Northwestern's upperclassmen moving at record pace mentally

Though Northwestern is using the first week of training camp to install the basic schematics of the team’s offense, defense and special teams, the development of the team’s knowledgeable upperclassmen has not been sacrificed.

In the past upperclassmen more familiar with the team’s schematics may not have gotten as much out of the first week while the team went over material those players already knew.

But at Northwestern’s media day on Thursday, coach Pat Fitzgerald revealed that the team is moving mentally at a much quicker pace that it has in previous training camps. That has helped players like senior quarterback Kain Colter and senior running back Venric Mark as they prepare for the season.

“In the initial phase I think they’ll be in great shape and I think they’ll be ready to play when we get to the opener and ready to execute,” Fitzgerald said. “For that group [of upperclassmen] I think we’re going at a quicker pace than we’ve gone in the past so they’re not becoming bored.”