MORE NU COVERAGE: Takeaways from David Braun's Week 2 press conference l Ben Bryant is eager to bounce back against UTEP

When Devin Turner was a freshman, he closed out Northwestern's 2022 season with 24 tackles over their last three games, the most of any player in the purple-and-white during that span.

Many first year players would rest on those laurels and look ahead to next season, but Turner immediately set out to get bigger and better in his role.

"The biggest thing I was looking to improve on was my tackling and putting more weight on, which is what I've done," he said. "Then just continue to make plays for the defense, continue to get the ball back to our offense and just be that person that people can look to when plays need to be made."

Turner's quick mention of putting on more weight undersells the transformation he went through from a first season with three spot starts to becoming a key contributor as a sophomore.

"I started off last year at around 190 and I ended up putting on a substantial amount of weight, I'm now at 210," Turner said. "I put on a lot of weight due to Coach Hoot and Coach Spanos. They really helped me throughout the process with the weight lifting and eating right with Peter Ritz."

Coach Hoot is Northwestern's Director of Sports Performance for Football Jay Hooten, Spanos is the program's famous Assistant Director of Football Performance Alex Spanos, and Ritz is the program's Assistant Sports Dietician. They were all crucial to the training program that has leveled up Turner's size while maintaining his speed and skill.

That new caliber of playmaking was evident at Rutgers, where Turner logged five tackles and a pass break up that was nearly an interception. He's part of a safety rotation with captain Coco Azema and junior Jaheem Joseph this season that seems to be one of Northwestern's few strengths.

"We're all playing and every time we go out there to make plays," Turner said. "That's what [safeties coach Matt MacPherson], that's what [interim head] Coach [David] Braun wants. All of the safeties that go out there and play, we're trying to make plays and try to do what's best for the team."

Northwestern getting a contribution from a player like Turner as a sophomore is huge for a program and staff that are both in rebuilding mode.

"I think it's really exciting," Braun said at his Monday press conference. "[Devin]'s showing up and flashing, and he'll be the first one to tell you he still has so much room for improvement.

"He's got an opportunity earlier in the game to finish on a ball and he wants that opportunity back, he wants that INT. There are some things he continues to improve on in terms of his consistency and I'd be telling you the same thing if he was sitting here right now."

Turnover margin has been a constant refrain for Northwestern over the years. Being on the right side fueled the complementary style of football that led to the program's heights. Being on the wrong side has led to its recent struggles.

Turner's near-pick in the first quarter, combined with Rutgers' late muffed punt, almost put the team on pace for where they want to be this season.

"Our expectation is to get two turnovers a game, and that's what we're planning on doing," he said. "[We want] to give the ball back to our offense so they can be in prime field position to go score for us."

Northwestern's offensive struggles are no secret after last weekend, and it's no accident that their only touchdown drive was set up by Rutgers' late turnover. Turnovers and defensive stops may be crucial to getting any kind of momentum kick-started as the Wildcats try to pickup their first win in more than a year.

Their loss to Rutgers has sent their stock plummeting, and the Wildcats now find themselves underdogs in their home opener against UTEP, facing the potential for an NCAA-leading 13th straight loss.

"We're focused on UTEP," Turner said. "We don't really care about the past. The past is the past."

One key to snapping that streak will be a strong start from the defense. Rutgers rattled off two 16-play touchdown drives to open the game and had a 14-0 lead before the Wildcats clamped down. Turner knows they need to bring that intensity early if they want a win on Saturday.

"They had a fast start due to a couple mistakes by us," he said. "But once we locked in, we settled down, we played our game plan like we were supposed to and we ended up getting them off the field.

"That's exactly what we want to do against UTEP. It's about not letting them get a fast start so we can get the ball back to our offense and get off the field on third and fourth down."

If the defense is going to flip the script form Week 1, Braun knows Turner will be a big part of that change.

"Don't let my honesty [about the missed interception] hide the fact that we're certainly very excited about his growth here over the course of spring and fall camp," Braun said. "We know that Devin will be a critical piece of our defense moving forward."