Former linebacker at Northwestern. 2024: 57 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack.
6′3″ · 232 lb · Wheaton, IL
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
OLB recruit
No. 794 nationally · Signed with Wheaton North
Statement game19 tackles · 1.5 TFLvs Iowa (FBS) · L 7-10
Top 0.1% tackles game since 2021.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Former linebacker at Northwestern. 2024: 57 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack.
Xander Mueller
Carries tight ends down the field in coverage. Xander Mueller has been at Northwestern through two head coaches in four seasons. In 2023 the league put his name on paper for the first time: All-Big Ten. One game to point at: 11 tackles against Duke — Week 2, 2024.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Four seasons at Northwestern, 266 tackles — his college career is complete.
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2021–2024
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Pat Fitzgerald → David Braun. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: passes defended (86th percentile). Strength: tackles (84th percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 5.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| 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
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 1 game in so far.
Player standing · 2024
Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.
Recognition
Production · CFB Index Score
Three-star recruit. Now #200 at the position.
| 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 | -- |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2024
W 31–7
4 TOT · 3 SOLO · 2 PD
Dominant 24-point win at home against Eastern Illinois.
With J. Lausch — 227 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 35.9 · 62 rush yds (7 car) · J. Himon II — 49 rush yds (5 car) · 1 TD
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 9 games
| 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 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 Illinois | 5 | 1 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 57 | 30 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 1 | 4 |
Play style
Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.
CFB Index positional classification
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
57 tackles. 4 passes defended. 1 interceptions. 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.
Player DNA
Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.
His 2024 production profile sits closest to Smael Mondon Jr.’s 2024 season.
Matches Smael on
Differs from Smael on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Smael Mondon Jr.'s senior season at Georgia (2024).
Matches Smael on
Differs from Smael on
Player DNA