“Consistency,” said Northwestern senior quarterback Steve Schnur. “And a better ratio of touchdowns to interceptions.”
Those were goals that Schnur focused on when preseason drills began two weeks ago, and he achieved them, prompting coach Gary Barnett to name him starting quarterback for Saturday’s opener at Notre Dame.
Barnett named Schnur his starter before the 6-foot-1-inch, 190-pound senior from St. Louis completed 14 of 18 passes in the Cats’ final preseason scrimmage Friday at Dyche Stadium. A key in his selection over junior Tim Hughes was Schnur’s directing a 16-play drive for the only TD in a scrimmage one week ago.
Schnur completed 15 of 30 passes for 202 yards in relief of injured Lenny Williams against Iowa in 1993. Last year, sharing starting duties with Hughes, he completed 52 percent of his passes, but had a 4-10 ratio of TD passes to interceptions.
The Wildcats’ two major training camp scrimmages also eased Barnett’s concern about the inexperience of his running backs. Only sophomore Darnell Autry has taken a handoff in a college game, but Adrian Autry (no relation) and Faraji Leary, both redshirted as freshmen last season, carried the ball impressively in scrimmages. Both backup tailbacks are Chicago area natives. Adrian Autry played at Loyola Academy, Leary at Stevenson.