For redshirt junior defensive end Anto Saka, being an “every down force” isn’t something you can see on a stat sheet.
Prior to Northwestern’s most recent win over UCLA, where he had four tackles, one tackle for loss and combined on two sacks, Saka’s name wouldn’t stand out on any box score this season.
It doesn’t bother him.
“I’m not out here stat-hunting, I’m out here just to help my team in whatever way possible,” he said after the Wildcats’ (2-2, 1-1 Big Ten) Tuesday practice.
For Saka, anything short of contributing to an NU win doesn’t matter. Not NFL Draft hype, not chatter on whether he’s meeting expectations and certainly not the fact that he was named among The Athletic reporter Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks List” ahead of the season, which his teammates still joke about to this day.
Against the Bruins on Saturday, the veteran edge rusher bookended the victory, contributing to critical sacks on both the visitors’ first and last drives.
On a third-and-6 first-quarter play with UCLA driving just shy of the 50-yard line, graduate student defensive back Garner Wallace clutched onto the scrambling opposing quarterback and Saka erupted for the critical takedown, forcing a punt.
NU’s field goal on the ensuing possession established an early lead, thanks to its defense’s tone-setting start.
Then, at the contest’s opposite end — after NU saw what had once been a 17-point advantage shrink to three — Saka helped bring down the Bruins’ passer again when it mattered most.
“It wasn’t anything really special,” Saka said. “It was just me waiting for the opportunity and then not being scared when the opportunity presented itself.”
For graduate student defensive end Aidan Hubbard, who plays opposite Saka, that play was all about sticking to the basics and seizing opportunities as they arise.
“We’d been doing a lot of stunts earlier in the game, and then once they let us go straight, we were able to affect the quarterback,” he said.
While both Saka and Hubbard said that the defensive line still has clear adjustments to make, particularly when it comes to inflicting pressure in the pocket, they agreed that the cohesiveness of their group both on and off the field is something that makes the process more enjoyable.
In the offseason, the defensive line frequently gets breakfast together, occasionally completes an escape room — though they skipped it this year — and this summer, attended a pool party at redshirt freshman defensive lineman Landon Lauter’s nearby home.
“This is probably the goofiest group of guys that I’ve ever been around in my life, and I absolutely love it,” Saka said. “Out on the field, everything’s supposed to be serious and you’re trying to win a football game, but even within those moments we still put a smile on each others’ face, we uplift each other.”
Saka described the bond between members of the defensive line as “strong as a diamond,” and said that during the season, weekly position group dinners help the room to get to know each other as people, not just as players.
Outside of social growth that’s helped him and his teammates collaborate more seamlessly, Saka said, adding 15 pounds to his build in the offseason has helped his play style become more nuanced.
He repeatedly touted the importance of being “stout,” not just as an individual, but as a defensive line unit. He said the additional weight has improved stability in addition to his already notable speed.
Prior to this season, he hadn’t started a game. Despite seeing fewer snaps, Saka was a key weapon in each of NU’s past two campaigns, tallying 3.5 sacks and five tackles for loss last season. Tacking on weight has helped him in both pass rushing and achieving run stops compared to last year, he said.
Regardless of personal growth and accolades, though, Saka consistently puts his role as a teammate at the forefront of his priorities.
“When we’re winning, when we’re balling, that’s the thing that’s most important to me,” he said.
Email: AudreyPachuta2027@u.northwestern.edu
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