Northwestern in the XFL, Week 2: Making an impact

The NFL is beyond us, but football isn’t. Thanks to the XFL, there are more ‘Cats to monitor in the world of professional football through the end of winter and beginning of spring, and we’ll be tracking them each week.

In the second week of action, ex-NU stars made their presence felt in all three phases of the game. Let’s take a look at how they made an impact across the field.

Kyle Queiro, LB - Seattle Dragons

If the playmaker didn’t show what he was capable of in his first appearance, he certainly made amends the second time around. Queiro was extremely effective on defense and in the game’s third phase, recording a game-clinching interception for the Wildcat-heavy Seattle Dragons and downing a late punt at the one.

He tacked on three tackles and two passes defended to go with his two highlight-reel plays.

Flynn Nagel - WR, Dallas Renegades

Once again the wideout had an impressive week, but this time it’s the work he did in the kicking game that earns him praise. Nagel gave his team great field position with a crucial fourth quarter punt return that displayed his big-play ability.

However, the humble Wildcat didn’t want to boast too much about his speed postgame, opting for the humorous route when talking about the play.

Nagel added two catches that went for 13 yards to round out his performance in his squad’s victory.

Jordan Thompson, DT - Seattle Dragons

Following up on an impressive debut performance, Thompson had another solid week. The big man in the middle recorded his first sack in the league (a crucial one, helping seal things late in the fourth) in addition to two other tackles. He was a part of a vicious defensive front that recorded four sacks on the day.

Godwin Igwebuike, S - Seattle Dragons

Another game, another four tackles for Igwebuike, who is establishing himself as a consistent performer for the Dragons. He isn’t doing anything spectacular, but he’s playing at a high enough level in the secondary to keep himself on the field and give his defense the back-end reinforcement to make plays.

Hunter Niswander, P - DC Defenders

The only player who Vegas believes has a legitimate shot to win the title, Niswander and the Defenders are competing with the Roughnecks of Houston, according to the odds. In his most recent outing, the punter launched three punts for an average of 43 yards, with none of the boots landing inside his opponent’s 20.