A football season is always full of surprises, and Northwestern received contributions from up and down the roster, even from players the coaching staff may have never envisioned on the field. In 2018, several players made names for themselves. Here are five breakout players from Northwestern’s Big Ten West championship season:
As we’ve already chronicled, Bowser was never supposed to play this season. Forced into action after the ground stop following Jeremy Larkin’s retirement, he burst onto the scene in glamorous East Piscataway when NU rode him to a comeback win over Rutgers. The freshman doesn’t have game-changing speed, but he showed shiftiness and power, and gained maturity as the season went on.