So THAT'S what's wrong with 'The Franchise'

It’s been a common question in Evanston this year, though it’s been whispered, not shouted: What’s the matter with “The Franchise”?

Northwestern’s Anthony Walker Jr. was a terror in 2015, a first-team All-Big Ten middle linebacker that racked up tackles at such a furious pace that he spawned a superhero alter ego, a lunchbox and a T-shirt, courtesy of the school’s media relations department.

Yet through three games this year, Walker has been conspicuous for his low profile rather than his play-making. All the pre-season hype has faded and Walker has looked more like Peter Parker than Spiderman.

While last year Walker topped the Big Ten in tackles for loss with 20.5, this year he is nowhere to be found on that list. His 2.5 TFL on the season doesn’t even place him among the Top 25 in that category on the conference statistics website.

Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald disclosed the primary reason for his star’s lackluster (for him) play after the Duke game: Walker has been hurt. Fitzgerald, who is notoriously tight-lipped about injuries to his players and had never mentioned it previously, said that Walker “dealt with some injury stuff” during camp.

He elaborated a little bit on Tuesday’s Big Ten coaches teleconference.

Fitzgerald said that Walker got “twisted up” on the first Wednesday practice of camp and missed the next two weeks. That first Wednesday was Aug. 17. If Walker missed two weeks, that would mean he wasn't full-go until Sept. 1, in all likelihood, just two days before the Wildcats' loss to Western Michigan in the season opener.

Fitzgerald didn’t reveal the nature of the injury or whether it was upper or lower body, but he said that the practice time lost in August is still having a residual effect on the redshirt junior.

“I think he’s getting himself back into better game shape,” said Fitzgerald. “Missing two weeks of camp is tough. I definitely think he’s getting in better and better shape.”

Clearly something has been bothering Walker. In 2015, he ranked fourth in the conference in tackles with 120 (9.2 per game). This year, he is fourth on his own team with 19 (6.3). That’s quite a ways behind teammate Jaylen Prater, who is currently the Big Ten leader in tackles with 30 (10.0).

More than numbers, though, Walker hasn’t made the big plays he made in 2015. He had three TFL, a half of a sack and recovered a fumble in the season-opening win against Stanford to set the tone for what would be a breakout season for Northwestern’s defense, and he had a scoop-and-score for a touchdown to cap the Wildcats’ 27-0 shutout of Minnesota.

Walker has always had a nose for the ball. He had a 49-yard pick-six against Penn State in his first career start in 2014, spurring the Wildcats to an upset win in the Big Ten opener and prompting Fitzgerald to joke that fans already wanted to erect a statue of the then-redshirt freshman on campus.

This year, he’s been around the ball but not very often in on the play. The injury and lack of practice time are certainly foremost among the reasons for that, but there are other factors involved, too. Walker is playing with a bull's eye on his chest this season, as teams are accounting for him on every snap. Fitzgerald also talked after the Western Michigan game about Walker pressing too much, too often abandoning his assignment in an effort to make a big play.

Last Saturday against Duke, Walker got his first sack of the season. He also finally made an impact play in the third quarter, stripping Duke quarterback Daniel Jones at the NU 20, picking up the fumble and returning it to the 32-yard line to kill a Devils’ scoring drive.

But even that, Fitzgerald said with a laugh on Tuesday, came because he missed a tackle on Jones. The coach remarked that Walker was fortunate that he was able to punch the ball out.

“It was one of those you’re better to be lucky than good plays,” he said. “He missed a tackle.”

And Fitzgerald warned that Walker might not be as lucky if he misses a tackle on Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. on Saturday night.

“This week, if he does that against Tommy, the Nebraska fight song is going to be playing,” he said.