Medina takes center stage on North Central’s defensive line

When Bobby Medina arrived at North Central College four years ago, even though he was joining a national NCAA Division III powerhouse, he wasn’t looking to take a back seat.

The senior defensive end came from Mount Carmel, one of the top high school programs in the country. The last thing he envisioned was riding the bench.

“I’m not going anywhere to sit on any bench,” Medina said. “That’s never been my mindset. I was coming in like, this is my spot. I wanted to play.”

Medina slid into a key role as a freshman. Now as a senior, he’s the lead dog on the defensive line for the Cardinals.

With national defensive player of the year John Sullivan graduated, Medina had to step into the starring role this season. He accepted that challenge.

Medina has at least one tackle for loss every game this season. His 23 career sacks rank fourth all-time at North Central, only three and a half behind Ben Hare.

After sitting in the shadows playing a complementary role, Medina knew it was his time this season.

“I understood it was my time to shine,” Medina said. “It was just me stepping into a role. I didn’t have to take on more of a challenge. I just had to be who I knew I had to be.”

Medina heads into Saturday’s matchup against Illinois Wesleyan with 37 tackles, 23 solo, 11 tackles for loss and seven and a half sacks. The Cardinals (8-1, 5-1) lead the Titans (7-2, 5-2) by a half game for second place in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin standings.

“He’s been a terror on the field this year, and we needed that with (Sullivan) being gone,” North Central defensive coordinator Shane Dierking said. “He’s one of those guys that’s always been around, but I think now he takes that challenge to be the guy to get home when we need pressure the most.”

Despite having a program that sometimes makes younger players wait their turn, Dierking saw something different in Medina right away.

“We were looking at our D-line during camp (as a freshman) and he was college-ready,” Dierking said. “Once he got the scheme down, he was one of our best guys up front as a freshman.”

Dierking has seen the traits he saw from Medina in high school.

“Great get-off, talented with his hands, super slippery, which really helps him in both the run game and the pass game,” Dierking said. “He understands leverage really well and he just has a motor that never stops.”

Medina’s career production shows that he’s been an impact player from day one, even if he was never the star.

“You look at some of his career stats, and it’s almost sneaky the production he’s had,” North Central coach Brad Spencer said. “We were really excited about him coming in.

“It’s been a pleasure to watch him. His growth every year has been large. He’s one of those guys that comes from a background where he was taught hard work and loyalty.”

Medina experienced something he never had as a college player on Oct. 10. The Cardinals’ 53-game CCIW winning streak ended with a stunning 13-10 loss to rival Wheaton College. It was the Cardinals’ first regular-season loss since losing to Wheaton in 2019.

“We weren’t feeling that a loss was a possibility,” Medina said. “Understanding that it’s over now, there’s nothing we can do about it. Seeing the bad stuff, all those streaks ending, understanding how big a game it was gave us the ability to learn from it.

“That loss may have freed us to put all our cards on the table.”

The good thing is that the ultimate goal, a fourth national title, is still on the table.

“The main goal as seniors to win championships is still there,” Dierking said.