Jan. 15, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern defensive end Corey Wootton (Rutherford, N.J./Don Bosco Prep) underwent successful surgery today (Jan. 15) in Chicago after suffering a game-ending right knee injury in the 2008 Valero Alamo Bowl.
Wootton, who earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from the league's coaches and was tabbed an SI.com honorable mention All-American, is expected to fully recover from the injury and play in 2009.
Named the team's 2008 Most Valuable Player, Wootton led Northwestern's much-improved defense with a team-best 16 tackles for loss, which included 10 pass sacks, two shy of NU's single-season record. His play also helped Northwestern set a single-season school record for rushing defense (126.4 ypg).
For the second season in his career, Wootton accomplished every major defensive statistic (tackles, TFL's, sacks, pass deflections, interceptions, fumbles forced, fumbles recovered, QB hurries and blocked kicks). When he accomplished that feat in 2006, he was the first Wildcat to do so since Hudhaifa Ismaeli in 1995.