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Posted
1/18/15;
Updated
2/4/15
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NU WELCOMES 20 NEW 'CATS
IN 2015 RECRUITING CLASS
Northwestern on Wednesday formally announced its 2015 recruiting class, welcoming 20 new Wildcats to the program.
As
with last year, this
year's list of potential new players appears split nearly evenly
between
offense and defense, with nine players on offense and eleven on
defense. And,
like last year, NU will not sign any new kickers or punters, apparently
leaving this vital set of positions to the fate of walkons.
This
year's class has five players from Illinois-- all from the Chicago
area-- one more than last year's. The Midwest provided a total of nine
recruits, leading all regions. Five players come from the East, two
from California, two from Texas, and-- somewhat surprisingly-- two
players come from Georgia.
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 team's recruiting ranking hovered in the low 40s for much of
January (up from last year, when the 'Cats took
47th place nationally), the rankings dropped due to a few last-minute
decommits. As of signing day, Scout ranks NU 48th in the
country and ninth in the B1G, just behind Maryland. Rivals has NU at
#56 nationally (down from 42nd in January), also just behind Maryland.
247Sports puts the 'Cats at #52 nationally, just behind Indiana. The
sites rank Ohio State first in the conference,
as the rich continue to get richer. With Coach Harbaugh's last-minute
poach spree, Michigan rocketed from dead last in the B1G to eighth.
In addition to the 20 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
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Charles Fessler
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Erie, PA
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247, Rivals & Scout 3-Star. State rank: Rivals 26th, Scout 3rd. 20 offers, incl. BC, Harvard, Nebraska, and Yale.
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| LB
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Nathan Fox
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Houston, TX
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247, Rivals
& Scout 3-Star. Position rank: Rivals 29th, Scout 26th. Scout state
rank: 4th. Miss. St., Oregon, Utah, and Wake Forest offered.
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| DE |
Joe Gaziano
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Scituate, MA
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247, Rivals & Scout 3-Star. Rivals and Scout state rank: 1st. Rivals position rank: 33rd. BC, UMass, Rutgers offered.
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DE
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Trent Goens
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Chino Hills, CA
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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.
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| WR
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Cameron Green
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Buffalo Grove, IL
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247, Rivals & Scout
3-Star. State rank: Rivals 20th, Scout 4th. Offers from 12 schools,
incl. BC, Cincy, Illinois, Iowa, Minny, and Nebraska.
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| DB |
Montre Hartage
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Cordele, GA
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Georgia Southern offered.
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| OL
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Adam Lemke-Bell
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Oak Park, IL
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247, Rivals
& Scout 3-Star. State rank: Rivals 17th, Scout 5th. 17
offers, incl. Harvard, Minny, Miss. St., NC St., 'Cuse, and Yale.
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| DB
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Alonzo Mayo
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Baltimore, MD
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247 3-Star. 9 offers, incl. Army and Columbia.
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| RB
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John Moten IV
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St. Louis, MO
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247, Rivals & Scout 3-Star. State rank: Rivals 11th, Scout 3rd. BC, Illinois, Mizzou, Purdue, 'Cuse, Wake offered.
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| DB |
Jacob Murray
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Coppell, TX
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Offers incl. Air Force, Navy, and NIU.
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| WR |
Flynn Nagel
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Lemont, IL
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247, Scout & Rivals 3-Star. State rank: Rivals 8th. 13 offers, incl. BC, Cincy, Duke, Illinois, Indy, NIU, and Purdue.
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| OL
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Andrew Otterman
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Morristown, NJ
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247 & Scout 3-Star. 'Cuse offered.
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| DB |
Steven Reese
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Buford, GA
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247 3-Star. 8 offers, incl. Virginia.
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| WR |
Jelani Roberts
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Owings Mills, MD
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247 & Rivals 3-Star. Rivals state rank: 27th. 8 offers, incl. BC, Harvard, Navy, and Yale.
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| LB |
Simba Short
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Concord, CA
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247, Rivals & Scout 3-Star. Scout state rank 8th. Offers from AZ St. and Yale.
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| OL |
Jared Thomas
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Indianapolis, IN
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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.
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| DE |
Jordan Thompson
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Cincinnati, OH
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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.
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| LB |
Tommy Vitale
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Wheaton, IL
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247, Rivals & Scout 3-Star. State rank: Rivals 19th, Scout 2nd. 5 offers, incl. NIU & 'Cuse.
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| DB |
Trae Williams
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The Plains, Ohio
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247, Rivals & Scout 3-Star. Scout state rank: 7. 4 offers.
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| QB |
Lloyd Yates
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Oak Park, IL
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247, Rivals & Scout 3-Star. Scout state rank 4th. 6 offers, incl. NIU.
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Rivals state ranks include all positions. Scout state ranks are position-specific.
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