Bigger, stronger Wildcats show progress during spring drills
Ifeadi Odenigbo lined up opposite Shane Mertz. The defensive end and offensive tackle have played a handful of snaps between them, but this was Northwestern’s final spring-football practice, and it’s been a spring like no other under coach Pat Fitzgerald. On a cold, gray, blustery day at Lakeside Field, with the Chicago skyline gleaming in the distance, this matchup between Odenigbo, one of the most sought-after recruits in school history, and Mertz, who at 6-8, 295 pounds is one of the largest players to don the purple and white, was as interesting as any. Players such as these have convinced …
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Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald feels games at Wrigley will help recruiting
Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said playing games at Wrigley Field only will help him on the recruiting trail. “We’re trying to win a Big Ten and national championship and to have that attraction in recruiting where we can give young men the unique experience no one else can sell along with everything we already have was something that was very appealing to myself and my staff,” Fitzgerald said. “We’re talking to kids we’ll see in future signing days and saying, ‘We’re going to be playing in Wrigley Field.’ ” Northwestern held a joint news conference with the Cubs on Tuesday …
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Exuberant coach Pat Fitzgerald has made football relevant at Northwestern
Michigan 94, Northwestern 66. Buzz kill, anybody? NU was in full celebratory mode last week after one of the most significant football victories in its history, a New Year’s Day thumping of Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl that concluded a rare 10-victory season. No one would dare dispute athletic director Jim Phillips’ proclamation that Pat Fitzgerald is the best coach in America. Two nights later, the basketball Wildcats drew unbeaten Michigan in their Big Ten opener. Coach Bill Carmody wore the forlorn look of a hungry kid who’d had his lunch money stolen as the Wolverines ran a layup …
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Expectations continue to rise for Northwestern football
If you pay attention to Northwestern football long enough, you will hear somebody say, ‘‘That’s a nice season for Northwestern,’’ as though the Wildcats should be measured on a different scale than their Big Ten rivals. The small, private, academically elite school is unique in the Big Ten, to be sure. But does there come a point when the definition of football success in Evanston extends beyond being bowl-eligible or snapping NU’s decades-long victory drought in bowl games? As coach Pat Fitzgerald’s team prepares for its Gator Bowl matchup Tuesday against Mississippi State, the question becomes: Just how good can …
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After six seasons, Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald knows his role like he knows himself
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Stacy Fitzgerald is trying to describe how her husband endured his first season as Northwestern’s head football coach, when he was unexpectedly promoted after the sudden death of mentor Randy Walker. ‘‘He didn’t sleep a lot,’’ she remembers while watching NU prepare for its Gator Bowl appearance against Mississippi State. ‘‘Even when he went to sleep, he wasn’t asleep. I was also seven months pregnant. I had a 1-year-old and was pregnant. I couldn’t tell you much about what he went through day-to-day. I was just trying to survive myself.’’ Pat Fitzgerald appeared to be in over …
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