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Northwestern names Week 1 starting QB

Tyler Fangman

By Tyler Fangman

Published:

Pat Fitzgerald is not going to wait until game week to announce the starting quarterback.

Fitzgerald named Hunter Johnson the starting quarterback for the Wildcats today.

 

Johnson was a former 5-star recruit out of the class of 2017 who began his career at Clemson. Before transferring to Northwestern in 2018.

Johnson is a 6-foot-2 215-pound senior QB he has played sparingly in his career. In 7 games with Clemson, he was 21-27 for 234 yards completing 77.8% of his passing with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

Last year, Johnson sat behind Indiana transfer Peyton Ramsey who was 172-282 throwing for 1,733 yards on 61% passing with 12 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. leading the Wildcats to a B1G West division title with a record of 7-2. and a VRBO Citrus Bowl win over Auburn.

Johnson  played in six games with Northwestern in 2019, where he was 50-108 for 432 yards hitting on 46.3% of his passes, where he threw for 1 touchdown and 4 interceptions.

Johnson beat out Ryan Hilinski, who transferred from South Carolina this season.

Hilinski, in two seasons with the Gamecocks, played in 13 games where he completed 240-412 passes for 2,392 yards with a 58.3% completion rate and threw for 11 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.

The Wildcats open the season Friday, Sept 3, against the Michigan State Spartans.

Tyler Fangman