‘Dame Time:’ Behind Nadame Tucker, WMU defense caps stalwart season with MAC crown
Tucker has been leading the charge for a WMU defense that has dominated opponents since MAC play began at the end of September.
Detroit — As Nadame Tucker has made it a habit of terrorizing opposing quarterbacks and wrecking offensive gameplans, his teammates on the sidelines have come up with a sideline rejoinder.
Because when it’s time for the opponent to drop back and pass, or is backed up into a long down and distance, it has only meant one thing this season.
Dame Time.
“I know what I have to do as far as to help my team win,” edge rusher Nadame Tucker said postgame. “And that's wreak havoc.”
Western Michigan’s (9-4, 7-1 MAC) defense put in on Saturday another stalwart performance in a season full of them, smothering Miami (OH) for most of the MAC title game to win, 23-13, at Ford Field to win the program’s fourth-ever conference championship in football. And at the center of the defensive performance, with 2.5 sacks to put him at a nation-leading 14.5 on the season, was Tucker.
“For me, personally, it feels like a dream, man,” Tucker said. “Cause my journey is different from a lot of people. A lot of trials and tribulations. A lot of trying. A lot of giving places the benefit of the doubt, you know what I'm saying? But it just means the world to me.”
The transfer edge rusher from Houston arrived this offseason and showed flashes in training camp that had coaches and teammates speculating that he could be a star. And 13 games later, they’ve been proven right after a monster season where Tucker finished with 14.5 sacks, 21 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and became a game-wrecking force for the Broncos.
He won MAC defensive player of the year and was the defensive MVP of the title game on Saturday.
“It's like family, man,” Tucker said. “I will never forget these guys. Ever.”
With Tucker leading the charge, Western Michigan held opponents to 16.1 points per game once MAC play kicked off.
Since Sept. 20 and onward, Western Michigan allowed more than 21 points in a game just once: A 26-17 loss at Miami (OH) on Oct. 25.
Tucker’s ability to affect games didn’t take long to show up, even before the Broncos began to win. He had a pair of sacks against Michigan State and a forced fumble in the opener, and the promise that his teammates and coaches saw held up.
“It's special, man,” running back Jalen Buckley said. “I don't really have many words because you guys see it on the field. But even in practice, just going through fall camp and everything, you can just see he's a little different. Just having to block him on certain things and the plays he wreaked havoc in camp, it was just special. So you know when that team is behind the sticks, 11 is ready to go.”
Taylor added to the sentiment after Western Michigan chased starting quarterback Thomas Gotkowski from the game and went on to harass Henry Hesson in the pocket.
“I feel sorry for the other quarterback,” Taylor said.
Tucker has come through in big moments, too, creating key pressures or big swings.
Trailing in the second half against Central Michigan, Tucker came through the middle on a twist in the rush and had a clear path to CMU QB Joe Labas. Tucker careened into Labas and dislodged the ball, forcing a fumble that Western Michigan recovered.
It served as a catalyst for one of many comeback wins the Broncos have had this year.
And even as he became the obvious dangerman on the Western Michigan front, opponents still struggled to contain him. Or when they devoted resources to do so, rushers like Kershawn Fisher and Marcel Tyler found success. That, or defensive coordinator Chris O’Leary’s deft feel for dialing up pressures, helped keep things balanced for the WMU defense.
“I thought we had an excellent plan today,” Taylor said. “Coach O'Leary and the defensive staff put together an excellent plan.
So even on Saturday against Miami (OH) in the rematch, with the Redhawks fully aware of the threat he poses, he still managed 2.5 sacks, including one to ice the game.
Tucker’s final sack came with around five minutes to go and Western Michigan leading, 23-13. Miami (OH) had used up its timeouts and faced a 4th down needing to convert to have any hope of crawling back into the game. Tucker lined up on the right side of the defense, over the left tackle.
It was Dame Time.
He beat the left tackle off the first step on pure speed and barely had to brush away a feeble attempt to reroute him as he hurtled toward Hesson, who he met at the top of the drop and slung to the ground.
The Broncos celebrated the sack and getting that much closer to sealing a conference title win and a miraculous turnaround from an 0-3 start to the season.
“You definitely saw it today,” kicker Palmer Domschke said. “Any time it was third and long or third down in general, it was Dame Time and you could tell that — that the quarterback saw him coming, he got scared. Put it that way.”
And Western Michigan might not have been in this position in the first place if it weren’t for Tucker and how often it’s been Dame Time for the Broncos this year.
