The same two friends met again on Nov. 8 after the New York Giants and San Diego Chargers played each other, catching up on all that had transpired since they last saw each other.

No, this story does not end with a pair of Medill grads talking about their time covering NFL.

Instead, it’s Barry Cofield (’06), defensive tackle for the Giants, and Luis Castillo (’05), defensive end for the Chargers — two friends who have found success as NFL linemen.

“It’s been a blessing,” said Cofield about his time with the Giants.

“It’s been a beautiful experience, that’s about the only way to put it,” said Castillo.

Both Castillo and Cofield have been starters virtually since they entered the NFL. Cofield, a fourth round pick in 2006 has started 55 of 56 regular season games, while Castillo, a first round pick in 2005, has started 57 of 60 games.

Cofield credits his time at Northwestern for preparing him for the rigors of an NFL season.

“We had difficult practices, we had difficult off-season training,” Cofield said. “It makes the NFL workload look easy.”

Head football coach Pat Fitzgerald reasons that it is something completely different that has prepared Cofield and Castillo for their success.

“Those guys worked really hard to get where they are today,” Fitzgerald said. “They put the time in the weight room and with the coaches to get to that level.”

Those efforts paid off for both Cofield and Castillo. Cofield won a Super Bowl in his second season with the Giants as a key contributor to the defensive line that propelled New York to victory over the New England Patriots. Castillo had a career high seven sacks in 2006 when the Chargers went a league-best 14-2, and was rewarded for his efforts in the 2008 offseason with a 5 year, $43 million extension from the Chargers.

It’s that kind of success that has made the Northwestern football program and Coach Fitzgerald appreciative of what the two have accomplished.

“It really shows the strength of our program that we can have those guys be successful in the NFL,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s helped us in recruiting.”

With defensive tackle John Gill (’08) signing a contract with the Indianapolis Colts practice squad and senior defensive end Corey Wootton destined for the NFL, high school linemen are taking notice. The success of players like Cofield and Castillo have already made impacts in recruiting, with the current class of 2010 featuring three defensive linemen and three on the offensive side of the ball.

Castillo and Cofield do their best to stay in touch with the program, even though they play in San Diego and New York, respectively. Castillo keeps in touch with a lot of former players like Napoleon Harris and Barry Gardner. Cofield stays in touch with Fitzgerald by exchanging texts.

“I’ll shoot Fitz a text every now and then,” Cofield says. “I was also able to come back on a bye week and catch up then.”

Naturally, they still closely follow the team on the field. After Northwestern’s huge upset over Iowa, Castillo compared it to the 33-27 overtime victory he and Cofield had over Ohio State in 2004.

“If I had to rank all the victories I’ve had in my career, that still remains number one,” Castillo said. “I’m sure that’s what a lot of the guys there are feeling now.”

Cofield said it is a lot of fun to play against other Northwestern alums in the NFL.

“Obviously it’s intense, playing for opposite teams, but it’s great to talk to them before the game and after the game, catch up and talk about old Northwestern stories,” he said.

So when Cofield and Castillo played against each other in a 21-20 Chargers victory, it was more cordial because Castillo said couldn’t get in the jabs he wanted to.

“After that experience with him [at the Super Bowl], I don’t think there’s much I can jaw at him for,” Castillo said.

Ask anyone on campus who follows Northwestern basketball, and most will tell you that if any team’s going to make the tournament, this is the one. Even ESPN.com’s Andy Katz said that he thinks the ‘Cats will make the tournament. The path through the Big Ten, though, is not easy.

What obstacles are in the ‘Cats way

Of course, all that hype was based on the presence of certain returning players. Now, however, if the ‘Cats are going to do what no other Northwestern basketball team has done in more than half a century, they’re going to have to do it without their best returning player, senior forward Kevin Coble, who is out for the year due to a foot injury sustained in practice before the season started.

Coble, who led the ‘Cats last year with 15.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, was expected to take the ‘Cats to the tournament this year. His absence, along with fellow senior Jeff Ryan, who will also miss this year due to a torn ACL, is a huge hit to the Wildcats’ aspirations for this season.

Besides dealing with the injuries to Coble and Ryan, the ‘Cats must also make up for the important loss of Craig Moore to graduation. Head coach Bill Carmody expects the ‘Cats to score “in a variety of ways” this season to handle that loss, featuring an inside game led by sophomore centers Kyle Rowley and Luka Mirkovic, as well as players such as John Shurna, a sophomore, to “take on more of the scoring load.”

Why it can still be okay

Rather than dwell on those losses, however, junior guard Michael “Juice” Thompson is looking at the players that will be on the court.

“We’re just going to have to play through it,” he said. “We’re just going to have to have people step up.”

According to Thompson, some of the players who are going to have to step up are forwards Shurna and Ivan Peljusic, a junior. Freshman forward Drew Crawford also refuses to throw in the towel with 29 games to go.

“We’re a resilient team,” he says. “We’re going to go out there, work hard, and do well.”

As for the leadership the Moore brought to the team, Thompson has stepped up into that role, taking on more of an active position on the team.

“I had to learn the offense inside and out,” said Thompson about his new duties as the leader of the team. “This year I’ve been more of a vocal leader, being more on top of guys, talking to them more.”

The players also seem to relish the competitive nature of Big Ten conference play, which may be the toughest in the country this year.

“It’s a lot of fun,” says Thompson. “It’s a battle out there.” Crawford echoes that sentiment. “It’s going to be unbelievable competition and something that I’m looking forward to.”

Expect big things from Crawford, as the freshman forward comes in as one of the Wildcats’ more highly anticipated recruits, and should get fans excited this year, according to Thompson.

“He’s going to give the Northwestern fans something they haven’t seen in a while,” says Thompson. “A lot of dunks.”

Carmody also praises the new addition, although more for the intangibles than for the highlight reels he’s going to (hopefully) be making.

“He’s a hard working kid,” says Carmody. “He picks things up quickly, and he’s going to get better and better for us.”

If the Wildcats can make the tournament this year, it would go down as a truly historical season, something that Thompson and his teammates relish.

“It’s something that drew a lot of us to the school,” says Thompson about himself and his teammates. “To be a part of history.”

The senior forward will miss the rest of the season after having surgery to repair a Lisfranc fracture in his left foot, taking away his 15.5 points per game with him. Given the vast offensive dry spells against the Bulldogs, the Wildcats needed those points.

Too often, the ball would just swing around the arc of the three-point line, resulting in too many contested jumpers. They never really found a way to establish a post game with either Luka Mirkovic or John Shurna, and they couldn’t really shake free for many open looks behind the 3-point line or create many layups. Point blank, baskets were just too hard to come by.

Some credit goes to Butler, who was playing a tight and physical man-to-man defense throughout the entire night. Nevertheless, Northwestern was never really able to challenge the defense and force the action in the ways necessary.

Butler never really respected Northwestern’s ability to beat them off the dribble, and it showed. The Bulldogs were in the jerseys of Northwestern players all night. No easy buckets, barely any open looks, a nonexistent fast-break game.

Who are the ‘Cats supposed to go to when they are in desperate need of a basket? Mirkovic had a difficult time dealing with the strength of Butler inside, especially Matt Howard. Jeremy Nash was an offensive afterthought for most of the game after a strong first game. Michael “Juice” Thompson didn’t make an impact on the second half until the tail end, when the game was basically decided.

What’s the problem offensively? Northwestern was just too predictable. On virtually every offensive possession, they tried to set up some kind of post-up for either Mirkovic or Shurna, and when Butler had an answer for it, the offense didn’t adjust.

I have no problem with the ‘Cats’ Princeton offense, but when the defense has pretty much figured out how to stop the offense in key stretches, there have to be some adjustments. Coble would clearly help in these situations, where he could create his own shot in ways that other guys on the team just don’t. Instead, you have to find other ways to score when a defense has figured you out.

More pick and rolls and dribble-drive action with Juice would be a start, letting him create for himself and others in the lane. This would force the action on the defense, instead of reacting to what they are doing to you.

Anything that is attacking the rim is good, which was evident in the Northern Illinois game where the ‘Cats lived at the free throw line and were able to create a lot of opportunities outside the arc when the defense collapsed inside. Or, the defense is going to have to create more opportunities in the open court, where Nash thrives, off of turnovers and long rebounds.

Nevertheless, it’s going to be an adjustment without Coble for the whole season. It’s too hard (and early) to try to prognosticate what Northwestern is going to do from here on out without Coble on such a small sampling but a few things will be key to whether they break the infamous NCAA tournament appearance (or lack thereof) streak.

First, they have to rebound better. They let Butler grab 10 offensive boards. When you’re struggling offensively, you can’t give the opponent more opportunities to score.

Second, they can’t let teams shoot 47 percent from the field. The focus of this team really needs to shift to the defensive end, and they need to try to fix the holes in the 2-1-2 zone defense, because Butler really began to exploit the weaknesses, a lot like Ohio State did in the final game of the regular season last season.

Third, get to the line and make the free throws – it should be easy money. When you’re struggling offensively, getting to the line is the surest way to get points, something the ‘Cats couldn’t do with consistency against Butler.

It’s a long season, but this is only the beginning of Northwestern basketball sans Coble.

With questions about the skill positions on offense at the beginning of the year, the “no-name receivers” have carved out a place for themselves in this wild season. With a regressing team defense and suspect run game, Northwestern now relies heavily on the passing game to make up the gaps for every first down, every score.

Coach Fitzgerald feels that their humility helped them take the lack of attention in stride, and use it to get better.

“They’re a group of guys that want to go out and help our football team win. Obviously when you graduate three of your most prolific receivers in program history, there’s not a lot known about who the next group is,” Fitzgerald says. “The group of guys just want to help our football team win, and that humility is what’s impressive to me.”

Photo by Katie Tang / North by Northwestern.

The drop-off hasn’t been too severe; a short-to-mid-passing game has buoyed the offense, and seniors Zeke Markshausen and Andrew Brewer have become reliable targets for quarterback Mike Kafka in their final seasons. Markshausen, in particular, has been a pleasant surprise this season, ranking second in the Big Ten for most receptions this season with 76 grabs. Coming into the season, Markshausen, a former walk-on, had one reception to his career, while Brewer is finally healthy after being dogged by a broken arm and a persistent knee injury through the past two seasons.

But beyond those two, the receiving corps as a whole have echoed the values of humility and positivity and stepped up as a group. Ask Sidney Stewart about the team’s struggles offensively, and it’s all about the group and team.

“Give the credit to our defense for coming through when it matters,” Stewart says. “For us, it’s about playing our role well, be it leading the safeties out of position or blocking on run plays.”

Sophomore superback Drake Dunsmore, heavily involved in the passing game, points to the leadership of last year’s stars. “[Last year] was a great opportunity to learn from the veterans and seniors, how to watch tape, how to improve,” Dunsmore says.

And in some ways, the lack of fanfare heading into the season was probably a blessing in disguise. “Since we were no-name guys, we didn’t really have targets on our back coming into the season,” Dunsmore says.

The growth of the inexperienced receiving corps brings a welcome punch to the offense where everything else has regressed. With only one game left, having a full 11 games under the belt and a struggling run game, clamoring for a pass-heavy game out of the shotgun spread was echoing through Wildcat Nation. Normally the optimist, Coach Fitzgerald lamented that “if we have to throw 175 times in a game, that’s what we’re going to do.”

Don’t think the pressure gets to the purple-clad pass-catchers, though. Their preparation has been comprehensive all season, with their minds focused on the approaching game. Says Markshausen, “we need to be persistent, consistent, and perform to our potential; we can’t be riding this up-and-down roller coaster.” In trying to get someone, anyone to talk about ideas of a bowl game, or the rest of the season, not one receiver spoke out of Coach Fitzgerald’s familiar clichés:

Said Stewart, “I don’t want to even talk about that. We’re just looking ahead to the next game and hopefully we can come out well on offense.”

Dunsmore: “We just want to get through this week.”

And the Cinderella story of the season, Markshausen, perhaps summed it up best, “Go 1-0 (each week). Win every game. Focus on the family, and go out and have fun.”

Photo by Rachel Koh / North by Northwestern.

Apparently football head coach Pat Fitzgerald wasn’t kidding when he said that the team teaches you life skills. Former Northwestern quarterback C.J. Bacher and offensive lineman Keegan Kennedy have already taken their unique on-field dynamic and applied it to the world of business with the opening of Purple Haze, the newest bar in Wrigleyville.

The bar, located at 3415 N. Clark St., near the Addison stop, caters specifically to a Northwestern crowd. It features a lounge-style atmosphere with large leather couches, glistening chandeliers and flat screen TVs lining the purple walls.

According to managing partner Domonique Brown, “We wanted Purple Haze to be more than just a bar. We wanted to create a safe, comfortable haven for a classy, professional college crowd. This is a great spot for college socialites looking to have fun in a sophisticated environment.”

Bacher says he heard about the opportunity to transform Purple Haze into a Northwestern bar through Lisa Hogan, a promoter who does a lot of recruiting at Northwestern and has connections with the bar’s owner, Chris Peckat. He and Kennedy jumped at the chance to get involved in creating a Northwestern bar in Wrigleyville.

Alongside Peckat and Brown, Bacher manages operations and helps to decide the direction of the bar. “Kennedy does a great job and is my right-hand man,” he says. “He takes care of any remaining work that needs to be done. We get to work half the nights together, which is really fun for us.”

The outside of Purple Haze. Photo by Rachel Koh / North by Northwestern.

Bacher emphasizes that he and Kennedy both apply many of the lessons they learned under Coach Pat Fitzgerald to their work ethic in the business world.

“There is absolutely a discipline you learn when you’re on the football field that definitely carries over,” he says. “Many things we learned while playing football apply here as well, as far as leading people, showing up to meetings on time, and being prepared for all situations. These are things that were necessary for any practice or any game.”

Bacher adds that he and Peckat saw the void in Wrigleyville, and agreed that it would be a good idea to create a Northwestern bar in the area.

“It was a simultaneous idea between the two of us. To be so close to Northwestern and to have it not be represented is something that throughout college upset me a bit. As soon as I had the chance to change it, I jumped at it.”

Bacher says in the early stages of development, their current goal is to establish a solid identity.

“We’ve definitely been pushing the Northwestern students and alumni first motto and we will expand from there. We have great specials every night, and we offer better party packages than many other bars in the area.”

Purple Haze is a restaurant in addition to a bar, which sets them apart from other bars in the area.

“This brings in a very culturally diverse Chicago crowd in addition to the Northwestern students who we hope will come here,” Brown says. “The atmosphere in this neighborhood is something we think will really appeal to college students.”

The bar is easily accessible by the red or purple line on the El, or other public transportation. However, in order to further assist students, Purple Haze will also provide for a bus every Thursday and Saturday night for $3 dollars. The bus will leave from Patten Gym at 9:45 p.m. and the Arch at 9:50 p.m., and will return to campus around 1:30 a.m.

“We provide a medium where you are able to be around Northwestern students here and feel comfortable around your own crowd, yet you still get to meet students from other areas. This was something I wish I had been able to do more of throughout my college experience, and it’s something I wanted to work on now, for my fellow Northwestern students,” Bacher says.

The rugby team gets pumped up for a tough practice before the regional playoff. Photo by Michael Reiner / North by Northwestern.

Crush. Kill. Destroy. It’s a simple motto, with a clear purpose in the world of rugby – whatever you do, whatever it takes, you better win the game. For the second time in three years, the Northwestern men’s club rugby team followed its doctrine and brought back a Chicago Area Rugby Football Union (CARFU) title after an undefeated league season.

The team’s unity and focus is clear from the start of every game. The squad lines up in a circle, jumping up and down to chants such as “We are a team, we play as a team.” As junior captain James Walsh finishes the ritual, the team pronounces its readiness to play by yelling its motto, informing the other team that they better be ready to play.

With a 16-12 win over Northern Illinois in the semifinal and a 17-5 defeat of rival Loyola in the final, the Wildcats finished with a perfect 5-0 record against their CARFU opponents this year.

“This was a goal we’ve been working for for a long time,” said senior Dave Boucher. “Everybody was so excited to finally get that done.”

With the win, the ‘Cats avenged their defeat in the CARFU championship last year to Loyola. Despite leading with ten minutes remaining in last year’s game, the ‘Cats surrendered that lead, giving Loyola the 2008 league championship.

“That’s what everybody has been thinking about, so to finally go in and to beat Loyola in league play and then to beat them for the league championship,” said Boucher, “everything came full circle.”

Although the ‘Cats lost to Wisconsin-Platteville in the first round of the Midwest Playoffs, the team’s play in the tournament was not entirely without achievement. Northwestern notched the first win by a CARFU team in the Midwest Playoffs in nearly a decade and the first win by Northwestern since 1999 by beating Iowa 36-32 in overtime. Despite battling injuries, the ‘Cats pulled out the victory, which senior team president Brendan Flannery called “one of the best wins in the history of our club.” The win was the club’s first over a Big Ten opponent.

Although that win did not help the ‘Cats advance in this year’s Midwest Playoffs, it will help earn both Northwestern and the region increased respect in the rugby world. Rugbymag.com ranked the ‘Cats the 24th best Division II college men’s team on October 22nd after the CARFU victory.

Now with two league titles and a runner-up in CARFU in the last three years, after not having won a title since 1999, the Wildcats have recently been on a wave of unprecedented success.

Boucher attributed this rise in success to “a change in dedication of the team and a change in overall commitment.”

Flannery agreed that a renewed commitment has been greatly responsible for the team’s improved results.

“I think when the senior class this year came together our freshmen year we saw that we had the ingredients for something special,” he said. “All it was going to take was a change in tone from the leadership of the club. Once we became upperclassmen we really made the focus of the club winning instead of just having fun.”

Though the ‘Cats were anchored by a core group of seniors this year, Boucher said he does not expect a drop off in accomplishments, as many of those seniors will remain with the squad next year while completing five year programs. Boucher said he believed the ‘Cats would only lose half of their senior class.

In addition, Walsh, who Boucher said was “undoubtedly the leader on the field,” is only a junior. “He’s going to be able to put together a really strong, strong unit for next season,” said Boucher.

“Things are only moving up,” said Boucher. “We’re happy that we won this CARFU league championship, but we’re not satisfied. And we know that we can do better.”

It is harder still to imagine them shaking the hand of their school’s dean at graduation in the spring. But for the majority of the football roster, it will happen.

Northwestern’s student-athlete Graduation Success Rate (GSR) for all sports was last measured by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at 97 percent in 2008, the best in the Big Ten Conference. The football team itself boasts a GSR of 92 percent. This means that 92 percent of the team, including transfer students and mid-year enrollees, will go on to complete their four-year degrees. At a school like Northwestern, by far the smallest and best school academically in the Big Ten, as well as the only private school in the conference, this feat deserves considerable acknowledgment.

Scoring a GSR in the nineties is not an easy feat. Players have to show up for football practice at Ryan Field as early as six in the morning to get taped and dressed. Afterwards, meetings are held to discuss performance and what to improve upon followed by a two-hour practice on the field. Accompanied with a full course load and homework, it can be hard for players to manage their time efficiently.

Graduate student and wide receiver Andrew Brewer thinks the biggest issue is finishing his work in time to get enough rest before waking up for practice.

“The goal is [to finish by] eight and sometimes that’s unrealistic when you’re taking a full class load,” he said. For Brewer, studying sums up to two or three hours a week, most of which is reading, but he admits that during midterms and finals, these figures jump up significantly. Yet, in the spring of 2009, he graduated with a 3.5 GPA.

The hardest transition is that of freshman players. According to Brewer, the difficulty lies in getting used to how their new school works. However, when participating in a sport, time management is one of the first things players learn to perfect.

Coach Pat Fitzgerald is proud to have such high academic success among his team.

“Our priority is to attract young men to become student athletes,” he said. “And the goal is to get a Northwestern degree.”

As a reward, players with higher GPAs get “points” for each game, which can be used to be excused from some conditioning and training at the beginning of the season. On the opposite end of the spectrum, players who cannot keep up their grades receive a slight penalty.

“We’ll assign a little extra study hall when a player’s GPA falls below a 2.0,” Fitzgerald said.

Football practice used to be an afternoon affair, held from four to nine, but the athletic office felt it would be better to move to a morning schedule to allow players more flexibility with their classes. On the afternoon schedule, players would miss out on six possible class hours, while now they only miss out on two.

“I think the important issue is how to practice in a way that doesn’t interfere with the options for taking courses,” said linguistics Professor Robert Gundlach, Northwestern’s faculty athletics representative to the NCAA and Big Ten Conference.

Student-athletes, like all Northwestern students, get advice on classes from academic advisors. Much of the attention is paid to freshmen who are just beginning to learn how best to manage their time as both a student and a football player.

The main priority of the athletic department’s academic advisors, however, is to make sure all student-athletes meet the eligibility requirements for Northwestern athletics and the Big Ten Conference. As a result, the process of choosing classes is different.

“Student athletes register in advance of other undergraduates so that they can get the classes they need for their academic programs in a way that would fit the best with their schedule,” Gundlach said.

The efforts of the athletic department and the individual athletes themselves have given Northwestern one of the highest GSRs in the nation. The Wildcats’ four-year Academic Progress Rate (APR), last released in 2008, also ranks highest in the country. Their average four-year rate of 969 out of 1,000 has earned them the American Football Coaches Association’s Academic Achievement Award for having the highest graduation rate in the country from 2002 to 2008.

Thanks to the upset at Kinnick Stadium, the Wildcats sit at 6-4, fifth place in the Big Ten and bowl eligible. There are up to seven slots for Big Ten teams in bowl games, including the Rose Bowl, which traditionally has a Big Ten vs. Pac-10 rivalry. Despite the fact that only one team in the Big Ten has been mathematically eliminated from bowl eligibility to date, Northwestern has the inside track to get one of the bids, and the next two games will make or break their postseason fate.

Wins over Illinois and Wisconsin would put the Wildcats in no lower than fourth place in the Big Ten, which according to ESPN would send them to the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Ariz. On the other hand, two losses could eliminate them from bowl contention completely, but that just won’t happen. By beating Iowa, Northwestern put itself on a national stage and showed they can compete with the best. True, Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi left the game early, but the Hawkeyes defense is still amongst the top in the country in yards allowed and points per game. The quarterback combination of sophomore Dan Persa and senior Mike Kafka led the ‘Cats over a tough opponent on the road, and that should not be ignored by the leisure suits who offer the bowl bids. Even a split of the last two games will guarantee a bowl game for Northwestern, and this upset of Iowa made it all possible.

The bigger impact to consider, however, is the off-season ripple effect. Not every program in the country beats a highly ranked, undefeated team on the road, and whether you think the victory was a masterpiece or a fluke, credit must be given to head coach Pat Fitzgerald. This win is Northwestern’s first against a top-10 opponent since 2004, when they beat #6 Ohio State in double overtime. He has turned this program into a solid player in the Big Ten and nationally, and, somewhat shockingly, the ‘Cats could have nine wins in each of the last two seasons if they win out this year. This program has not seen that kind of success in a while and could have its first back-to-back bowl appearances since 1996.

This success is clearly making Northwestern known amongst recruits, as interest in the ‘Cats is on the rise across the country. Their success from 2008 and through Saturday’s victory has made many talented athletes look strongly at Northwestern for 2011. ESPN says eight of the players considering playing in Evanston are ranked in the top 150 recruits in the class, which is significant for a team with a Northwestern’s reputation and one that is only four years removed from being below .500. Recruits from all over the country are interested in donning the purple and white, which all is thanks to Fitzgerald and his transformation of this program.

While beating Iowa is the best single result during the Fitzgerald era, the game is a just a glimpse of what the program can be. Performances like this bring attention from the media, recruits, bowls, and all the football talking heads. The key to the Wildcats season now, assuming they make a bowl, is to actually win a bowl game, something Northwestern hasn’t done since the 1949 Rose Bowl. So even though the ‘Cats may have struggled out of the gate this year, they have a chance to turn the season around, do something special for the school and make Northwestern a perennial contender.

On Sunday, October 18, his status read in a much more somber tone: “Our thoughts and prayers are with Jasper Howard’s family and the UCONN football family!” He was referring to the tragic stabbing death of 20-year-old Jasper Howard, a starting defensive back for the University of Connecticut football team. Early that morning, a fire alarm was pulled at an on-campus dance, only a short while after the Huskies’ homecoming victory over Big East rival Louisville. In the ensuing confusion, a fight erupted, and two students, one of them Howard, were stabbed.

As expected, Howard’s death rocked not only the University of Connecticut campus in Storrs, Connecticut, but the entire college football world. The football community was still reeling from when Sean Taylor, a safety for the Washington Redskins, was shot to death in his own home just two years earlier. After all, the family sentiment expressed by Fitzgerald doesn’t just exist within the Northwestern football culture, but with every team. But how safe can a college athlete feel when they are constantly being put out in the spotlight, when their names appear in headlines, their pictures on posters, and everyone on campus knows who they are?

Northwestern football players consider themselves lucky in this regard, mostly thanks to the culture of the university itself.

“I feel very comfortable,” senior safety Brendan Smith, one of the leaders of the Cats’ defense, says. “The university is one of a kind.”

Fellow senior defensive back Sherrick McManis echoes that sentiment, saying he too feels safe around campus. Compared to some other schools, Northwestern players enjoy some relative anonymity around campus compared to their counterparts. At various state schools, anybody and everybody on the team is a well-know face around campus, as Smith can vouch for.

“[Quarterback] Mike Kafka and I were at a concert at [the University of Illinois] with some players from the [Illinois] basketball team,” he remembers. “Even the backup players had people coming up to them.”

Still, despite any feeling of security at Northwestern, Smith understands the importance of always being safe when he goes out, and as one of the leaders of the team, reminds his teammates to do the same.

“The key is to always be wise, to put yourself in the right situation,” he says. Smith adds that he and other players are being constantly reminded by Fitzgerald to avoid situations where “you have to be constantly looking over your left and your right [shoulders].”

The family sentiment extends to younger players on the team as well. Smith, for his part, is always willing to help out his younger teammates. Being one of the older guys, he knows that it is part of his responsibility now to be there to help out his teammates when they need it, even if he goes out in a more relaxed setting.

“All it takes is one person to make a day end badly,” Smith acknowledges.