Latest in a series of stories looking at some of the questions facing Northwestern heading into the 2022 season.

Questions: Will NU win over/under 4.5 games in 2022? l Who will be Northwestern's QB in 2022? l Will Northwestern's offensive line be better in 2022? l Who will be Northwestern's leading rusher? l Who will be Northwestern's leading receiver?

I expect transfer LB Wendell Davis Jr. to make a big impact in his first season in Evanston and lead NU in tackles.

Linebacker was a weak spot for Northwestern in 2021 and Davis Jr. is a sizable upgrade in the middle of the Wildcat defense. Across his career at Pittsburgh, he had 44 tackles, 5 TFL and 2 sacks. Davis Jr. and Bryce Gallagher figure to get the majority of the snaps at linebacker for Northwestern in 2022, and Davis Jr. 's athleticism will allow him to flow across the field and make plays.

Adetomiwa Adebawore will be the best player on the 2022 defense, but it is tricky to rack up tackles from defensive end. For my answer, I’ll cite the NCAA’s leading expert on tackling last season, Chris Bergin. There was one Northwestern defender’s improvement and talent over the 2022 season that Bergin lauded the most: Bryce Gallagher.

It was a disappointing year for Northwestern’s defense to say the least, but Gallagher’s progression was a bright spot. He was the second-leading tackler for the Cats last year, and with Bergin gone, he’s a shoo-in for the top spot this season if he stays healthy.

The Northwestern linebacking lineage is strong, and it is time for Gallagher to show what he can do leading the corps.

Predicting a leading tackler can be tricky. Paddy Fisher, for example, was a four-year starter who wound up with more than 400 tackles in his Northwestern career, yet he only led the Wildcats in one season, his freshman year of 2017.

To me, it will come down to Davis Jr. and Gallagherl. I'll go with Gallagher, who is the leading returning tackler after finishing second on the team with 89 stops last season.

An outside linebacker has led the Wildcats in tackles in each of the last four seasons. Plus, his brother, Blake, led the Wildcats twice in tackles during his career, and the Big Ten once. Maybe it runs in the family.