North Central College Football ready to sustain success without Rutter
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (BVM) — When North Central College Football hits the field Sept. 11 for the 2021 season opener against Aurora University, it will have been 631 days since it last played a game.
That game was Dec. 20, 2019. Quarterback Broc Rutter amassed 263 passing yards in a 41-14 win over No. 7-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the NCAA Division III National Championship game.
However, with the departure of Rutter — who signed with the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes in January — the refreshed Cardinals will rely on a mix of veterans and new faces after COVID-19 concerns canceled their 2020 season.
Returning for his sixth season as head coach is Jeff Thorne, who has worked in North Central’s coaching staff since 2002. Along with guiding the Cardinals to their first-ever NCAA Division III National Championship, Thorne has also collected three College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) titles during his tenure while recording a 52-9 record since he took the helm.
Currently slotted in at quarterback is 6-foot-1 Jake Johnson. The Lake Villa, Illinois, native appeared in nine games as Rutter’s understudy in 2019, completing 17 of 33 passes for three touchdowns. He totaled a season-high 168 yards of offense while defeating Elmhurst College 82-7 Nov. 2, 2019.
While Johnson is entering his first season guiding the offense full-time, one key returnee from 2019 is running back Ethan Greenfield. He collected 2,169 rushing yards that season as the NCAA Division III national leader, earning Associated Press first team All-America honors.
Other notable returnees on the offense include wide receiver Andrew Kamienski and running back Terrence Hill. Kamienski, who would have played his senior season in 2020, is returning in 2021 following the NCAA’s decision granting an extra year of eligibility to all 2020-21 Division III athletes last October due to the pandemic.
Defensively, a few players the Cardinals will look to are defensive back Braden Lindmark and defensive lineman Isiah Ziegler. Lindmark and Ziegler recorded 38 and 43 tackles in 2019, respectively, with the latter earning second team All-CCIW honors. Linebacker Ben Wong, who led the 2019 club with 89 tackles, has not publicly confirmed whether he will return in 2021 as 2020 would’ve been his senior season.
Although North Central will predominantly depend on its veterans, the Cardinals have received a number of commits over the last year, most recently defensive back Jahmar Daniel of Marion Catholic High School, cornerback/wide receiver Tyler Fortune of Schaumburg High School and wide receiver/defensive back Javonte Rucker of Wheaton Academy.
Back in February, Ethan and Josh Bridges of Saint Charles North High School also committed to North Central College as the lone pair of siblings on this year’s squad. Both 5-foot-10, they recently graduated and were three-sport athletes during their high school careers.
After opening its 2021 slate against the Spartans, North Central will solely face CCIW opponents before concluding the regular season Nov. 13 against North Park University. Notable matchups include Wheaton College Sept. 18 in the annual “Battle for the Little Brass Bell” rivalry game and Washington University in St. Louis Nov. 6, who the Cardinals are undefeated against since the program joined the CCIW in 2018.
Despite Rutter’s departure, the Cardinals have plenty of experience and some young talent as they look for their fourth CCIW Championship under Thorne.
