Blue White Illustrated

following the graduation of two All-Big Ten players. Wartman's performance throughout spring practice had folks around the Lasch Building breathing a bit easier. Head coach Bill O'Brien has called him a smart, tough and instinctive player, an evaluation that Wartman backed up with his effort on that thirdand-10 stop during the spring scrimmage. Defensive coordinator John Butler has yet to name him a starter – sophomore Ben Kline was unable to compete for the spot this spring due to shoulder surgery – but he confirmed that Wartman will be relied upon heavily this fall. Butler likes the instincts and wherewithal that he's shown on the field. His fellow linebackers have also been raving about him. Wartman, they say, has an uncanny nose for the football, and they seem confident that the Archbald, Pa., resident will be a significant contributor this coming fall, whether he's a full-time starter or not. "Nyeem is a very instinctive guy," junior Mike Hull said. "He's always getting in throwing lanes and he's always aware of the down and distance, which helps him be a great linebacker." Wartman's self-assessment differs from that of Hull and the coaches. While he's the guy making the tackles, the reads and the plays, he prefers to deflect the credit to the people around him. Those seemingly "instinctive" moments? Wartman said they're the result of dedicated film study and coaching, not some Jedi mind trick. "Our coaches do a great job of teaching the situations," Wartman explained. "Take that screen [on third-and-long], for example: They teach us to look out for the draw or the screen. So it's not really that I'm instinctive. It's more that you've gotta know the situations. The coaches put me in that position. Plus, Mike Hull and Glenn Carson, they're a lot of help out here. ... It's just nice having good veterans out there trying to help you out when you're so young trying to fill a spot." The starting spot Wartman is hoping to fill is the one that All-American Michael Mauti held down in 2012 – a fact that Mauti himself pointed out during his residence as the Big Ten Network's color commentator for the Blue-White Game. "Nyeem is a guy who's going to have to step up for a couple of departing seniors," Mauti said. "He's a great young talent so far." It will be next to impossible to match Mauti's production after a senior year in which he totaled 95 tackles, four tackles for loss, three interceptions, three forced fumbles and 2.5 sacks – all despite missing the final seven quarters of the season with a knee injury. But Wartman said he closely studied his predecessor's play last year, as well as that of Gerald Hodges, and is hoping to emulate their success. He got a head start when he saw playing time in the Lions' 2012 opener against Ohio. In that game, he blocked a punt that was recovered for a touchdown. Teammates cited that play as yet another example of his instinctiveness and awareness. Wartman, of course, had a different explanation. "If you watch the film, I was trying to avoid [the punter]," Wartman said. "I accidently hit [the ball] with my thigh. I was hoping I wasn't going to hit him. Then when I stood up, I was expecting a flag for some type of freshman mistake. Next thing I knew, I see [a touchdown.] It was a nice feeling. It took a lot of weight off my shoulders." The following week, Wartman hyperextended his knee on a kickoff against Virginia. The injury forced him to miss the rest of the season and didn't fully heal until late February. Wartman called it "heartbreaking" at first, but after receiving a medical redshirt from the NCAA, he said he has begun to see a silver lining in the setback. "It was sort of a blessing, because now I have four more years," he said. "I can continue to grow and become a better player. So I take [the year off] as preparation and [an opportunity] to get stronger, because I didn't feel like I was strong enough to be a consistent player last year." While he rehabbed his knee, Wartman increased his strength. Despite shedding significant body fat, he added five pounds of mass. He also paid close attention to Mauti and Hodges, whom he calls his mentors. Wartman watched how they studied film, how they practiced, how they tackled and how they conducted themselves. He's hoping it will all pay off this fall, because it will be up to him to at least partially fill the void left by their graduation. That might seem like a lot of pressure to put on the shoulders of a secondyear guy, and Wartman admits that he feels the weight of expectation as he prepares for the upcoming season. "But at the same time," he said, "I'm just trying to play football. Whether or not I'm a starter in the fall, we'll see. I just want to play football. I'm here to line up between the lines and just go downhill. I'm not really worried about pressure right now because why should I have pressure if I haven't done anything yet? It's not like I'm a big star." At least not yet.

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