EVANSTON, Ill. – It’s a big year for Northwestern football.
David Braun is coming off a 4-8 season where the Wildcats were in a class behind the top of the Big Ten. After an offseason that included plenty of portal additions, Braun spoke of his excitement at what lies before him with the 2025 Northwestern team.
“(We’re) really excited about the progression that our current football team is making as we move towards the 2025 season,” Braun said at Northwestern’s Pro Day on Tuesday.
After Braun addressed reporters, here’s where Northwestern football stands during a pivotal spring season.
‘We got a lot of work to do’
Northwestern is in a transitional moment.
Braun’s first season was a success. The second was a struggle. The common denominator was the addition of four new teams to the Big Ten, plus a temporary stadium and a schedule that included the eventual national champions.
In 2025, Northwestern has to be in a position to win games.
“We have to check our egos at the door,” Braun said. “We have to get to work.”
The Wildcats weren’t light years away in 2024. They played College Football Playoff participant Indiana well for three quarters, had an impressive stretch against Ohio State before the Buckeyes took off and showed their mettle in a blowout road win over Maryland.
But, 2025 doesn’t get easier with a trip to Tulane on the docket, as well as Oregon, UCLA, USC and Penn State on the schedule, too. Northwestern can’t get left behind in an ever-changing college football landscape.
Still, after enduring 2024, Braun likes what he sees from his program which includes homegrown players, key transfers and returning captains.
“Still a lot of work to be done,” Braun said. “But there are certainly some elements within the program in all three phases that have us really excited about the depth within our program, the competitive depth and where we’re trending as a football team right now.”
Inside Northwestern’s QB1 battle
Last season, Braun opened up the regular season with Mike Wright as his starting quarterback. By the third week of the season, he made the change to Jack Lausch. By the end of the season, Lausch was splitting some time with freshman Ryan Boe.
This season, there will be another battle for the team’s starting quarterback job. The candidates are: Lausch, Boe and SMU transfer Preston Stone.
“We haven’t named a starter and we won’t,” Braun said. “Preston and Jack are our gaming reps with the ones, Ryan was getting a bunch of reps with the twos.”
Northwestern’s quarterback play last season was a sign the ‘Cats needed to dive into the transfer portal and get a quarterback that fits offensive coordinator Zach Lujan’s system. Northwestern got that in Stone.
Stone was a former four-star prospect coming out of high school. He played four seasons at SMU, starting full-time in the 2023 season where he threw for 3,197 yards, 28 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He’s impressed Braun in the spring.
“I’ve been very impressed with Preston’s ability to come in and pick up a new offense and seem comfortable anytime that a quarterback transitions into a new offense,” Braun said. “There tends to just be a time of adjustment.”
Lausch needed time to adjust, too. As a redshirt sophomore, Lausch played in 10 games and threw for 1,714 yards with eight touchdowns against seven picks. Lujan’s offense isn’t easy to pick up, but what helps this offseason is that Lausch isn’t putting pressure on himself.
Lausch is currently playing on Northwestern’s baseball team, too. That’s helped him stay loose.
“I don’t know if there’s anyone else in the country that could be doing what Jack Lausch is doing right now, but Jack Lauch is playing the best football than that I’ve ever seen him play,” Braun said. “I think some of it is just showing up and having fun and playing the game that he enjoys. He’s been within the offense for over a year now, but he’s got a lot going on. He is showing up. He’s not putting a bunch of pressure on himself.”
The door is open for Boe, too, but Lausch and Stone seem to be the early front runners to be NU’s starting quarterback.
What a difference a year makes for the NU offensive line
The ‘Cats offensive line took a hit this offseason when Josh Thompson transferred to LSU.
This offseason, NU responded by landing three offensive linemen in the transfer portal. South Dakota State’s Evan Beerntsen, Minnesota’s Martes Lewis and Liberty’s Xavior Gray join the program. It remains to be seen what those configurations look like for the offensive line, but just having those players is an improvement for Braun’s Wildcats.
“Last spring ball this time we were sitting here and we had seven guys participate in spring practice with the offensive line,” Braun said. “Right now, we’ve been around 11. We still got some guys that are coming off of injury from the season.”
When those players heal up, Northwestern will have an offensive line room that’s deep. Losing talent like Thompson hurts, but NU has a good mix of returning offensive lineman and portal additions. Players like Beerntsen, who was successful at South Dakota State, is earning his spot on the offensive line. Meanwhile, Braun mentioned Caleb Tiernan by name, and gave him rave reviews on Tuesday.
“Caleb Tiernan is playing at a whole new level,” Braun said. “He had a tremendous year last year, but the progression he’s continued to make is really, really exciting.”
Braun also gave massive credit to his coaching staff, like the addition of run game specialist Ryan Olson and assistant offensive line coach Bill O’Boyle, and the work they’ve done with the offensive line.
The ‘Cats are hoping it pays off in 2025.
“You see a different level of play in our offensive line right now in this spring ball compared to where we were at last year, and it’s a credit to the guys in that room,” Braun said. “It’s a credit to the coaching. It’s also a credit to the fact that the guys have been in the system for over a year now.”
