Colston Loveland #18 of the Michigan Wolverines battles for yards after a first half catch against Xander Mueller #34 of the Northwestern Wildcats (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Lots of college football programs claim to be “Linebacker U,” and Northwestern University certainly has a strong case. It all starts with the program patriarch, and all-time winningest head coach, Pat Fitzgerald. He was a two-time First Team All-American and National Defensive Player of the Year for the Wildcats, as a middle linebacker.
In recent years, several Northwestern linebackers have gone on to play in the NFL, the likes of which include Barry Gardner, Napoleon Harris, Kevin Bentley, Nick Roach, and Tim McGarigle.
The last name on that list is a huge influence to ILB Xander Mueller, who’s poised to soon join this club. Mueller, a 2023 All-Big Ten Third Team member, is projected to be a third-day selection in the NFL Draft on April 24.
McGarigle is the Wildcats’ current defensive coordinator, and before being elevated to that role for 2024, he served as the team’s linebackers coach from 2018–23. The former St. Louis Ram mentored Mueller, working with him in two different roles.
“Coach McGarigle has been a huge part of our scheme the past four years that I’ve been here,” Mueller said in an exclusive conversation with RG. “He’s helped the defensive coordinators I’ve had in the past making these calls, especially up front in the run game stuff, so it’s awesome to have him in the room, but also to keep the continuity, with having had him as a LBs coach.”
NFL Scouts Take Notice at Pro Day
Despite missing three games due to injury, Mueller was the second-leading tackler for the Wildcats. He also had five tackles for a loss, four pass breakups, and one interception.
At Northwestern’s Pro Day, he discussed what he’s been working on in order to impress NFL scouts and improve his draft stock.
“I was focused on everything,” he responded. “I just wanted to show that I could move in space and move better than a lot of them would think I could move, so I did that today in all the drills.”
In a previous exclusive with RG, Mueller, a Wheaton, IL native and lifelong resident of Chicago Bears country, said perennial Pro Bowler Roquan Smith is someone that he models his game on.
Smith has won the Butkus Award (best linebacker in football) three times—once at the collegiate level with Georgia and twice in the NFL. Smith claimed the award while with the Bears in 2022, and then again in 2023 when he moved on and joined the Baltimore Ravens.
Mueller then mentioned a couple of other player role models, one of which is a Northwestern legend.
“The (Tampa Bay) Buccaneers (inside) linebackers, both of them (Anthony Walker and Lavonte David) are studs as well,” he added.
When Walker was in Evanston, he had the prestigious annual honor of wearing the #1 jersey, which denotes “The Wildcat.”
Every season, one Northwestern player is honored as the exemplar of all that the program aspires to be, hence they are deemed “the Wildcat,” and wear #1.
Leadership Lessons Passed Down
Within this role, Walker’s lessons of leadership were passed down to succeeding NU team captains, who then passed the lessons down to Mueller.
“It means a lot, getting to learn from a bunch of other linebackers,” Mueller said of his status as team captain, and how those who came before him helped shape him into a leader. “I came in as a freshman and learned from Paddy Fisher, Blake (Gallagher) and Chris Bergin, and especially from Bryce Gallagher, these past two years playing with him — seeing what a great leader he is and trying to resemble that.”
And that’s why there is so much more to Mueller, and his NFL Draft prospects, beyond just his statistics and gridiron accomplishments.
The NFL Draft is a job interview, with NFL teams choosing not just a football player, but also a human being. A lot of those NFL Draft buzzwords, like “intangibles,” “locker room guy,” and “high character guy” do have a deeper and more substantial meaning.
Northwestern coach David Braun discussed the concept of leadership at Pro Day.
“Someone that really stands out to me is Xander Mueller, the way that Xander operates,” Braun said. “I can say this boldly.”
Looking Ahead to Lambeau
Over the years, we have heard several NFL Draft experts, people like Mel Kiper Jr., Todd McShay, Mike Mayock and others describe countless prospects in a fashion such as this.
However, when a national analyst, whose main knowledge base comes only from watching film, says these things it does not carry the same weight as it does when a given prospect’s head coach says it.
It’s worth noting that inside linebackers, by and large, are generally devalued in today’s NFL Draft; at least when compared to their counterparts on the outside. In another time and space, an ILB prospect on par with Mueller would have had a day two grade.
Another Northwestern player to watch in this draft is wide receiver A.J. Henning. The speedy Michigan transfer matches Mueller with a day three grade.
The 2025 NFL Draft will take place April 24th through Saturday, April 26th. It will be held at Lambeau Field, and the adjacent Titletown District in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Paul M. Banks
