It was quite the year for the Northwestern defense in 2020.

The Wildcats led the Big Ten in scoring defense, allowing just 15.9 points per game — a mark that ranked 5th in the nation. They rode that success to the second Big Ten championship game in program history.

But things will probably look a little different this year.

Defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz retired after last season, closing the book on more than 50 years in the game. Pat Fitzgerald brought in a familiar face in Jim O’Neil, a former NFL defensive coordinator who’s no stranger to the Northwestern program. He started his coaching career in Evanston in 2003 as a defensive graduate assistant when Fitzgerald was an assistant coach.

With new faces on both the coaching staff and the active roster, it will be interesting to see if Northwestern can repeat last season’s dominance.

What will the scheme look like?

Hankwitz had been Northwestern’s defensive coordinator since 2008, so O’Neil has some big shoes to fill.

While he’s said he doesn’t plan to make any seismic changes to the scheme, O’Neil plans to pull from his NFL experience, especially since he said he’s noticed how much closer the two levels are.

“In the last five years, I’ve seen a lot of pass schemes trickle down to college football, and I’ve seen a lot of the run schemes trickle up to NFL football,” O’Neil said. “So the gap has really closed.”

Working alongside Fitzgerald — a CFB Hall-of-Fame linebacker for the Wildcats in his playing days in the late ‘90s — should give O’Neil a good chance to succeed in his transition back to college for the first time since 2008. Plus, he’ll have a great weapon in the secondary with sophomore All-America safety Brandon Joseph back in the mix.

It sounds like the 2020 Big Ten Freshman of the Year is already a big fan of his new defensive coordinator.

“He’s bringing in an NFL perspective to us that we haven’t had, and it’s something that I’ve already started to learn and I’ve already started to develop myself,” Joseph said at Big Ten media days. “He’s coming in and bringing in techniques that you don’t really see at the college level, and it’s a next level thing. I think Coach O’Neil will be nothing but great. He’s going to teach us things that we never even knew, so I think Coach O’Neil is going to be a great addition to this defense and in camp.”

Key pieces return — and a big newcomer is in

Despite losing All-America cornerback Greg Newsome II to the NFL and last year’s sacks leader Eku Leota to Auburn, the Wildcats are still set to return some key playmakers from last year’s secondary.

Joseph is arguably the biggest name to watch this year after a breakout freshman campaign in 2020. Joseph led the conference with 6 interceptions last season — and sounds like he’s ready to build off that success.

“I’m trying to be even better this season and we’re trying to win the Big Ten this year,” he said Aug. 9.

Redshirt sophomore Cameron Mitchell returns at defensive end, while 5th-year senior Joe Spivak and junior Adetomiwa Adebawore are expected to anchor the defensive line once again. Add in linebacker Chris Bergin, who’s returning for a 5th year, and Northwestern returns plenty of experience on defense.

But there were still holes to be filled after Newsome II and Leota departed. So, Fitzgerald hit the transfer portal and brought in Jeffery Pooler Jr. from West Virginia.

Pooler Jr. only had 1 sack in 2020, but his 5.5 career sacks are more than any other current Northwestern player. He has a chance to be instant-impact for the pass rush, which was a weak spot for the Wildcats last season.

It’s unclear how Fitzgerald and O’Neil see Pooler Jr. fitting into the defense since Northwestern hasn’t officially added him to the roster and, therefore, can’t comment. But on paper, he seems like a perfect fit.

What a way to start

As great as Northwestern’s defense was last season, it allowed a season-high 29 points to a Michigan State team that finished last in the Big Ten East last season.

So it’s only appropriate that the Wildcats open 2021 against that same team, right?

The Spartans travel to Evanston Sept. 3 for a primetime matchup. But almost one-third of Michigan State’s roster wasn’t with the team last year, which is why Fitzgerald thinks Mel Tucker’s squad will have an advantage.

“I think it’s a big advantage for the Spartans to be able to know their personnel and how they’re going to use it,” Fitzgerald said at Big Ten media days last month. “They’ll know who we are, we haven’t changed a lick.”

With a new defensive scheme coming with O’Neil’s hiring, we’ll see if Northwestern can contain Sparty this time around.

It should be a fun way to start the season, though.