During the buildup to the 2019 season finale, then-true freshman Coco Azema received a befuddling assignment from the Northwestern coaching staff.
With his team toiling at 2-8 and sporting a winless conference record ahead of its rivalry clash at a bowl-eligible Illinois squad, the natural defensive back slotted in at running back. Although he hadn’t played the position since his time at Houston’s Langham Creek High School, Azema took the shift in stride.
“Illinois is always a fun game, no matter what,” Azema told The Daily on Tuesday. “My freshman year, they were a 6-5 team getting ready for a bowl game. We went down there, and it was a battle. It’s always a battle with those guys, so I’m definitely excited for it.”
Five years to the day Azema took seven carries for 123 yards and a touchdown in an upset victory, the graduate student safety will suit up for the final regular season game of his college career Saturday against the Fighting Illini (8-3, 5-3 Big Ten).
The battle for the Land of Lincoln Trophy will also mark a likely end to graduate student linebacker Xander Mueller’s storied career with the Wildcats (4-7, 2-6 Big Ten), whose high Academic Progress Rate has saved them a razor slim chance of extending their season to a bowl game.
Azema and Mueller — two of NU’s three defensive captains — have played a combined 93 games for the ’Cats. With 11 combined collegiate seasons, Azema and Mueller have competed through various eras in program history, marking one of the conference’s foremost veteran duos.
Now, they’re looking to cap their respective college careers in emphatic fashion. Mueller said he wants to leave everything on the line Saturday at Wrigley Field, embodying a mantra his position coach and defensive coordinator Tim McGarigle has long preached.
“Coach McGarigle, since last year, has been big on telling the younger guys to play for the seniors,” Mueller told The Daily on Tuesday. “It’s our last season and potentially our last game, unless we can sneak into a bowl game. It’s a big emphasis for myself and the other seniors to play as hard as we can, and the young guys to play for them as well.”
While Azema and Mueller both garnered All-Big Ten honors in 2023, they both encountered significant adversity during their extended tenure in Evanston. The safety and linebacker saw scattered playing time as freshmen in 2019 and 2020, respectively, with both initially earning their keep on NU’s special teams units.
Azema carved out a starting role as a redshirt sophomore in 2021, but his 2022 campaign ended after just three games when he sustained a torn ACL against Miami (Ohio).
The injury set him on a monthslong rehabilitation journey and race against the clock to start the 2023 season opener. In that period, Azema’s brother Cameron died in a shooting. At a postgame press conference last season, Azema said coach David Braun was among the first to reach out and offered to accompany his veteran defensive back to the funeral.
“We said it today: ‘Stop playing like you could do it twice,’” Azema said Tuesday. “It can be taken from you at a moment’s notice, or tragedy could strike in other areas that take you away from the game. (I’m) playing every day like it’s my last.”
Azema recorded 47 tackles, an interception and a pass breakup last season. His pick sealed a win over Maryland on Oct. 28, 2023 at Ryan Field. Although he missed the season’s final four games due to injury, he said his extra year of eligibility provided him a chance at closure amid unfinished business.
Mueller, a local prospect by way of Wheaton, Illinois, reached a career inflection point in July 2023. Former coach Pat Fitzgerald was one of many program legends at linebacker whom Mueller sought to emulate at NU.
When Braun was named the interim head coach, he leaned on the veteran Mueller to help facilitate unity at a turbulent juncture. Mueller said his message to his peers was firmly entrenched in the ’Cats’ culture.
“The biggest thing is brotherhood — it’s one of our core values,” Mueller said. “Playing for the guy next to you and giving everything you have for them is bigger than yourself. These friendships and relationships last your whole life, so that’s a big part of what we do.”
Last season, the Will linebacker soared to new heights as NU launched an 8-5 campaign that culminated in a Las Vegas Bowl victory. He tallied 110 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, three interceptions, two pass deflections and a forced fumble in 2023.
In the 2024 season’s first seven games, Mueller stood at the forefront of the ’Cats’ defensive scheme. But he sustained a lower-body injury against Wisconsin and missed the next three games. Uncertainty circulated about Mueller’s potential return, but he fought his way back on the field Saturday at Michigan. Mueller posted nine tackles, an interception and a forced fumble in his return game.
“When you have injuries like that, you’re asking God why that happened,” Mueller said. “Certain things can have a big impact on you in terms of realizing how grateful I am to be able to play now that I’m back. It’s a huge blessing every single day you step out there healthy. Being here in general is a huge blessing.”
Both Azema and Mueller said they intend on pursuing their NFL dreams once their respective collegiate chapters culminate, but their eyes remain fixated on securing in-state bragging rights and maintaining the “Hat” with a victory over Illinois in Wrigley Field.
With less than a week of guaranteed time remaining, they’re savoring every rep on the practice field, every meeting in the team facility and every moment shared with their teammates — with whom Azema and Mueller have forged lifelong bonds.
“One thing a lot of people say is that ‘This is the last time you truly play football with guys you care about,’” Azema said. “After this, it’s even more of a business. It’s becoming a little more of a business now with NIL, but once you get out of college, this is strictly business. This is the last time you go out there and play with your boys.”
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