Northwestern football’s Drew Wagner shines on punt returns

Northwestern freshman wide receiver Drew Wagner wrestled with significant nerves during his weekday preparation for Saturday’s Iowa game at Kinnick Stadium. Wagner had made several special teams appearances in prior contests, but the Delafield, Wisconsin, native would soon step into a newfound spotlight.

With graduate student wide receivers A.J. Henning and Bryce Kirtz injured, Wagner’s name shot up the punt returner depth chart last Monday. Two days later, Wagner tackled a macroeconomics midterm.

But, the true freshman preferred-walk-on encountered his toughest test Friday, when coach David Braun and special teams coordinator Paul Creighton told Wagner he’d make his first career start at punter returner in front of nearly 70,000 fans in Iowa City.

“The whole week I was really nervous about it, and then on gameday — once I was out on the field — I was still nervous but almost had a sense of relief,” Wagner told The Daily on Tuesday. “It was like, ‘Alright, I’ve prepared for this all week, and I’m ready to just go out there.’”

Since Wagner had yet to record a collegiate touch prior to the Wildcats’ matchup with the Hawkeyes, Braun and Creighton instructed the freshman to focus on cleanly catching his first few punts.

After taking fair catches on a trio of punts, Creighton gave Wagner the green light to try his luck on a return. Although his first return netted negative yardage, Wagner gave Creighton a glance upon his return to the sideline that commanded the longtime special teams coach’s attention.

“I’ve never been more confident in a kid,” Creighton said. “I knew 100% that he was going to make a play. What makes Drew so unique is that for a true freshman in such a big role, he didn’t flinch. As a coach, when you look at a kid and you’re putting him in a tough position, you always want to see what you see in Drew — that absolute confidence in himself.”

As the game clock ticked under seven minutes, Wagner fielded Iowa punter Rhys Dakin’s long-range boot on the NU 28-yard-line. Wagner shook off two Hawkeyes who converged on him less than a second after he collected possession. Moments later, the freshman saw nothing but green grass ahead as he shifted gears to an all-out sprint.

By the time Wagner’s momentum came to a halt, a flurry of teammates mobbed the punt returner in the end zone following his 72-yard touchdown.

“Honestly, I was shocked … my mouth was wide open,” Wagner said. “My mindset was just having good ball security. So when that happened, I just felt like I blacked out from the point where I caught it to being in the end zone. Then, all of my teammates were there celebrating with me. It was a crazy moment, one of the best moments of my life.”

Just as he’d done throughout a standout career at Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine High School, Wagner turned an unlikely chance into a show-stopping display, potentially carving out a sustained return role as the ’Cats enter the final third of their season.

***

Brenda Wagner, Drew Wagner’s mother, kept her younger son off the football field during his early athletic years because she didn’t want to see him get hurt. However, she relented once Drew Wagner reached eighth grade, letting him follow in his older brother Matt Wagner’s footsteps.

“He’s always been an underdog,” Brenda Wagner said. “He always told me, ‘Don’t worry, mom. They won’t catch me.’ His older brother was also a huge part of his work ethic, helping him along the way and pushing him.”

Drew Wagner’s first love was basketball. Despite being an undersized guard, he shone on AAU circuits and started on his high school’s varsity squad as a freshman.

While he competed alongside Duke guard Kon Knueppel and Nebraska guard Nick Janowski on his AAU squad, Drew Wagner realized he stood a greater chance of playing football at the collegiate level and shifted his aspirations to the gridiron.

“It was always basketball until after my sophomore year of football going into my junior year, when I started to flip the switch and set my mind toward football,” Drew Wagner said.

Matt and Drew Wagner were set to team up for the first time in the latter’s sophomore year, but Matt Wagner sustained a torn ACL ahead of his senior season that derailed his recruitment hopes and ended his high school football career.

Kettle Moraine High School football coach Matt McDonnell entrusted Drew Wagner with filling his older brother’s role as the varsity squad’s primary receiver. McDonnell, who first met Drew Wagner during a pickup basketball game three years prior, said his young wideout quickly blossomed into an offensive “cheat code.”

“He was our get-out-of-jail-free card,” McDonnell said. “Anytime you’re in a tough situation and you just throw the ball to Drew, something good was going to happen because he just would find a way to catch the ball. … He would go all four quarters and never gave an inch.”

As Drew Wagner developed into a defensive coordinator’s nightmare at wideout, his coaches began incorporating him in the secondary. The gradual process started with practice reps and shifted into situational sets.

Eventually, Kettle Moraine defensive coordinator Chad Buchholz expanded Drew Wagner’s Iron Man-esque role to span the entire course of games.

“It’s incredible because Drew was an offensive guy first,” Buchholz said. “Whenever we needed a lockdown corner in a big play, we would call upon Drew, and he would go out there and just be the man. When you have an athlete that you can put that much trust in and rely on to perform at a peak level, that’s special.”

***

Drew Wagner hauled in a combined 103 receptions for 2,056 yards and 24 touchdowns in his sophomore and junior seasons, but college scouts seldom looked beyond his measurables.

Despite little attention from college coaches, Drew Wagner’s local reputation preceded himself, Milwaukee-based trainer Matt Gifford said. Gifford trained both Drew and Matt Wagner during their respective high school careers.

“I thought this kid could be the next Julian Edelman,” Gifford said. “He has the Wes Welker, New England Patriot slot receiver-type feel where he just knows how to get open.”

Heading into the summer before his senior year, he had received six offers from several FCS and service academies.

On June 27, 2023 — 10 days after receiving an offer from Navy — Drew Wagner committed to the Midshipmen. He said he loved the coaches’ vision for the program, but he still had hopes of playing Power Four football on the game’s brightest stages.

Tom Wagner, Drew Wagner’s father, said the Naval Academy aligned with his law enforcement background, but he felt his son was wise to keep his options open. He added that he knew Drew Wagner would thrive in an environment with high athletic and academic pedigrees.

Having sustained a torn labrum and a chipped bone during his junior year, Drew Wagner consulted a surgeon and opted to delay surgery to play out his senior season of high school football. While he fought through significant pain, his risk of aggravating the injury wasn’t elevated.

“It’s a catch-22 because there’s a lot of kids that will just hang it up and opt for the surgery,” Kettle Moraine offensive coordinator Kevin Yarbrough said. “In typical Drew fashion, you almost wouldn’t know he’s playing with that type of injury. It’s a testament to the amount of work he did in his preparation.”

Once the season ended, Drew Wagner finally underwent shoulder surgery, which caused him to miss the bulk of his final high school basketball season.

Kettle Moraine basketball coach Brian Richert shifted Drew Wagner into a coach-type role, where he mentored his backup into an all-league caliber player that season. Richert said his former point guard left a lasting impact on the team’s culture.

“It doesn’t matter how tall you are as long as you have that dawg mentality,” Richert said. “He’ll go out and compete against anyone because he’s confident in his ability. He knows no matter who he goes up against, his passion for getting better every day is going to come out in him. He never let his size dictate anything. He never backed down.”

About six months after Drew Wagner committed to Navy, Braun — a Kettle Moraine alumni who applied for the school’s head coaching job early in his career — gave the wide receiver a preferred-walk-on offer. The Wagner family took a visit to Annapolis, Maryland, the day after the ’Cats offered Drew Wagner a roster spot.

There, Drew Wagner said he couldn’t shake the thought of pursuing his dream of playing Big Ten football so close to home. Once he came to the Evanston campus for his NU visit, he said all the pieces began falling into place. He officially committed to the ’Cats on Feb. 4.

“People always say that ‘When you know, you know,’ and I just kind of knew from visiting — just from the coaches and how awesome they were — I felt like I’d be really happy here,” Drew Wagner said.

***

When he flipped his commitment — betting on himself to earn a role with nothing guaranteed — Drew Wagner held very few expectations ahead of his true freshman season, he said.

All he could control was the work he put in, he added.

“I was really nervous coming here, just being a walk-on,” Drew Wagner said. “Obviously it’s tough, but I just put my head down and worked. It’s been great to have a lot of good friends here, great coaches, great teammates, all the older guys. That’s one thing I was scared about, they’re gonna be big, scary dudes, but those dudes are like brothers now to all of us.”

Every time he steps on the field — for both practices and games — Drew Wagner said he thinks of his older brother and not taking any play for granted. He added that he’s playing for both of them, actualizing childhood dreams of playing Big Ten football just over 100 miles from home.

While Braun said the team’s depth chart at punt returner will continue to be evaluated as Henning and Kirtz return to full health, he added that Drew Wagner’s dynamic ability means the ’Cats must find ways to get him involved.

With Drew Wagner on a path to potentially earning a full scholarship, he said he wants to do whatever he can to help the team win games.

“I just want to get an opportunity to play on special teams or wherever and make the most of it to help this team,” Drew Wagner said. “Some of the older guys, it might be their last year. It’s been amazing to get to know them, and I just want to be the best teammate I can be.”

Creighton said Drew Wagner only has one speed on the football field — max effort on every rep.

The ’Cats’ coaching staff didn’t have many expectations for the true freshman entering fall camp, but Creighton said his newest punt returner carries a chip on his shoulder and embodies the culture NU is striving to build.

“Drew’s a perfect example of who we can be in the Big Ten,” Creighton said. “He’s the perfect picture of how Northwestern can freaking win games and compete in this league. If we could take 100 Drew Wagners, we could compete with anybody in the country.”

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