Sixth in a series of position-by-position breakdowns of the 2018 Wildcats by WildcatReport's Tim Chapman.

This year will be the first time in 13 seasons under head coach Pat Fitzgerald that the Wildcats will be replacing both safeties. In fact, during Fitzgerald’s tenure, the Wildcats have had at least one safety that started at least two straight years (Reggie MacPherson, Brad Phillips, Traveon Henry, and Godwin Igwebuike all started three years; Brendan Smith and Ibraheim Campbell were four-year starters). In addition, they will be getting a new position coach – who hasn’t managed that side of the ball in 13 years – to head up this transition.

Jerry Brown coached the defensive backs (as well as joining them in some memorable celebratory dancing) at Northwestern for 26 years. He also played for the Wildcats for four years as a receiver and cornerback. That means he’s had a hand in more than 30 percent of the school’s all-time wins. When he announced his retirement during the bowl game last season, there was a mix of gratitude and sadness, sprinkled by a little concern because for the first time in a quarter century the Wildcats will have a new man in charge of the “Sky Team”.

Former RB coach Matt MacPherson moves over as the new DBs coach and has his work cut out for him in his first season coaching on the defensive side since he worked on fellow NU assistant Jeff Genyk’s staff at Eastern Michigan in 2005. But the good news is that he is a familiar and respected member of Fitzgerald’s staff, having served 12 years as a running backs coach. And that sometimes carries more weight than technical experience.

Most of the Wildcats’ talent resides at the corner position, which plays well into defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz’s defensive scheme. Senior Montre Hartage has earned respect around the league and by Pro Football Focus as one of the more resistant forces in the passing game.

According to Bill Connelly’s Football Study Hall.com, the “Sky Team” unit had a havoc rate of 7.1 percent last season. This translates into the percentage of plays where the DBs caused a tackle for loss (TFL), forced a fumble (FF) or made an interception/broke up a pass. This mark put them 46th nationally, near the top third of all FBS teams.

The Cats were also 44th nationally defending on passing downs and 48th in preventing big plays in the passing game. They were third in the Big Ten in INTs, but only six of those 17 picks were nabbed by guys returning this season.

Before concern gets too heavy, let us remember that Hankwitz is one of the best in the game. And though he is not used to replacing so many starters, when he has had to in the past, his units have responded well through the air and in one of the most important defensive capabilities – takeaways.

It’s refreshing to know that recent recruiting has focused on the secondary and it will be seen just how well the staff has done in this department when a (hopefully healthy) group of talented new players take the field.

Perhaps the most glaring stat of a Hankwitz defense is the numbers yielded against the pass. In his 10 years heading the defense in Evanston, Northwestern has never finished higher than seventh in the conference in pass defense and four times they have ended up last. They play a little softer in coverage, as evidenced by their opponent’s completion percentage (57.2%, 10th in the Big Ten last year).

These numbers appear so because their premise is to keep everything in front and prevent the big play, which, for the most part, they have. The new safeties will need to do a better job of protecting between the hashes. The Cats were gashed early in the year on deep/middle passes (post and seam routes), where there’s a lack of help. They are willing to sacrifice yardage over the risk of explosive connections over the top and into the end zone. Still, there are other areas that need to improve.

Even in finishing near the top of the conference in INTs and takeaways, there have still been a lot of INTs that were missed or dropped – 12 of them last year by Northwestern DBs. MacPherson and his “new” unit know this is something that must be shored up and, coming from the offensive side of the ball, expect more focus on, and improvement in, this skill.

Penalties are another area that this group needs to reduce. Eleven of the 13 defensive penalties last season were against the secondary. Sure, sometimes it’s better for a DB to take a penalty than to give up a big play, but some were a result of ill-advised technique.

This unit will be the Wildcats’ biggest area of focus heading into 2018. They have very little game experience, so a lot of players are going to have to grow up in a hurry. Health issues have plagued this group the past few seasons so for this team – and this defense – to be successful at the championship level, they must stay healthy. It will be an interesting game of physical blackjack for the staff to play regarding contact in practices leading up to the opener.

As we mentioned earlier, the strength of this defense is keeping everything in front of them and tightening down when they get into the red zone, which is when coach Hankwitz says they “go to our more specific coverage.” They have the good fortune of one of the Big Ten’s best front seven groups preceding them, which should help them in terms of defensive havoc. But once the ball reaches that third level, they must lock it up.

CB Montre Hartage (6-foot, 195-pound senior; 26 starts)

Hartage was Northwestern’s best cover guy last year and the playmaker of the group. Though smaller than many of the receivers he goes against, the physical Hartage plays bigger than his stature and wins his fair share of matchups. According to Pro Football Focus, he had the third lowest passer efficiency rating against him when targeted (61.0) over the past two years. This meant that when teams go after him, they are more-often-than-not unsuccessful against the senior corner. He’s also the top returning Big Ten CB with 10 plays on the ball: 3 INTs (which should have been 6) and 7 PBUs. These numbers were down slightly from his sensational sophomore season, when he collected 5 INTs and broke up nine others to earn honorable mention All-Big Ten honors, due in large part to teams avoiding his area of the field.

Hartage is a good tackler in the open field, with 57 takedowns last year, 49 of them solo, and also both forcing and recovering one fumble. He is looked upon as a leader, which he admitted has been a “different experience,” but one that he appears to be taking in full stride. In a post spring interview, he said that what’s most important for him is staying focused on the little things, like shuffling to close down on a play from the outside or to stay on top of a route to keep things in front and protect the back end. He also stressed flexibility, which will help him (and others) stay healthy.

CB Trae Williams (6-foot, 212-pound redshirt junior; 14 starts)

Williams started off his NU career in good fashion. The former high school RB took some convincing to become a DB, but ultimately, he said, the “toughness” appealed to him. He stepped in nicely for the injured Matthew Harris against Duke during his rookie season and finished with 42 tackles (33 solo), an INT and 7 PBUs.

Hopes were high for him at the start of last year, but a lower-body injury in preseason rendered him feeble. He only played in eight games and was forced into duty before he was ready to return, due to so many other injuries in the secondary early in the season. He finished strong in limited action, making 16 tackles (13 solo) and creating havoc when he was on the field: an INT, TFL, 3 PBUs, and a FF.

Williams, whose father, Jesse, is the DL coach under Frank Solich at Ohio, is a physical player and a good tackler who plays better in Northwestern’s bigger games (the Pinstripe Bowl, Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois). He’s expected to be a co-leader with Hartage from that corner spot and respect that there’s healthy competition behind him.

FS Jared McGee (6-foot-1, 221-pound redshirt senior; 3 starts)

McGee is a very cerebral player on and off the field, more than most outsiders might know. MacPherson has even mentioned having to draw on McGee’s experience and wisdom from time to time about proper adjustments and specific schematics. McGee studies a lot of film and has been in leading positions ever since high school, where he played QB and FS at Mansfield (Texas). His experience there helps him to be a smart, ball-hawking safety.

He had 27 tackles (16 solo), 1 run stuff, 1 PBU and a FF last year as a backup to Kyle Queiro and a played a prominent role as a nickel safety. The previous year he was even better, when he corralled 36 ball carriers and nabbed 3 INTs. He is an aggressive, though solid open-field tackler who can lay the lumber.

The big question will be his health. He missed the spring recovering from hip surgery (which he expects to be fully recovered from before August), so his status will be vital to ensure a strong start to the season.

SS JR Pace (6-foot-1, 193 pound sophomore; 0 starts)

Pace was nicknamed “The Franchise” in high school and made a memorable video announcement of his commitment to Northwestern. He couldn’t carry that handle right away in Evanston because NFL draftee Anthony Walker Jr. had been dubbed with the same moniker. Pace comes from a football pedigree (his father played football at Navy in the early 1990s) and had prep success at College Park (Ga.) Woodward Academy, going 11-2, 13-1 and 11-3 in his sophomore through senior years. His continued success will be important to the Cats’ quest to be prominent in 2018.

Though he didn’t have eye-opening stats (4 tackles, 2 INTs, 2 PBUs), he was very efficient in his limited playmaking opportunities last year and came up big in big games (see his athletic INTs vs. Wisconsin and Iowa). He proved to be a good pass defender, intercepting or batting away throws and separating the ball from the receiver.

Pace has good range, showing the ability to cover the back half, as well as come up in force against the run. He has good hands and astute awareness, which make him a good safety for Hankwitz’s scheme. He is a little off-pace (pun intended) after missing the spring recovering from a shoulder injury. Pace said it was “torture” but that it helped him become a more cerebral player and a better student of the game. Look for him to be a Queiro-like pass defender in the secondary and help the Cats continue their trend of takeaways.

Depth has proven to be a necessity for this unit in years past, and while the Wildcats have some talented players, they do not have much field time. Some that do include redshirt junior CB Alonzo Mayo (5-foot-11, 188 pounds), who has made five starts over the past two years at the often-fragile corner spot. He collected 29 tackles (19 solo), 1 PBU and 0.5 TFL last year and actually had a better success rate than any of the returning members of the secondary, according to Bill Connelly’s Football Study Hall. He is a strong tackler and will be used as a nickel-corner when teams spread the field with more receivers, as well as a sub for a beaten or injured starter.

Junior CB Roderick Campbell (6-foot, 193 pounds) is another player with some experience, but it has mostly been in preseason and practice opportunities. After serving as a backup CB and playing on special teams his first year, a preseason shoulder injury (that prompted surgery) sidelined him for all of 2017 (he received a medical redshirt and will have three years of eligibility left). The former four-star recruit was a three-time captain at St. Louis (Mo.) Chaminade Prep. He plays with good body position, radar eyes and even a little bit of swagger, which should help give him a psychological edge against many of his conference foes.

Along with Campbell, sophomore CB Brian Bullock (5-foot-11, 193 pounds) earned his way onto the two-deep early last year but suffered a lower body injury in the opener that needed surgery and shelved him for the season (he’ll likely get a medical redshirt). Bullock is a physical corner and a good tackler in space. With improved footwork, a better ability to get off blocks and good health, Bullock should become even better.

With both presumed starters at safety injured this spring, the door was opened for sophomore FS Travis Whillock (6-foot-1, 205 pounds) and redshirt first-year SS Bryce Jackson (6-foot-1, 188 pounds). Whillock, a Katy (Texas) teammate and lifelong friend to Wildcat LB Paddy Fisher, got most of the reps this spring at FS. A starter on a state championship defense that gave up an average of less than 4 points per game, Whillock is a wrangler with deceptive speed (he ran track at Katy) that will help umbrella the back half. He reminds us a lot of former Wildcat Brendan Smith in his aggressive play and his break on the ball.

Jackson teamed with Whillock and got the majority of spring snaps at SS. With good instincts to the ball, he’s a better tackler than a cover guy (though he considers himself more of the latter). Jackson will help add an extra man near the box to not only help defend the run, but also matchup with some bigger targets.

There has been a lot of build-up around first-year early enrollee S Jeremiah McDonald (6-foot-3, 197 pounds). Fitzgerald spoke fondly of “J-Mac,” saying he participated in every spring practice and thinks he will be able to play right away. Comparing him to Queiro, Fitzgerald says he has “great length, great range and a high football IQ.” McDonald has tremendous upside as an athletic, ball-hawking safety with good drive to his target and tackling ability in space. He has a quiet confidence that’s rare among first-years and will propel him to significant field time.

Another first-year early enrollee with great expectations is CB Greg Newsome II (6-foot-1, 170 pounds). “G-News,” as he is known by teammates, comes from the prestigious Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy after two years of prosperity at Carol Stream (Ill.) Glenbard North (alma mater of Justin Jackson and Jace James), where he led state of Illinois in INTs as a sophomore. Newsome II has good feet, high-end speed and has shown to be a very good cover guy. Even though he was slowed a little by a sore hamstring this spring, coaches and other members of the secondary have spoken about his foreseen impact.

Other members of this back-half brigade include redshirt freshman CB Cameron Ruiz (5-foot-11, 168 pounds) who brings a lot of speed and was a state champion long and triple jumper. Redshirt freshman S Austin Hiller (6-foot-2, 197 pounds) had some buzz coming out of Lake Travis (Texas) High School and brings a track record of winning, going 41-3 in three years as a starter. He’s an all-around athlete who we expect to see on special teams – he blocked three punts in one season in high school – with his 4.5 speed and hitting ability.

Another youngster we can expect to see on special teams early is first-year CB A.J. Hampton (5-foot-11, 167 pounds), whose father Alonzo is the special teams coordinator at Florida State. Hampton brings 4.5 speed and shows good leg drive in his tackles as he played more safety in high school than CB. Film also showed him as a kick-blocking specialist off the edge, a la Nick VanHoose.

Redshirt junior S Joe Bergin (5-foot-11, 200 pounds) is a veteran of the group, seeing action in all 13 games (9 tackles) last year, mostly on special teams but also in flex time in the fourth quarter of some games. He is a notorious practice warrior, earning player of the week honors four separate times. Redshirt freshman SS Donovan Sermons (5-foot-11, 185 pounds) rounds out this group and is looking for his first field action as a Wildcat. He holds the distinction of being the only other member of this team, other than Fitzgerald, with any direct connection to the 1996 Rose Bowl – his father, Rodney, played for USC in that game.

Other 2018 Position Previews:

Offense

Quarterback

Offensive Line

Wide Receivers

Superbacks

Running Backs

Tim Chapman is a teacher and former Michigan high school football coach who is currently working on a book titled "ChampioN Underdog" about the 1995 Northwestern Rose Bowl team. Follow him on Twitter: @Champion_Lit.