Braun names Stone starting QB, confirms Lausch's exit in Media Day remarks

Head coach David Braun answered Northwestern’s quarterback questions in the span of five minutes during his opening remarks at Big Ten Media Days on Wednesday: SMU transfer Preston Stone will start, and Jack Lausch, who started 10 games last season, has left the program to pursue a future playing baseball.

The writing has been on the wall for both moves for some time now, so neither announcement came as a surprise. But Braun could have let the intrigue run into the fall for a program that has traditionally reveled in keeping quarterback battles private.

Instead, in the spirit of Las Vegas, Braun put his cards on the table.

“Preston Stone will be our starting quarterback in 2025,” he said. “Jack worked through [his decision] throughout the course of May and June, and ultimately the decision he made is something that was strongly supported by everyone.”

Lausch graduated from Northwestern in June and played baseball for the Wildcats this spring, putting football on the backburner. He then played 17 games for the Williamsport Crosscutters in the MLB Draft League this summer.

Although he was not selected in the 2025 MLB Draft, Lausch is sticking to his decision and has options available to continue playing baseball at Northwestern, transfer to play elsewhere or seek Minor League opportunities as an undrafted free agent.

“Jack has a bright, bright future in baseball for a long, long time,” Braun said. “We will miss his leadership.”

Stone’s outlook is clear as the officially coronated QB1. He is the first quarterback to represent Northwestern at Media Days since Clayton Thorson in 2018, and his performance in the spring gave the staff confidence to make the call early, rather than waiting until fall camp.

This is by far the earliest public quarterback decision of Braun’s tenure. He formally announced his starter in 2023 (Ben Bryant) and 2024 (Mike Wright) when they went out for the first drive of the first game of the season.

“I’ve been impressed with [Preston’s] football knowledge, his processing, his accuracy and leadership, but what I’ve been most impressed with is his ability to quickly build relationships with his teammates,” Braun said. “He is someone that our team truly rallies around and he is a special leader, especially at the quarterback position.”

For the first time in several years, Northwestern will go into fall camp with the starter at the game’s most important position already identified.

Braun and program hungry for 2025 turnaround

Braun has been clear that the 4-8 result of the 2024 season is not up to the program’s standards. The most impassioned part of his opening statement came when he described the offseason outlook.

“This is a special group that turned up in January humble, hungry and frustrated after the 2024 campaign,” he said. “It’s a group that chose to show up, get to work and make incredible change as we approach 2025. It started with great leadership from our team, hard conversations and a willingness to really evaluate everything.”

One of Braun’s most eye-catching quotes of last season came after the loss to Illinois in the regular season finale. He promised that the way Northwestern operates would be “turned on its head.”

He has followed through on those words, welcoming 15 incoming transfers since the season ended.

“I’ve had many conversations with our staff over the last year; in chaos, there’s opportunity,” he said. “College football, over the past year, has been in a state of chaos. There are a lot of opportunities for us to identify our non-negotiables, and then the changes that we need to make to find success, in not only 2025 but a foundation for years to come.”

Optimistic tone for the future grounded in facilities

“There are endless reasons to be excited about Northwestern football right now,” Braun said.

He went on to cite another season at the “most unique venue in college football”, the program’s temporary lakeside field at Martin Stadium. The Wildcats will play four games there this season, including Big Ten games against Oregon, UCLA and Purdue. He also referenced the ongoing construction on the new, $850 million Ryan Field, set to open in 2026.

“I can speak firsthand, having been field level on tours, the amount of energy from Ryan Sports [led by megadonor Patrick Ryan and family] in development, design…they’ve left no stone unturned,” he said. “It truly will be the best football venue in the country.”

Braun also highlighted the program’s ability to retain players like Anto Saka and Caleb Tiernan, who are both representing the program in Las Vegas.

“It’s easy for us to talk about the transfers that we brought in, but I’m so proud of the job our staff did in retaining our football team,” he said. “We had a bunch of young men that decided that they want to stay here and be a part of a special 2025 season.”

Braun also briefly referenced the importance of newly hired general manager Christian Sarkisian, who will oversee the program’s $20.5 million revenue sharing budget.

“He’s going to play a critical role in our roster management,” Braun said. “His experience in the NFL, his ties to Northwestern…I could not be more excited about Christian being on board.”

More to come from Media Days.