On a humid, cloudy afternoon at Ryan Field, junior Kain Colter approached the media, sporting a wide-eyed smile and a sleek black number-two jersey. His arrival prompted a flurry of camera shutters and reporters frantically grabbing for their recorders.
Make no mistake about it; things have changed here in Wildcat country.
Just a year ago, Colter was a worst-case scenario; a panic button in pads and a helmet; a player who would get snaps only if All-Big Ten quarterback Dan Persa succumbed to injury. But at Saturday’s spring exhibition game, he was the center of attention, swarmed by autograph-seekers young and old.
With Colter under center, a new era has arrived in Evanston. Wildcat faithful can only hope that the rest of the team embodies what Kain Colter is all about: flexibility, explosiveness and raw promise.
“Last year, I didn’t want to overstep my boundaries with Dan in there,” said the six-foot Denver native. “Now, it’s time to take on a leadership role and help these young guys along, be a leader on and off the field.”
Despite the graduation of a slew of key starters, including Persa, wide receiver Jeremy Ebert and offensive tackle Al Netter, Colter’s presence keeps the offense looking promising. In 2011, Colter recorded a 157.7 passer rating, supplemented with a 4.8 yards-per-carry average and 18 total touchdowns. He took about half of the scrimmage’s snaps on Saturday, operating mostly out of the shotgun formation.
Still, Colter’s system has a lot of work to do, as seen by the defense’s 47-43 victory over the offense. The quarterback cited “penalties, mental errors and missed assignments” as the afternoon’s hindrances.
Trying to decipher the results of Saturday’s action is somewhat paradoxical: strong defensive performance may mean poor offensive performance, and vice versa. Was the defensive line aggressive and fundamentally sharp, or was the offensive line in need of adjustments?
Let’s take a look at what the spring exhibition game revealed about each unit on the team.