Xander Mueller: LB · Northwestern · #34.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Xander Mueller
Carries tight ends down the field in coverage. Played for two head coaches at Northwestern: Pat Fitzgerald and David Braun. The first career honor came in 2023: All-Big Ten. One game to point at: 11 tackles against Duke — Week 2, 2024.
Play style
Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
57 tackles. 4 passes defended. 1 interception. 4.5 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 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Northwestern | 57 | 30 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2023 | Northwestern | 103 | 51 | 9.5 | 5.0 | 2 | 3 |
| 2022 | Northwestern | 87 | 53 | 11.0 | 8.0 | 3 | 2 |
| 2021 | Northwestern | 19 | 9 | 0.5 | 0.5 | -- | -- |
| Career | 266 | 143 | 25.5 | 14.5 | 9 | 6 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 9 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 13-6vs Miami (OH) | 5 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | L 20-26vs Duke | 11 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 31-7vs Eastern Illinois | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 4 | L 5-24@ Washington | 8 | 5 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 24-41vs No. 23 Indiana | 8 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 37-10@ Maryland | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 3-23vs Wisconsin | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 6-50@ Michigan | 9 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | L 28-38vs No. 22 Illinois | 5 | 1 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 57 | 30 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 1 | 4 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
57tackles this seasonTFL rate
8%4 TFLSack rate
2%1 sackPD rate
7%4 pass breakups57 tackles · 4.5 for loss · 1 sack · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road3g | 7.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 6.8 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
| Weeks 8+3g | 5.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
David Braun
Pass share
53.3%
392 pass / 344 run
Plays / game
61.3
12 games
Team sack rate
5.4%
408 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2024
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS linebacker who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #200 at the position.
How it ended
Four seasons at Northwestern, 266 tackles — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 42 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2020–2024
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Pat Fitzgerald → David Braun. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
