Recruiting Update | HailToPurple.com

With a little more than two weeks until national signing day, Northwestern appears to have a class of 19 ready for 2015, along with at least one walkon.

As with last year, this year's list of potential new players appears split nearly evenly between offense and defense, with nine players on each side of the ball. And, like last year, NU will not sign any new kickers or punters.

Again, like last year, four recruits come from Illinois, with most of the rest spread across the Midwest and East. California, Ohio, and Texas are each home to two recruits. The eastern focus includes two players from Maryland and players from Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New Jersey. This is a shift from years past, in which the 'Cats landed multiple players from Pennsylvania.

Scout has given four stars to defensive end Jordan Thompson from Cincinnati. Most of the rest of NU's class have three stars from the major recruiting sites.

While the number of four-star recruits for NU is down vs. recent years, the team's ranking is up from last year, when the 'Cats hovered around 47th place nationally. As of January 17, Scout ranks NU 41st in the country and seventh in the B1G, just behind Illinois. Rivals has NU at #42 nationally, just above Missouri, and 6th in the B1G, ahead of Illinois. 247Sports puts the 'Cats at #41 nationally and 7th in the B1G, behind Indiana. The sites rank Ohio State first in the conference, as the rich continue to get richer. Michigan is ranked dead last (though not for long).

In addition to the 19 current recruits, the 'Cats will have a handful of walkon players.

The following table shows the list of recruits who have committed to Northwestern. The comments are compiled from material taken from Rivals.com, Scout.com, and 247Sports .

Recruiting is a somewhat challenging topic for me to cover. I have no interest in college recruiting: rating 17 and 18-year old boys and following their progress in high school football holds absolutely no appeal for me, nor does analyzing the drama of some of these players as they make their choice of college. Yet, I recognize that success in recruiting is critical to Northwestern's program.

For more detailed info and analysis, be sure to check out Lou V.'s reporting at Rivals and Chris Emma's work at 247Sports.

WR	Charles Fessler	Erie, PA	247, Rivals & Scout 3-Star. State rank: Rivals 26th, Scout 3rd. 20 offers, incl. BC, Harvard, Nebraska, and Yale.
LB	Nathan Fox	Houston, TX	247, Rivals & Scout 3-Star. Position rank: Rivals 29th, Scout 26th. Scout state rank: 4th. Miss. St., Oregon, Utah, and Wake Forest offered.
DE	Joe Gaziano	Westwood, MA	247, Rivals & Scout 3-Star. Rivals and Scout state rank: 1st. Rivals position rank: 33rd. BC, UMass, Rutgers offered.
DE	Trent Goens	Chino Hills, CA	247, Rivals & Scout 3-Star. Rivals position rank: 35th. Scout state rank: 4th. 11 offers, incl. 'Zona, Boise St., Cal, Miami FL, Wash., and Yale.
WR	Cameron Green	Lincolnshire, IL	247, Rivals & Scout 3-Star. State rank: Rivals 20th, Scout 4th. Offers from 12 schools, incl. BC, Cincy, Illinois, Iowa, Minny, and Nebraska.
OL	Adam Lemke-Bell	Oak Park, IL	247, Rivals & Scout 3-Star. State rank: Rivals 17th, Scout 5th. 17 offers, incl. Harvard, Minny, Miss. St., NC St., 'Cuse, and Yale.
DB	Alonzo Mayo	Baltimore, MD	247 3-Star. 9 offers, incl. Army and Columbia.
RB	John Moten	St. Louis, MO	247, Rivals & Scout 3-Star. State rank: Rivals 11th, Scout 3rd. BC, Illinois, Mizzou, Purdue, 'Cuse, Wake offered.
DB	Jacob Murray	Coppell, TX	Offers incl. Air Force, Navy, and NIU.
OL	Andrew Otterman	Morristown, NJ	247 & Scout 3-Star. 'Cuse offered.
DB	Steven Reese	Buford, GA	247 3-Star. 8 offers, incl. Virginia.
WR	Jelani Roberts	Baltimore, MD	247 & Rivals 3-Star. Rivals state rank: 27th. 8 offers, incl. BC, Harvard, Navy, and Yale.
DB	Simba Short	Concord, CA	247, Rivals & Scout 3-Star. Scout state rank 8th. Offers from AZ St. and Yale.
OL	Jared Thomas	Indianapolis, IN	247, Rivals & Scout 3-Star. State rank: Rivals 8th, Scout 1st. Rivals position rank: 35th. 11 offers, incl. BC, Cincy, Duke, Illinois, Indy, and 'Cuse.
DE	Jordan Thompson	Cincinnati, OH	Scout 4-Star. Rivals & 247 3-Star. State rank: Rivals 29th, Scout 2nd. Position rank: Rivals 38th, Scout 21st. 15 offers, incl. Alabama, BC, Cincy, Duke, Illinois, Iowa, MSU, Minny, Notre Dame, and WV.
LB	Tommy Vitale	Wheaton, IL	247, Rivals & Scout 3-Star. State rank: Rivals 19th, Scout 2nd. 5 offers, incl. NIU & 'Cuse.
RB	Trae Williams	The Plains, Ohio	247, Rivals & Scout 3-Star. Scout state rank: 7. 4 offers.
QB	Lloyd Yates	Oak Park, IL	247, Rivals & Scout 3-Star. Scout state rank 4th. 6 offers, incl. NIU.