That's a lot of pressure to put on a freshman

After all, NU was trying to find a new quarterback with Basanez playing on Sundays.I too am a senior, and did not follow Northwestern football until the day I was admitted to the university. I learned about Coach Walker's passing from the Northwestern home page.I remember listening to their emotional win over Miami (OH), which of course is where Walker used to coach.Mike Kafka started at quarterback that day to open the 2006 season. Brewer was a highly touted recruit out of Oklahoma where he played for a traditional football powerhouse and excelled as a dual-threat quarterback. But to be quite frank, he was not very good at Northwestern.When sophomore CJ Bacher finally got healthy, Brewer was out of a job, but not for long.

Northwestern's seniors have a 3-0 record at Kinnick Stadium for a reason...they just seem to love it there Brewer's transformation into this year's No. 2 receiver began there, when he caught a deep throw from Bacher to set up a NU touchdown.But Brewer had to deal with even more adversity in 2007, when he missed the entire year with an injury. After a spectacular cameo last year against Minnesota, where he set the Big Ten single-game record for rushing yards by a quarterback, Kafka has used his arm more than his legs this year.People doubted his passing before the season, but his success through the air is a tribute to his hard work and the coaching staff at NU. Buried behind Bacher for the past few seasons, Kafka has been an upgrade over what Bacher provided last year.Meanwhile, Brewer has finally turned into the wide receiver we were all dreaming he could be back in that Iowa game in 2006.The latest example being his huge catch on a seam route against Illinois, which set up a Northwestern touchdown. He walked on at Northwestern and red-shirted in 2006.Markshausen has said that the coaching staff gave him a week-long tryout, and that he was just trying to fit in, and not be noticed for doing anything wrong.

Well, they noticed him doing a lot right, and he made the team. But before this magical senior season, he only had one career catch Currently, he's second in the Big Ten in receptions. Teammates have described Markshausen as the hardest worker on the team by far, and this year the effort and persistence has paid off.He and his fellow senior receiver Brewer both share a strong Christian faith that has kept them going through the tough times.Both will walk off Ryan Field tomorrow as some of the more resilient players in NU history. Hopefully, they can get a Senior day victory and a bowl win as well.Our story of perseverance is certainly not limited to the offensive side of the ball. Corey Wootton actually played in four games as a freshman, but got hurt in the fourth, and got a medical hardship.I remember going to the Eastern Michigan game my freshman year and thinking, "Man, No. 99 is huge, I hope he's good, he looks like a beast!" When Wootton first signed with the Wildcats, Walker said he had the potential to be the best defensive player in NU history.That's a lot of pressure to put on a freshman.

Wootton underachieved relative to fans' expectations in 2006 and 2007. But in 2008, he emerged as one of the best players in the entire conference, if not the country.A dream season for Wootton ended abruptly though as he tore his ACL while pursuing Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel.Wootton had to go through a very tiring and difficult rehab in order to get back for the 2009 season.As Fitzgerald, who also dealt with injuries during his time in Evanston, said, the biggest challenge is to regain that mental confidence to play football at full speed again.Wootton started 2009 slowly, and suffered a minor injury midway through the season, furthering his difficulties.But at the same time, he made the play of the season against Iowa. He sacked Ricky Stanzi in the end zone, jarring the ball lose, and fellow senior Marshall Thomas recovered it for the touchdown.On the play, Stanzi was hurt, and from that point on, NU dominated on defense as they shocked the fourth-ranked Hawkeyes.Senior Safety Brendan Smith has a chance this year to make history. If he plays in NU's bowl game, he will become the first player ever at Northwestern to play in three bowl games during his career. But for Smith, it's also been a long, difficult journey to this point.After a freshman All American Honorable Mention season in 2005, Smith performed well in 2006 as well, earning All Big Ten Honorable Mention honors that year. But in 2007, just like Brewer, Smith suffered an injury that forced him to take a medical hardship.But he battled back and made possibly the most memorable play of the past decade for NU when he picked off an Adam Weber pass and returned it to the house as time expired to beat the Golden Gophers in one of the most improbable wins in NU school history.