Paddy Fisher: LB · Northwestern · #42.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Paddy Fisher
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. Fourth year in the same linebacker corps at Northwestern. Big Ten Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year in 2020 made it four straight seasons on the honors list. On tape: 13 tackles and 2 tackles for loss against Wisconsin, Week 12, 2020.
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
74 tackles. 2 passes defended. 1 interception. 3.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
OregonLive Oct 29Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Northwestern | 86 | 47 | 4.5 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | -- |
| 2019 | Northwestern | 88 | 39 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 2018 | Northwestern | 116 | 63 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | -- |
| 2017 | Northwestern | 111 | 65 | 9.5 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 401 | 214 | 25.0 | 2.0 | 10 | 4 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2020 season · 8 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 8 | W 43-3vs Maryland | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 21-20@ Iowa | 11 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 10 | W 21-13vs Nebraska | 13 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 13 tackles |
| Wk 11 | W 27-20@ Purdue | 5 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 17-7vs No. 10 Wisconsin | 13 | 8 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 20-29@ Michigan State | 12 | 5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 15 | W 28-10vs Illinois | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 16 | L 10-22vs No. 3 Ohio State | 9 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 74 | 41 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
86tackles this seasonTFL rate
5%4 TFLSack rate
0%0 sacksPD rate
2%2 pass breakups86 tackles · 4.5 for loss · 1 interception.
4 seasons under Pat Fitzgerald — 29-19 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2020 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 9.2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road3g | 9.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 8+8g | 9.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Pat Fitzgerald
Pass share
42.4%
283 pass / 384 run
Plays / game
83.4
8 games
Team sack rate
4.3%
303 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2020
First team in his league at the position.
How it ended
Four seasons at Northwestern, 401 tackles, the Lott IMPACT Trophy (2020) — the college career is complete.
Honored in a first season.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
National awards
Lott IMPACT
2020 season
ALL-BIG TEN · 1ST TEAM
All-Big Ten 1st team (2020)
Coaching lineage · 2017–2020
1 coachPlayed every college season under Pat Fitzgerald.
