Every season, unproven and inexperienced players step up and exceed expectations. Last season, Joe Gaziano, Nate Hall and Bennet Skowronek took their games to new levels, becoming important cogs in Northwestern’s success. Now, our staffers at Inside NU make our picks for who will break out in 2018.
Caleb Friedman: Earnest Brown IV
Brown was the crown jewel of the 2017 recruiting class, and but didn’t quite make the same impact classmate Samdup Miller made last season (importantly, Miller enrolled early). Brown is a superb athlete, and showed flashes of the explosiveness and pass-rush acumen that made him such a sought-after recruit coming out of high school.