff who were super aligned with not even on Saturday, but as we go throughout the week of practice.”
On Northwestern president Michael Schill’s resignation: “Changes in leadership are hard. The things that I will acknowledge are the things that I absolutely know to be true. Without his support, I wouldn’t hold this position. I’m incredibly appreciative of the opportunity that I have, and that’s something that he ultimately had to make a decision on. I’m incredibly grateful for Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium, and being able to play on the lakefront these last two years. Without his support, that doesn’t happen. We did get to share time together and some really trying times. It’s a lesson. I’ll just be really honest with you. It was, it was a lesson for my young boys, eight and 10 years old, as we navigated a really difficult time. My family moved across the country. Huge reason why we decided to move was to work for Coach Fitz. Now I’m getting asked a lot of hard questions from young kids. It was a lesson for them that you can disagree with the decision that you know is made, but you can also be willing to enter into conversations of where you can find common ground. The conversations that President Schill and I had over those, those months in my interim time, were critical to position our program to focus on making sure that our 2023 team had an opportunity to write their own story and go have a really successful season. So leadership change is hard, provides some opportunity, but we’ll certainly acknowledge the fact that I’m grateful for the opportunity that he gave me to hold this position.”
On Hunter Welcing’s first career touchdown as a graduate student: “Hunter’s been through a lot and just stayed the course. It was probably two weeks ago, he was a little frustrated that he hadn’t been able to practice as consistently as he wanted to throughout fall camp. Nothing major. But, he knows this is his time. I was like, ‘buddy, this is your year, man.’ And to see that come to fruition is pretty special. I’m so excited for what he’s gonna be able to provide our team, not not just these last two weeks, but for the remainder of this season. But it is a credit to his mental toughness, his physical toughness, his perseverance. He’s been through a lot, and to there’s a lot of young men that would have said, ‘You know what, I’m good.‘ And he stayed the course. Being a local guy, huge hockey background, football was somewhat new to him when he first got to Northwestern. He’s really coming into his own.”
On Oregon potentially facing travel fatigue by coming from the West Coast (and experiecing something simillar at Washington in 2024): “It’s one of those things that, as a support staff and a head coach like, you try and exhaust and look at every single thing you possibly can that could factor into positively or negatively impacting your performance. But at the end of the day, it’s only going to have as much impact as you allow it to have. To put so much focus on it that it’s part of your mindset, or part of what you’re thinking about, you’re distracting yourself. Yeah, it’s going to be really hard, but we still have to do it. When we travel out to USC and play on a Friday night — are there things that are inconvenient about that? Sure, but we still have to do it. Time to go compete. And everything that I know about Coach Lanning — excuses, explanations, that’s not part of his program. They’re gonna find a way to prepare themselves and make sure that they’re at their best for an 11 o’clock kickoff.
On how the Northwestern defensive line’s experience will help them against Oregon: “It’s absolutely critical, and it’s not just the scheme, it’s not just the opposition in terms of the speed and physicality that you’re seeing. But it’s also when they start to get tempo, and having experienced that before, calm, communicative guys that can justkeep our poise, get all 11 on the same page, will be a critical, critical element to our success.”
On his assesment of Anto Saka’s play after his preseason hype: “Turn on the tape from Western Illinois. I mean, extremely disruptive. I don’t know how quarterback hurries are tallied. I’ll tell you right now, having played defensive end, like you start chasing sacks, you’re not going to be playing. Playing good football a lot of times, a clean win on the edge doesn’t result in a sack. It results in a disruption where a quarterback steps up and someone else has an opportunity. I think Anto needs to continue to focus, and has continued to focus on what he can control. What we’re seeing on tape at practice, specifically the last week and a half, has him playing at the highest level he’s played at since he’s been here. Those stats will naturally start to accumulate.”
On the progression of transfers Fred Davis and Dillon Tatum: “It’s not easy to make that adjustment. We put a lot on those guys, but both have done a tremendous job. Dillon had to get started this summer. Fred had the opportunity in spring quarter to get going on it. Both have taken full advantage of that, spending extra time with coaches, doing what they need to do to get up to speed. You saw a great progression for Fred from week one to week two, and that needs to continue. Dillon earned his opportunities to play in week two because he had a better week of practice. That progression needs to continue. We’re gonna have to lean on those guys and lean on that depth in that room. The thing I’m most impressed with by both is just their unwavering buy-in and commitment to this progra. Those two are not about themselves, they’re about this team, and that’s something that I really I mean. Dillon Tatum makes a huge play on kickoff. He’s having a huge impact on our special teams as well.”
