Pat Fitzgerald joked with reporters Wednesday evening that he definitely would have a quarterback under center when Northwestern hosts Stanford on Sept. 5.
He ended any suspense Thursday when he named redshirt freshman Clayton Thorson as the starter for the season opener.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Thorson, a four-star recruit from Wheaton North in 2014, beat out sophomore Matt Alviti and fifth-year senior Zack Oliver for the job.
Fitzgerald has played two quarterbacks in previous seasons, leaving open the possibility Alviti and Oliver could see significant playing time.
“As a quarterback unit, I feel like we’ve gotten a lot better,” Thorson said after practice Wednesday. “We are coming together at the right time. We understand Stanford is a really good team. It’s nice to know you are playing for something.”
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Fitzgerald made it clear all three candidates performed well during training camp.
“Nobody has lost the job, which there was a chance of that,” he said. “All three have done some really good things, and all three have done some very coachable opportunities for us. All three bring something to the table, and we will see how things progress.”