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Race still tight at Northwestern between Johnson, Green for starting job
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As soon as Clayton Thorson cleaned out his locker, everyone anointed Hunter Johnson as the next starting quarterback at Northwestern. A former five-star prospect was a shoe-in to win the job.
He’s got some pretty tough competition from T.J. Green, though.
Pat Fitzgerald isn’t into the star ratings system or determining a starter by listening to everyone else. That’s why, when Thorson left, Johnson and Green (and anyone else) were given an equal shot to win the job.
So far, the battle is still pretty tight. Northwestern takes the field in just two weeks.
According to Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune, Fitzgerald has hinted that Johnson has not yet beaten out Green for the No. 1 spot on the depth chart. At times, both guys have played like they deserve to be the starter. At other times, both have looked like they should be holding a clipboard on the sidelines.
The result from that competition is an unnamed starter as Northwestern makes the transition from fall camp into Stanford preparation. Whether or not that’s good or bad for the Wildcats is for you to determine.
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You’d probably like to have a starter named at this point in camp. Someone who elevated his game and stood out after the first three weeks would allow Northwestern to move forward with one guy and allow the offensive line, receivers and backfield to be comfortable with the signal caller.
On the other hand, a tight competition means that you’ve got two really good quarterbacks battling to win the job. And, as they say, iron sharpens iron, right?
Whether it’s Johnson or Green who wins the job, Northwestern is in a good situation at the quarterback position. We just may not know who takes the first snap in 2019 for the Wildcats until gameday.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB