A patchwork secondary is sewing on a familiar patch.
Senior safety Frederic Tarver will start Saturday against No. 25 Michigan. Tarver broke his hand in No. 21 Northwestern’s second game and was replaced in the starting lineup by true freshman Brendan Smith against Penn State.
Now Tarver replaces Smith after he sustained a knee sprain during the first quarter of the Wildcats’ 49-14 win at Michigan State last Saturday.
“I’ve been waiting,” said Tarver, one of seven defensive backs to start for the Cats this season. “It’s my chance again to prove myself. And I’m (feeling) good. I’ve got both hands now. I’m ready to play.”
Tarver played Saturday in place of Smith.
Tarver recorded eight tackles, seven solo, both season highs.
“We didn’t skip a beat when he came in,” senior safety Herschel Henderson said. “We still stopped them, so Frederic Tarver definitely held his own.”
Smith will miss four to five weeks and is the third player the secondary has lost to injury this season. Senior Jeff Backes left the program because of a lingering shoulder injury and safety Bryan Heinz tore his ACL in camp.
“It seems like we always get injuries in one spot, and that’s a problem,” NU coach Randy Walker said. “I’m not going to admit that we’re OK. No, it’s not OK. No one has enough depth. But everybody kind of goes through that in college football.”
Maligned most of the season, the Cats secondary improves with each game. It held Michigan State to 291 passing yards, below its average, and intercepted Stanton thrice. NU also has allowed just one touchdown pass in the last two games while intercepting six passes.
Walker said he expects Tarver to continue taking advantage of his second chance.
“It’s amazing how in this game that door swings both ways,” Walker said. “And just when you think it’s slammed shut and there’s no opportunity, it opens up wide again and there you go.”
Midseason form
Junior linebacker Nick Roach sat out the preseason recovering from July hernia surgery, so Walker said he didn’t expect Roach to reach peak form until midseason.
Score one for the coach.
In his last two games Roach has nearly doubled his season tackle total. The junior totaled 19 tackles at Purdue and Michigan State after recording 21 in his first five contests. He has led NU in tackles the last two weeks and recorded a tackle for a loss and a pass break-up last week.
“He played really well Saturday, ” Walker said. “Really well.”
Roach said it’s all about being healthy. He started feeling good two to three weeks ago, Roach said, and now he’s 100 percent.
His improved play has coincided with better defensive performance for the Cats. NU tied its season low by allowing 14 points to the Spartans.
“It’s a lot easier to cut loose and not worry about your injury,” Roach said.
Inches to go
Henderson was named Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week Tuesday, the second NU player to earn the award in three weeks. Senior linebacker Tim McGarigle earned the honor two weeks earlier. – True freshman defensive end Corey Wootton remains out for Saturday’s game. Walker said Wootton, who played in three games this season, is eligible for a medical redshirt. – True freshman running back Omar Conteh will miss six to eight weeks with a knee sprain sustained Saturday. – In addition to being ranked in the Associated Press and Coaches polls, NU is No. 21 in this week’s BCS rankings as one of six BCS-ranked Big Ten teams.
Reach Patrick Dorsey at [email protected].