Often caught up on the recruiting trail or reviewing film, there are only so many hours in a year that Northwestern coaches are available to spend with their players.
So, when defensive line coach Christian Smith is unavailable, younger defensive linemen turn to their veteran teammates to accelerate their development with extra work.
One such leader is graduate student defensive lineman Carmine Bastone.
“Sharing the wealth, sharing how this defense operates is really important,” Bastone told The Daily after a Tuesday practice. “You don’t want to just keep everything to yourself. You want to continue to grow the legacy of what happens here.”
When Bastone was a younger player in Evanston, former defensive lineman Adetomiwa Adebawore invited teammates to work on techniques. Bastone said that they always tried to show up for those because of the impact player Adebawore was.
With more experience under his belt in his final season at NU, Bastone is returning the favor.
His leadership, however, extends beyond the defensive line. A two-time team captain, Bastone was elected by his teammates earlier this year to be “The Wildcat.”
Tasked with sporting the No. 1 jersey, “The Wildcat” is a player who is consistent in his approach to school, life and being the best teammate he can be.
“I’m really glad that the guys on the team chose me,” Bastone said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of other guys on the team that they could’ve chose, a lot of special people. It shows me that I have to continue to work, to show people everyday that I deserve to wear the jersey and to love my teammates.”
His rise to earning the No. 1 jersey and becoming a regular starter is far from conventional.
In 2021, the St. Charles, Illinois native joined the program as a preferred walk-on and redshirted his first season. Bastone saw his first action a year later and became a key piece of the defensive line in 2023.
All while trying to get on the field, Bastone fostered his leadership skills. A team captain in high school, Bastone said he felt like a good leader back then. At NU, he had to build credibility before becoming one in college.
Bastone said he continued to work and push every day. Once he became a productive player in the ’Cats’ defense, he showed he was also ready to coach guys up.
Now with his own way of guiding, Bastone said it’s fun to balance preferred styles of his teammates.
“I don’t try to be too serious with the guys,” Bastone said. “I’m not as serious of a person when it comes down to playing ball, having fun out there, enjoying everybody there, making sure everyone is having a good time. I’m not going to be that serious, hard ass guy that’s going to be like (graduate student linebacker) Mac Uihlein.”
What makes Bastone a unique leader, according to Smith, is that he is not afraid to hold the standard for the group, and he says the truth without being too negative.
One of the most important things that Smith thinks others are picking up from Bastone is the standard and consistency in his routine. Their teammates see him and a player like Aidan Hubbard doing things the right way, studying film and balancing school with football.
“He’s always been a guy that really embodies what we want to be as a team, as a program, as a defensive line unit,” Smith said. “Somebody that has a chip on their shoulder to prove it.”
Now, years after he arrived in Evanston ahead of the 2021 season, just two games remain in Bastone’s NU career. Through 11 games this season, he said he is happiest about his consistency through each play, but that there is still more to give in terms of dominating his job and making more plays.
Bastone said playing in his last season gives him a bit of an edge, making him excited to finish the season strong and do everything he can to get a win with these remaining games.
Even after the clock hits zero on the final game of the season, though, he won’t be entirely gone from Smith’s unit.
“I think his presence will be felt once he leaves the program because he’s set the standard for what the leadership is supposed to be like in our room and how you’re supposed to approach every single day,” Smith said. “It’s been an honor to coach him.”
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