NU's Davie on pace for postseason honors

Quentin Davie liked hearing his name Monday, but he'd much prefer to have it repeated on the final Monday in November.

Northwestern's senior outside linebacker earned the Big Ten's defensive player of the week award for his 10-tackle, 1-interception, 1-touchdown effort Saturday night at Rice.

"When I heard it, it felt great," Davie said.

With a team-high 20 tackles and a league-high 3 interceptions going into Saturday's home game against Central Michigan, Davie has a head start on his ultimate goal.

He wants to join an exclusive Northwestern club that includes only coach Pat Fitzgerald as a member.

"Obviously I want to keep getting better and be consistent throughout the season," Davie said. "It would be great if I could get (Big Ten) defensive player of the year."

Fitzgerald won that award in 1995 and 1996, though he shared the latter honor with Ohio State's Shawn Springs.

The Big Ten reveals its all-conference teams and players of the year Nov. 29, two days after the last league games.

Davie will find it tough to unseat preseason favorite Greg Jones of Michigan State as defensive player of the year, but how much better would his odds be if he hadn't dropped an interception in the opener at Vanderbilt and another Saturday at Rice?

Fitzgerald doesn't hesitate to needle Davie about the missed opportunities.

"He never stops," Davie said. "That's why I try to catch them from now on, so he won't be able to kid me."

While Davie deserves credit for being one of 10 players nationally with at least 3 interceptions, it's not like he needed to make miraculous plays to get any of them.

"No. 1, he's really disciplined in his drop," Fitzgerald said. "He's right where he's supposed to be, when he's supposed to be there.

"And we've gotten good pressure. On the three picks this year, we've hit the quarterback or been in the quarterback's face and made him move in the pocket and he's had to make a decision."

Health watch: In the wake of Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio's heart attack, Pat Fitzgerald outlined how he and his staff try not to neglect their health during the season.

"First of all, we're going to try to work out every day," Fitzgerald said. "On Sundays, most of our staff gets out for a run in the afternoon. Mondays, we'll go out in the afternoon, too."

With Northwestern's fall quarter starting Tuesday, the weekday practices move to 8:50 a.m. That allows the coaches the chance to work out afterward while the players attend class.

"We're a pretty active staff," Fitzgerald said. "It's just reality. You've got to take care of yourself. If you want to be a great coach, you've got to be healthy. Sometimes things are out of your control, obviously."

NU defensive line coach Marty Long missed last year's Outback Bowl after emergency surgery to remove a growth. Since that time, Long has dropped 60 pounds.

"We were calling him 'Jared from Subway' for awhile," Fitzgerald said.

Numbers game: Northwestern surrendered just 37 points in its first three games.

The Wildcats haven't done better than that since 1986, when Francis Peay's group allowed 35 points in a 2-1 start.

NU ranks 12th nationally in scoring defense (12.3 ppg), but Saturday foe Central Michigan ranks fourth (9.0 ppg).