Wisconsin Football Has an Upperclassman Linebacker Ready to Breakout
Wisconsin Badgers inside linebacker Maema Njongmeta is coming off his first season as a starter and is now poised for a breakout in 2023.
Wisconsin football inside linebacker Maema Njongmeta has been steadily improving since joining the team in 2019. However, 2023 could be the year he breaks out as an impact, playmaking defender for the Badgers defense and vaults himself onto the NFL’s radar.
“Honestly, my mindset is that whatever I did last year wasn’t enough,” Njongmeta said. “That’s kind of fueling me.”
At 6 feet and 240 pounds, Njongmeta has the size and athleticism to be a dominant force in the middle of Wisconsin’s defense. He has already shown flashes of his potential, leading UW with a team-high 95 tackles, adding 25 pressures, 12.5 TFLs, 3.5 sacks, and an interception en route to Third-team All-Big Ten honors.
The redshirt senior from Buffalo Grove, Illinois, has a solid foundation to build on, considering he has the highest Pro Football Focus grade among returning linebackers across the country (89.9). However, he knows consistency and playing freely without thinking as much is the key to taking his game to the next level.
“I think last year I was so worried about not making mistakes that I got kind of robotic,” Njongmeta said. “There is an element of sport that is art. That creativity needs to showcase itself. Just letting myself do my thing. I think that’s a big place where I can step up.”
The Skinny
Taking the jump from lightly used reserve linebacker playing behind the likes of Jack Sanborn and Leo Chenal was no small feat. According to PFF, Maema Njongmeta appeared in six games in 2021, playing a grand total of 58 snaps. That number ballooned to 587, playing next to Jordan Turner this past season–both of which experienced trial by fire.