April 3, 2007

EVANSTON, Ill. -- With a line of thunderstorms approaching Evanston early Tuesday morning, Northwestern conducted its fifth spring practice indoors at Trienens Hall. With the Wildcats in full pads for a second straight practice, Northwestern spent several periods working on full-team (11-on-11) drills. Quarterbacks Mike Kafka (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita) and Joe Mauro (Bedford, Texas/L.D. Bell) continue to share reps at the signal caller position while C.J. Bachér (Sacramento, Calif./Jesuit) comes back from off-season toe surgery.

The 'Cats also ran one of their favorite spring and preseason drills, called "Hamburger." "Hamburger" is a drill that matches an offensive and defensive lineman locking horns while a ball carrier tries to use his offensive lineman's block to beat the defender. During the drill, there were several strong performances by players on both sides of the ball.

Wide receiver Andrew Brewer (Tulsa, Okla./Jenks), who made one of the best catches of the spring when he hauled in a Kafka pass with one hand during 11-on-11, talked to NUsports.com about his transition from the quarterback position and what he brings to the receiving corps. Brewer talks about what it's like to be hit hard in practice and the depth at wide receiver.

Click Here to watch the interview on NUSports.com All-Access.

To view the entire interview, you must be an All-Access subscriber. All-Access will have interviews with players and coaches throughout spring practice.

The Wildcats are conducting their 11 weekday practices at 7:25 a.m. this year. Northwestern's three Saturday practices begin at 9:15 a.m. with the Spring Game slated for a noon start on April 21.

PRACTICE NOTES:
• Northwestern will conduct its sixth spring practice Wednesday morning. The Wildcats will be in "shells" (helmets and shoulder pads) for this session.

• The Wildcats lost a pair of wide receivers for the spring, due to injuries suffered in Saturday's morning practice. Senior Kim Thompson (Inkster, Mich./Detroit Country Day) is out with a broken leg and sophomore Zeke Markshausen (Capron, Ill./North Boone) has a broken ankle. Both players are expected to be fully recovered by the start of preseason camp in August.

• The only new face on this year's coaching staff is Rayna Stewart, the Wildcats' new defensive graduate assistant. Stewart, who played football at Northern Arizona, spent five-plus seasons in the NFL (Tennessee, Miami, Jacksonville) as a safety and special teams player.