VOTE: Who was the best Northwestern D-tackle over the last 25 years?

It's been 25 years since Northwestern's magical run to the Rose Bowl in 1995. WildcatReport is celebrating that Silver Anniversary by finding out who's been the best player at each position since that legendary team revitalized Wildcat football.

BEST IN 25 YEARS SERIES

OFFENSE: QB Dan Persa l RB Justin Jackson l WR D'Wayne Bates l TE Drake Dunsmore l T Zach Strief l G Ryan Padgett l C Rob Johnson

DEFENSE: DE Corey Wootton

To put it bluntly, defensive tackles are beasts. They are the biggest and strongest players on a defense, and if you have a good pair of tackles, you usually have a good defense.

Defensive tackles don't rack up the tackle or sack numbers that defensive ends or linebackers do. They do the dirty work, occupying blockers, holding the line of scrimmage and letting players behind them make tackles.

But the good ones also make plays, often behind the line of scrimmage. Strong and quick, they can wreak havoc on opposing offenses when they get penetration and blow up a play.

The five DTs on this ballot did exactly that for the Wildcats over the last quarter century.

Read about the careers of each of our candidates below, and then vote for your the best one on the WildcatReport Football Board. You'll find the link at the end of this story.

Reason he deserves it: A two-time All-Big Ten second-team pick, Rice has more TFL than any defensive tackle in Northwestern history. Oh, and he won two Big Ten titles, too.

The skinny: Coach Pat Fitzgerald likes to credit defensive linemen like Matt Rice for keeping him unblocked as he made tackles all over the field for the Wildcats in the mid-'90s.

But Rice was more than a guy that occupied blockers. He was a disruptive, penetrating force who made a lot of plays behind the line of scrimmage. Rice's 42 career TFL rank third in Northwestern history and are the most ever for a defensive tackle.

One of Rice's biggest plays came in the 1995 season opener, when, with 3:57 left in the game, he stoned Notre Dame's Randy Kinder for no gain. It turned out to be the Irish's last offensive play as NU ran out the clock for a 17-15 win.

Rice played linebacker in high school but quickly made his way to the DL at NU. He was a key player on the dominant defense in 1995, and recorded 17 TFL in 1996, tied for fourth-most in a single season in school history. He was named second-team All-Big Ten both seasons.

Reason he deserves it: Strong and athletic, Castillo made 251 tackles, the most of anyone on this list, and was a rare first-round NFL draft pick.

The skinny: Castillo racked up a lot of tackles for a defensive tackle. He ranked fourth on the team in 2004 with 75, including a team-leading 8.5 TFL. He had a career-best 11 tackles against Indiana that season and wound up as a second-team All-Big Ten selection.

Incredibly, he put up all those numbers in 2004 with an injured elbow that he hurt in the season opener and dealt with all season.

In all, Castillo started 34 games at Northwestern, including the last 31 in a row.

Castillo showed off his talent at the NFL Combine, where he ran a 4.79 40 at 305 pounds. He was taken in the first-round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers, the 28th player selected overall. He is the most recent NU first-rounder and one of just eight in school history.

Reason he deserves it: Cofield was Mr. Versatility, making starts at both end and tackle during his Northwestern career, and is the only one on the ballot with a Super Bowl ring.

The skinny: Cofield played in every game of his true freshman year in 2002 a rarity for a defensive lineman. He earned a starting job at defensive end as a sophomore, when he racked up 46 tackles.

He finally found his home inside as a junior, when he started at right defensive tackle and collected 52 tackles, with 3.5 sacks and 5 TFL. He switched to left DT as a senior captain in 2005, when he had his best season, recording a career-high 63 tackles, 2 sacks, 6.5 TFL and 7 QBH to garner second-team All-Big Ten honors. He also forced two fumbles and recovered one, deflected five passes, and had a 16-yard interception return that season.

All told, Cofield played in 49 games with 36 starts. He finished with 197 tackles (88 solo), 6.5 sacks and 15.5 TFL to go along with 18 QBH and 8 pass deflections.

Cofield capped his career by being selected in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. He won Super Bowl XLII with the Giants in 2008.

Reason he deserves it: Bryant overcame a broken leg to become a captain and claim both the Wildcat Warrior and Ultimate Wildcat awards during his career.

The skinny: Bryant, who played just one year of football at Chicago (Ill.) Morgan Park, initially committed to Northern Illinois before flipping to Northwestern. He broke his leg as a freshman in 2006 and was awarded an extra year of eligibility.

He won the Randy Walker Wildcat Warrior Award as the player who demonstrates the work ethic, toughness and attitude of a warrior in 2008, when he played in 11 games and totaled 28 tackles.

As a junior in 2009 he started all 13 games at defensive tackle and won the Bryan Paynter "Ultimate Wildcat" Award as the player who serves as an example by confronting adversity with courage and dedication and always putting the needs of the team first. He totaled 30 tackles, the second-most among NU's defensive linemen, and 5.5 TFL.

In 2010, as a senior, he was named a captain and posted a 25 tackles and a career-high 8.5 TFL, as well as a 17-yard interception return.

Bryant was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Chicago Bears and played six seasons in the NFL.

Reason he deserves it: He made 39 straight starts, wore the coveted No. 1 and was an immovable force in the middle of the line for some very good NU defenses.

The skinny: It took a while for Lancaster to get going in his career. He redshirted in 2013 and played in just one game in 2014 before an injury sidelined him. But then he started the next 39 games in a row.

In 2015, as a redshirt sophomore, he racked up a career-high eight tackles against Wisconsin. As a junior in 2016 he totaled 33 tackles and seven TFL.

Finally, as a redshirt senior and team captain in 2017, Lancaster had his finest season. He was an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick who made at least two tackles in all 13 games. He finished with career highs in tackles (40), TFL (9.5) and sacks (2) for a Wildcats' defense that ranked ninth in the country against the run and 20th in scoring defense.

More than numbers, however, Lancaster gave offensive lines fits as a 315-pound, space-eating monster in the middle of the line that just refused to be uprooted.

Lancaster went undrafted but played the last two seasons with the Green Bay Packers.

Go to our Football Board to cast your vote. You can vote for any of the five tackles listed on our ballot, or you can vote for "Other" and identify your write-in candidate in your reply the message.

Hurry! The poll will close on Sunday night.

Ready? CLICK HERE TO VOTE