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VOTE: Who was the best Northwestern safety 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 l DT Matt Rice l MLB Pat Fitzgerald l OLB Napoleon Harris l CB Sherrick McManis


This may be the toughest decision Northwestern fans have to make in this whole Best in 25 Years series. This safety position is LOADED.

While the middle linebacker ballot may have been more top-heavy with stars, at least it had a clear-cut favorite with Pat Fitzgerald. This battle promises to be a free-for-all, with seven deserving candidates and no clear front-runner.

We have three members of the 1995 Rose Bowl team on this list, a player that delivered one of the most memorable hits in recent history, a player who registered three picks in one game. There are two first-team All-Big Ten team members, and two NFL draftees.

In other words, you've got your work cut out for you in deciding this one.

Read about the careers of each of our candidates below, and then vote for the player you think has been the best safety over the last quarter century on the WildcatReport Football Board. You'll find the link at the end of this story.


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WILLIAM BENNETT (1992-95)

Reason he deserves it: Bennett was the captain of the 1995 Rose Bowl team and made more tackles than any safety in Northwestern history.


The skinny: Northwestern was the very first scholarship offer for Bennett, a Tempe, Ariz., native who picked up his offer on a January visit, just weeks before signing day. In his first three years in Evanston, the Wildcats won a total of eight games.

Then, in his senior year of 1995, the Wildcats won 10 games and the school's first Big Ten championship in 59 years.

Bennett, who practiced at both wide receiver and defensive back when he first arrived in Evanston, finally settled in at safety. He made the first start of his career in the third game of his freshman season in 1992, against Stanford. He went on to start the next 42 in a row, with the least one coming in the Rose Bowl.

Bennett was a captain and the second-leading tackler on that '95 team, with 102 stops. He made the diving interception that sealed NU's dramatic upset over Michigan in Ann Arbor.

A three-time All-Big Ten honorable-mention pick, Bennett finished his career with 418 tackles, the most for a safety in school history, as well as 16 PBUs.

William Bennett Key Statistics
Tackles PBU INT

Career

418*

16

5

* Fifth-most in Northwestern history

HUDHAIFA ISMAELI (1994-96)

Reason he deserves it: One of the most unique players in Northwestern history, Ismaeli was a freak athlete who could do just about anything and specialized in big plays.


The skinny: It's difficult to describe Hudhaifa Ismaeli as a player. We're classifying him as a safety here, but he lined up everywhere for Northwestern: cornerback, safety, linebacker, defensive end, kick returner. He was devastating on blitzes off the edge and had an uncanny ability to make big plays. Pat Fitzgerald once called him the "best athlete I've ever been around."

No Wildcat recovered more fumbles in his career than Ismaeli, who's seven recoveries is tied with two others for most in school history. His scoop-and-score to seal the Wildcats' first win over Iowa in 21 seasons in 1995 is an iconic moment in NU history.

The funny thing thing is that Ismaeli wasn't even a starter on that 1995 team. Though he played a ton and collected as many big plays as anyone else, he was the fifth defensive back on that team, a special weapon who came in to wreak havoc.

Ismaeli became a full-time starter on the 1996 Big Ten co-champs and was a second-team All-Big Ten pick that year. He played three full seasons for the Wildcats before getting kicked off the team and then deciding to go pro.

He was a seventh-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in the 1997 NFL Draft.

Hudhaifa Ismaeli Key Statistics
Tackles PBU INT

Career

NA

NA

2

ERIC COLLIER (1994-97)

Reason he deserves it: A three-time All-Big Ten second-team pick, Collier was a fixture for the back-to-back Big Ten championship teams of 1995-96.


The skinny: Simply put, Collier was everything you wanted in a safety.

He could come up and make tackles in run support, as evidenced by his 342 tackles, the eighth-most in school history. He could guard the deep middle of the field. He could quarterback the defense.

Collier was a starter on the 1995 and 1996 Big Ten championship teams, and a captain of the 1997 team. He was a good enough athlete that he got two carries and caught a pass in 1997, when injuries forced Barnett to employ him on the offensive side of the ball.

He is the No. 8 all-time tackler at Northwestern, with 342 stops.

Amazingly, Collier was never named first-team All-Big Ten, but he made the second team three times. But maybe that's fitting for a player that was never the big star -- as Bennett and Ismaeli seemed to get more attention -- but was always there, where he was supposed to be and making the play.

Eric Collier Key Statistics
Tackles PBU INT

Career

342*

NA

4

* Eighth-most in Northwestern history

BRAD PHILLIPS (2006-09)

Brad Phillips (17)
Brad Phillips (17)

Reason he deserves it: A big hitter with a high football IQ, Phillips blossomed into a first-team All-Big Ten pick as a senior and is second all-time in forced fumbles.


The skinny: Ask Northwestern fans what they remember about Phillips and 99 out of 100 of them will tell you about his hit on Shonn Greene in 2008. Phillips' thunderous slobberknocker knocked Iowa's leading rusher out of the game in the fourth quarter and his fumble led to the winning points as the Wildcats topped the Hawkeyes 22-17.

Phillips did much more than that during his career, but his specialty was separating ballcarriers from the ball. He started 34 games for the Wildcats and registered 257 tackles, five interceptions and eight forced fumbles, tied for the second-most in Northwestern history.

Phillips played mostly on special teams as a true freshman in 2006 and made his first career start in 2007. He was an honorable mention all-conference pick in 2008 when he led Northwestern with a career-high 109 tackles, and then a first-team selection in 2009 as a senior, when he finished second on the team with 86 tackles in 2009. His five forced fumbles were most on the team and third-most in the Big Ten that season.

Brad Phillips Key Statistics
Tackles FF INT

Career

257

8

5

Best Year (2008)

109*

2

3*

* Led Northwestern

BRIAN PETERS (2008-11)

Reason he deserves it: Peters is the poster boy for player development, a recruit with one Power Five offer who became a first-team All-Big Ten player and had an NFL career.


The skinny: A former two-star prospect, it took a while for Peters to become a full-time starter. He got his first career interception in the 2008 Alamo Bowl as a redshirt freshman and then started five games in 2009.

He became the full-time starter in 2010 and led the Big Ten with 107 tackles and had three interceptions to earn second-team All-Big Ten honors.

Then, as a senior, Peters was a first-team All-Big Ten pick after making 92 tackles and a team-high five interceptions, most in the Big Ten.

Peters finished his Northwestern career with 301 tackles and 12 interceptions, the third-most in school history.

He wasn't drafted but after playing in the Arena and Canadian football leagues, he played four years for the Houston Texans, eventually becoming a special teams captain.

Brian Peters Key Statistics
Tackles PBU INT

Career

301

16

12*

Best Year (2010)

107

7

3

* Third-most in Northwestern history

IBRAHEIM CAMPBELL (2011-14)

Reason he deserves it: A four-year starter, Campbell was a smooth, athletic safety who led the team in tackles, PBUs, INTs and FFs at some point during his career.


The skinny: Campbell sat out his first year but it didn't take him long to establish himself as a redshirt freshman in 2011, starting every game and leading Northwestern with 100 tackles to earn Freshman All-America honors.

In 2012, he led the Cats with 12 PBU, and in 2013 he was tops in interceptions with four, earning honorable mention All-Big Ten honors both seasons.

Finally, as a senior, he was a second team all-league pick after leading the conference with four forced fumbles despite missing four games with injuries. He also topped Northwestern with three interceptions.

Campbell finished his Wildcat career with 45 starts and 316 tackles. He is tied for third in program history with 10 career interceptions and tied for seventh with 24 pass breakups.

Campbell was a fourth-round selection of the Cleveland Browns in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Ibraheim Campbell Key Statistics
Tackles PBU INT

Career

316

24

10*

Best Year (2013)

73

9

4

* Tied for third-most in Northwestern history

GODWIN IGWEBUIKE (2014-17)

Reason he deserves it: An outstanding athlete, Igwebuike could lay the lumber in run support and was also a ball hawk who picked off three passes in one game.


The skinny: Igwebuike made a big splash in his first career start as a redshirt freshman in 2014, becoming the first Wildcat in 41 years to intercept three passes in one game in leading NU to an upset over No. 17 Wisconsin. He then went on to start 44 of the next 45 games for Northwestern.

In 2015, he racked up 87 tackles for a dominant Northwestern defense. He was a second-team All-Big Ten pick in 2016, when he led the Wildcats with 108 tackles to go along with nine PBUs and two interceptions.

Finally, as a senior in 2017, he ranked third on the team with 78 tackles, recording at least two stops in all but one game, and a career-best nine PBU.

Igwebuike finished his career with 324 tackles, the most among safeties on this list, and 24 PBU, tied for seventh all-time at Northwestern.

Godwin Igwebuike Key Statistics
Tackles PBU INT

Career

324

24

7

Best Year (2016)

108*

9

2

* Led Northwestern

VOTING

Go to our Football Board to cast your vote. You can vote for any of the seven safeties 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 Monday at noon.


Ready? CLICK HERE TO VOTE

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