Northwestern’s Aidan Chiles, Chip Kelly Fit Ranked Among Best in CFB

For years, Northwestern's offense has been among the worst in college football. The Wildcats have almost always been powered by a dominant defense, and that unit has often had to pick up the slack left by a lackluster scoring attack.

NU's approach this offseason has shown the program is serious about changing the narrative. David Braun, Mark Jackson and Christian Sarkisian turned heads with the hiring of Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator, and the 2026 Wildcats will certainly look different from those of old.

Redshirt sophomore Ryan Boe has garnered Braun's praise over his two seasons in Evanston, but the 'Cats still went to the portal last month in search of a starting-caliber passer. Northwestern found its solution to its quarterback question in Michigan State transfer Aidan Chiles, who appears to be the ideal candidate to run Kelly's offense.

According to CBS Sports writer Shehan Jeyarajah, the new pairing of Chiles with Kelly is one of the best transfer QB fits in college football.

"Chiles has long been a mystery box, ultimately failing to wrangle his vast potential under Jonathan Smith at Michigan State," Jeyarajah said. "However, after calming his turnover issues, he finds himself in a perfect situation under first-year offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Kelly has made a career of elevating dual-threat quarterbacks, and Chiles gives him plenty of tools to play with."

Among Jeyarajah's list of the top 10 transfer portal quarterback fits this cycle, Chiles and Northwestern ranked No. 6. The former Michigan State and Oregon State passer trailed only Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State), Brendan Sorsby (Texas Tech), Josh Hoover (Indiana), Sam Leavitt (LSU) and Byrum Brown (Auburn).

Chiles appeared in nine games as a true freshman at Oregon State before following his head coach, Smith, to East Lansing. He won the Spartans' starting job as a sophomore in 2024, but threw 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions as Michigan State went 5-7.

Injuries derailed Chiles' junior season last fall, although the former four-star recruit did manage to improve his turnover woes. Chiles started the first eight games under center and battled various injuries before sitting the last three games of the season, due to a combination of health and performance.

The Long Beach, California, native completed 63.1% of his passes for 1,392 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions in 2025. Chiles also used his legs as a weapon, rushing for 227 yards and six scores.

Kelly has extensive experience working with mobile quarterbacks, including Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota and Dorian Thompson-Robinson. He will likely look to utilize Chiles — and potentially Boe as well — to make Northwestern's offense more dynamic than it's ever been.

Northwestern ranked No. 96 in the FBS in total offense and scoring offense last season.