Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 34-18vs South Dakota State | 14 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 14 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 41-7vs Colorado | 11 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 25 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
#6
Robert Fitzgerald
Senior defensive back on Northwestern's 2026 roster.
6′0″ · 210 lb · Dallas, TX · Jesuit College Prep
CFB Index 82 · #32 of 544 safetiesLow confidence
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
3★
S recruit
No. 756 nationally · Signed with Northwestern
Last played in 2026.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Senior defensive back on Northwestern's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Northwestern in 2022.
How he projects
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line.
Grades highest in play recognition and speed.
The full scouting read
In Their Words
200 windows · 2026 fan posts
northwestern×160.9pat×64.4lawsuit×95.5won×18.7
“Fitzgerald won the lawsuit because Northwestern is incompetent. The best case scenario for Fitzgerald is that he’s also incompetent and can’t control his locker room”
reddit/CFB · fan post, verbatim
Robert Fitzgerald
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Fourth year in the Northwestern secondary, same address the whole way. His first career honor landed in 2025: All-Big Ten. The receipt: 14 tackles against South Dakota State — Week 1, 2026.
25 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- seasons on the roster
- recognition record
- game log
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
2022
- Signed with Northwestern3-star out of Dallas Jesuit
202512 games
- All-Big Ten
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Northwestern
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
1 coach2023–2026
Northwestern
Played his entire career under David Braun.
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Northwestern | 25 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Northwestern | 106 | 63 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 4 | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | Northwestern | 46 | 31 | 1.0 | 1.0 | -- | 1 | -- |
| 2023 | Northwestern | 13 | 10 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 190 | 113 | 7.0 | 1.0 | 5 | 2 | -- |
Game log
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 34–18
14 tackles · 1 pass breakups · 8 solo tackles
With A. Chiles — 273 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · 18 rush yds (8 car) · 1 TD · J. Himon II — 87 rush yds (4 car) · 1 TD
2026 snapshot
Since week 1: +11 tackles.
Season context · Team result + system
4 seasons under David Braun — 21-19 over that span.
2023Northwestern8-5HC: David Braun · Run-leaning
2024Northwestern4-8HC: David Braun · Balanced, slow tempo
2025Northwestern7-6HC: David Braun · Run-leaning
2026Northwestern2-0HC: David Braun · Run-heavy, slow tempo
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Medium confidence
Elite: tackles (94th percentile). Concern: tackles for loss (16th percentile).
Box-score production (7)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Defensive profile
Defender profile · Production by role
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
4%1 pass breakupsTackle volume
25tackles this seasonTFL rate
0%0 TFL25 tackles · 1 pass breakups.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 12.5 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.5 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
David Braun
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
2026 outlook
In the mix for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #7 of 77 Big Ten DBs
How the All-Big Ten estimate is computed
35% estimated, 95% confidence interval 31–38%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
How he plays
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
Box Safety
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
S
His 2026 production profile sits closest to CJ Coombes’s 2026 season.
86%match
Matches CJ on
Class year
PD rate
Tackle volume
Differs from CJ on
Height (lower)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Shawn Preston's senior season at Mississippi State (2021).
Matches Shawn on
Class year
Height
PD rate
Player DNA
Players who play like Robert Fitzgerald
Background
2025 Redshirt Junior: Earned All-Big Ten Second-Team honors … Started all 13 games for the Wildcats at safety … Posted a Big Ten-high 69 solo tackles in 13 starts this season … Racked up a team-high 114 total tackles, 6.0 TFLs, four pass breakups, one fumble recovery and an interception ……
The secondary · Northwestern
- #6Robert Fitzgerald106 tackles · 2025
- #9Braden Turner52 tackles · 2025
- #18Garner Wallace45 tackles · 2025
- #13Josh Fussell29 tackles · 2025
- #3Brenden Deasfernandes25 tackles · 2025
18 more on the roster · Northwestern team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology