Northwestern entered its Saturday morning matchup against Wisconsin with several key contributors hampered by injuries, including junior safety Devin Turner and redshirt junior kicker Jack Olsen, but the laundry list of unavailable players piled up early in the team’s final game alongside Lake Michigan this season.
Graduate student wide receiver A.J. Henning sustained an upper-body injury in the opening minutes and was carted to the locker room before ultimately being ruled out. Shortly thereafter, graduate student linebacker Xander Mueller limped off the field after sustaining a lower-body injury that caused him to miss the final three quarters.
“I will not discount the fact that Xander Mueller is a critical piece of our football team and our defense,” coach David Braun said. “Love him, hope we’re getting good news here in the next couple days in terms of his return to play.”
Although the Wildcats (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten) struggled mightily in a 23-3 loss to the Badgers (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten), Braun’s squad saw several second-stringers step into elevated roles out of pure necessity — and redshirt freshman safety Damon Walters and graduate student linebacker Greyson Metz answered the bell.
In NU’s victory over Maryland on Oct. 11, Walters became the program’s first freshman to record an interception and a fumble recovery in a game since Anthony Walker Jr. in 2014. With Turner out Saturday, Walters received significant snaps at safety from the opening kickoff.
Walters nearly nabbed his second career interception on Wisconsin’s opening drive, dropping a golden chance to flip possession. Still, the redshirt freshman recorded a team-high 11 total tackles and helped shore up a secondary that gave up just 160 passing yards.
Graduate student safety Coco Azema, who tallied his first interception since Oct. 28, 2023 in the opening frame, said his young teammate embodied the ’Cats’ “next man up” mentality.
“That’s something (we’ve) preached since spring ball,” Azema said. “Guys rotate through all the time with the ones and twos on defense, and it’s always that mentality. Something we say is, ‘If you’re in the game, you’re the best person to be in.’ No matter what, if you’re in, you’re the best.”
Once Mueller headed toward the sideline, NU lost its tackle leader and defensive captain. Metz, a key cog on special teams who seldom saw defensive snaps during the past two seasons, possessed especially lofty shoes to fill.
However, the Glen Ellyn, Illinois, native proved well-prepared for the spotlight, making perhaps the defensive play of the game for the ’Cats.
With just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter, Metz eluded the Badgers’ pass protection, pummeling Wisconsin quarterback Bradeyn Locke on a strip sack. The play marked Metz’s second consecutive outing with a forced fumble and gave the NU offense a short field.
Metz stuffed the stat sheet Saturday, accumulating eight total tackles and a pass breakup to go along with his forced fumble and first-career sack. Still, Mueller’s absence was certainly felt in run defense, as the ’Cats allowed 199 rushing yards — 126 of which came from Badger running back Tawee Walker.
“The film will tell us more, but at the end of the day, it’s next man up,” Braun said. “(I) have full belief in Greyson. He’s a guy that has played a lot of football for us on defense and special teams. I have full-faith in Grayson, and at the end of the day, (I’m) never going to sit up here and give you excuses or explanations of why we’re not meeting the standard.”
NU will look to put its 20-point defeat firmly on the backburner when it travels to Iowa City to take on Iowa next Saturday in Kinnick Stadium.
Although several difference makers’ statuses remain up in the air, Braun said he expects the ’Cats to play to their standard of complementary football next time out.
“Whoever is out there, we expect our guys to execute and put us in a situation where we play winning football,” Braun said.
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