Familiarity breeds friendships on Cats' D-line

Senior defensive tackle John Gill likes the guys who hunker down in a three-point stance next to him on Northwestern's defensive line.

That doesn't mean he has to like their stance on everything.

Wedded bliss, for instance.

Junior tackle Adam Hahn got married last summer to Sarissa, the high school sweetheart he has known since they were on the same T-ball team in cozy Hartford, Wis.

They've started their life together in an apartment across Central Street from Ryan Field.

"Everyone's always like, 'Wait 'til after college. Live your college years,' " Hahn said. "But I knew what I wanted in life. I knew what direction I was going. It didn't make sense to wait."

That theory apparently made sense to fifth-year defensive end Kevin Mims. Eight weeks ago, he did the holy matrimony thing in Houston with former NU volleyball standout Courtnie Paulus.

"It's great," Mims said.

So, will Gill be the next Wildcats lineman to file down the aisle?

"Yeah, uh, I don't know about that," Gill said Wednesday as people nearby guffawed at the thought. "Not any time soon."

Just as Hahn and Mims have made life decisions that must make them mature beyond their years, the Wildcats' entire defensive line has the jump on virtually all of its peers.

There's no defensive line in the Big Ten - and perhaps in the country - that boasts as much experience as Northwestern's.

Between Gill, Mims, Hahn and junior end Corey Wootton, the Wildcats will trot out 109 starts' worth of defensive wall Saturday when they host Southern Illinois (11 a.m., Big Ten Network).

Wisconsin's line is the only one in the Big Ten that gets close to that number, but the Badgers' quartet owns just 90 career starts.

All of that experience represents an undeniable Northwestern strength as the school seeks its second 3-0 start since 1962.

Gill is one of 10 Big Ten players on the preseason watch list for the Nagurski Award, which goes to the nation's best defensive player.

The 6-foot-7 Wootton owns so much upside, he earned a starting job in his second game as a true freshman on the veteran team that went to the Sun Bowl.

Then, after an injury cost him the rest of the 2005 season, he came back and earned honorable mention all-Big Ten status as a redshirt freshman.

"He can challenge to be an all-league performer," head coach Pat Fitzgerald said.

Mims won the Sun Bowl's award for Lineman of the Game as a redshirt freshman before having his progress slowed by injuries, while Hahn stands as the line's iron man with 22 consecutive starts.

Those are solid credentials. But, as investment prospectuses always caution, even this much past performance does not guarantee future results.

Why? Because these Wildcats are just two games into a new defensive system that's almost the direct opposite of what they've known throughout their years in Evanston.

After playing a read-and-react style that required them to "mirror and punch" after the snap, now they're all about attacking.

Their first step after the snap always is supposed to be forward.

It sounds easy to remember, but it's not. Hard-wired brains are funny that way.

"We know the system," Hahn said. "It's just doing it every play, over and over, and not reverting back to what we were taught for years.

"There are just bad habits you have to break. Even if one guy just does it once every couple plays or whatever, that breaks the whole front seven."

In last week's 24-20 victory at Duke, where the defense had to be on the field for more than 90 snaps, there was too much breakage for Fitzgerald's tastes.

"It's a combination of things," Fitzgerald said Monday. "No. 1, it's attacking up front consistently. If we can do that with our front four, then our 'fits' will be more consistent for our linebackers."

When the boss says that Monday, you know how every practice will play out leading up to Saturday.

"We really spent this week focusing on technique and focusing on the little things," Mims said. "It's a sense of urgency like crazy to get better because we've got Southern.

"And, you know, we don't look ahead, but we know stuff's on the horizon that we have to be better for."