Dean Lowry. Anthony Walker, Jr. Deonte Gibson.
Chances are, these are the names that pop up when thinking about the stout front seven Northwestern’s defense rolled out in 2015. Which makes sense, as all three were dynamic presences up front on an elite defense that propelled the Wildcats to a 10-win season.
To stop there, though, is to overlook a crucial contributor to the unit’s success. In fact, it’s entirely possible that Northwestern’s star-studded front seven would have been significantly less effective without the help of one lesser-known name: defensive tackle Tyler Lancaster.
Due to injury, Lancaster played just one game as a redshirt freshman in 2014, but he stayed healthy and put together a breakout sophomore campaign year last season.