‘I absolutely love being here’: Wheaton’s Mueller can credit brotherly love for success at Northwestern

The Mueller brothers used to play a creative, convenient game in their Wheaton backyard — two-on-one football.

The two younger brothers, Xander and Ian, would try to tackle oldest brother Erik, and usually failed.

“(Erik) was better than both of us,” Xander said. “We got along most of the time. I think a normal amount of fighting for brothers who are still very close.”

Ian didn't stick with football, but Xander and Erik spent one year as Northwestern teammates in 2020, when the Wildcats went to the Big Ten title game.

These days, Erik is in medical school in Wisconsin and Xander is a third-year starter at linebacker. Xander was elected a captain and even wears the radio helmet, getting defensive play calls from the sideline, which is new to college football this year.

It wasn't easy trying to tackle his older brother as a kid, but Xander is the typical youngest brother who took his lumps against older competition and grew into a star.

“He was an awesome brother and it was a lot of fun growing up playing sports with him,” Xander said. “We still talk all the time and see each other a good amount. He's halfway through med school at Medical College of Wisconsin.”

Northwestern's defense got off to a decent start last week against Miami, keeping the Redhawks out of the end zone in a 13-6 victory. The Wildcats will get a different type of test Friday when Duke visits for the first night game at the temporary lakefront stadium.

Speaking of which, what was it like to play a game in a scenic, unusual setting along Lake Michigan?

“It was awesome,” Mueller said. “It was pretty loud. I knew the stands were going to be close, but with 12,000 fans, I wasn't sure how loud it would be. But it was definitely very loud. It was hard to hear the microphone from my coach talking, so I guess that means it was pretty loud.”

Another benefit of the temporary stadium is it's basically next door to Northwestern's football facility, so players can use their usual locker room on game days.

“It was really fun to be right on campus and right next to our facility,” he said. “I love the view. I never take it for granted having an awesome sunrise when we come into the facility every morning.”

Mueller was Northwestern's second-leading tackler the past two seasons, behind departed senior Bryce Gallagher. This is his season to be a leader of the defense and he started with 5 total tackles, one for a loss, against Miami.

“I'm so excited about everything he's shown in the last 20 months I've been there,” NU coach David Braun said. “He just continues to improve. That Will linebacker is such a critical position in our defense.”

Mueller has spent an eventful five years in Evanston. It began with the Big Ten West title in 2020, followed by 3-9 and 1-11 seasons. Then longtime coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired amid accusations of hazing, Braun took over and NU shockingly set aside all the controversies and won a bowl game in 2023.

In this era of the transfer portal, it would have been very easy to leave, but Mueller stuck it out.

“It's the brotherhood,” he said. “I absolutely love being here, enjoyed every second. The conditioning workouts in the summer, they all stink, but I try to cherish those moments, and the brotherhood was the main reason I stayed here for five years.”

Asked to elaborate, Mueller mentioned that he's seen players that did transfer from Northwestern come back and visit during bye weeks.

“We don't really get tired of hanging out with each other,” he said. “Everyone's very bought in to this program and cares about each other more than themselves.”

It makes sense that the youngest brother felt right at home with a football brotherhood.