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Class of 2016 "Big Board": Eval Period Edition

gocatsgo2003

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While the evaluation period technically runs through the end of May, we've already started to see reports of new offers as the coaches get an "eyes on" evaluation of the next tier of the Big Board. With that, thought I would do another run-through of the board as it stands today with quick evaluations of the prospects and my view of our chances with each. For the most part, I've excluded guys with whom I don't think we have any realistic shot (i.e. Camilo Eifler, Javon McKinley, Austin Mack, etc.).

Note further that this list could grow daily as we hear of more offers -- just today, we are seeing reports of offers to Jacob Buccigrossi and others. This time of year is very fluid and we should see a relative flurry of new offers toward the end of May/beginning of June. But it was a slow day before the Memorial Day wekeend, so you get this post now. Sorry.

As always, click on the players' names to see tape that's available (the gray-on-white in the new format doesn't give much contrast, so thought I'd point that out). With that, we're off...

(Apparently the new boards have a character limit, so I'm splitting this into offense and defense on separate posts)

Quarterback: Doesn't appear that much has changed at this position. I think we have a pretty good shot with either Joshua Jackson or Anthony Brown, but neither seem to be in much of a hurry. Brown is probably the "higher ceiling" prospect while Jackson is a "higher floor" prospect, but I would be happy with either as this year's QB. It will be interesting to see how long the coaches wait on those two before moving on to guys like Aidan Smith, Steven Frank, or someone who's not even our our collective radar. A program like Northwestern needs a high-quality QB in each and every class. Hope we can find one.

Running Back: Another position where not a ton has changed. Jeremy Larkin still looks like the top guy, but I get the feeling he's waiting to see if any "big fish" offer, which is a shame because I think he would be a great fit in NU's zone-based spread run game. Tre Bryant and AJ Taylor are two guys from Missouri that fit the same mold. We probably have a better shot with Bryant than Taylor (who's got some pretty serious offers, but is also being recruited by TJ Green), but both are very good-looking RB prospects -- Bryant's more physical style or Taylor's more slashing style have both been proven to work in spread run games. We can (and have been) pretty picky about RB offers with Jackson, Anderson, and Moten providing a very nice core of young talent at the position.

Superback: We can also be pretty picky here with Taylor and Dickerson around for years to come. Dickeron looks like he can handle in-line blocking duties, so the coaches seem to have focused on more Dunsmore/Vitale types like Ethan Tucky and Brock Miller. Tucky looks a bit thicker while Miller is more lean, but both show the athleticism and versatility requisite to be effective from this position. We probably have a better shot with Tucky as a Midwest kid who (I believe) is planning a visit over the summer, though he may have to wrap his mind around playing offense instead of defense.

Wide Receiver: Have to feel pretty good about our chances with Ben Skowronek and hopefully he can be the longer, field-stretching type wideout we haven't had for a while. Depending how he fills out, I could see him used as a pseudo-Superback as well. Donald Stewart is a great-looking prospect wioth whom I'd heard we had a good shot, but that was before Michigan and some of the other "big boys" got involved. AJ Taylor could also probably be an effective slot guy. Seems like we are being selective with our offers after taking a bunch of wideouts in 2015.

Offensive Line: This is where things are getting interesting. Nik Urban is a great way to start off the class and hopefully he can be a physical presence up front that we are sorely lacking. While guys like Will Fries and Michael Menet are great-looking prospects with whom we still might have a shot, the staff has pretty clearly shown that they want to deepend the pool of offers. Amongst the newer offers, I'm especially intrigued by Jordan Asbury (shows very good flexibility, hip roll, and balance with a frame that looks like it could carry a lot more weight; looks very much like Mulroe on tape). Also of interest are guys like Gunnar Vogel (big frame that flashes athleticism; I assume we offered after an in-person evaluation this spring, so the growth is presumably legitimate), Sam Heckel (good tape, but he would probably jump at a Wisconsin offer), and some others. I also like our chances with Jesse Meyler (can't figure out why he isn't being recruited at a higher level, though he has picked up some big-time offers of late), Trent Maynard (big, road-grading guard that we need), and Cameron Kolwich (Michigan "conditional offer" be damned). This class is very important for our OL and I anticipate us taking five or six guys, so it's nice to see the staff building out a deep pool of offers.
 
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Defensive Line: It has to be all hands on deck for Tommy Carnifax, who shows all the necessary traits to be a good DE on his junior tape. Have to feel good about our chances with his recent visit, seeming connection with Coach Fitz, and the Tyler Scott connection. That said, Duke is looming and will have the recency effect on their side. I still feel very good about our chances. After taking a bunch last year, we may only take one DE in 2016 and Carnifax would be a great fit. At DT, Jovan Swann a quick, physical, aggressive DT on tape, but seems hard to get a read on his recruiting process (plus I believe he has a brother at Indiana, which can be a good or bad thing). For other DTs, I like both Adam Korutz (who I also think would be a good OG prospect) and Tymir Oliver; we probably have a better shot with these two.

Linebacker: It should be interesting to watch Wisconsin and Northwestern battle for Jango Glackin and Griffin Grady. NU seems to be in a good position for both, but there are some "big boys" looming on both. I also suspect that Tucky would be a "take" at LB if he wanted that. Paddy Fisher as a Mike and Travis Whilock (plays DB and probably could at the BCS level, but looks like a Sam in the Jimmy Hall mold to me) would be fun as part of the "Katy Three," but I get the feeling they're holding out for offers down South. Xander Gagnon is interesting on tape, but seems like a Southern guy to me.

Defensive Back: Roderick Campbell and Brian Bullock are each interesting prospects in their own right and good to have on board. Campbell is pretty clearly a long, smooth corner who should be good in a zone scheme (doesn't necessarily have IDEAL top-end speed, but good enough) while Bullock could play either safety or corner. As noted above, Collin Wilder would be great to complete the "Katy Three" and Whilock could probably play BCS safety, but I think they're looking to stay down South (though I would love to be wrong). There are some other interesting guys on the board with whom we may have a shot (i.e. Nick McCloud, Ikenna Okeke, and a few others), but I don't have a great feel for their recruiting priorities right now. We can afford to be "choosy" at this position with our young talent and two commits.

Specialists: Blake Gillikin seems to be a versatile kicking prospect. Let's be careful not to read too much into his recruitment besides "it's usually a good idea to have at least two good kicking legs on the roster." If the coaches thought him good enough to offer after an in-person evaluation, then that's fine by me.

So where does that leave us? Hopefully Carnifax and Skowronek are on board by this time next month. I suspect we may have an OL or two jump on board in the near future. Hopefully a QB will do the same. This should be a pretty large class (20+ scholarships are likely on offer), so we have to start converting guys from "we have a good shot" to "committed to NU."
 
Defensive Line: It has to be all hands on deck for Tommy Carnifax, who shows all the necessary traits to be a good DE on his junior tape. Have to feel good about our chances with his recent visit, seeming connection with Coach Fitz, and the Tyler Scott connection. That said, Duke is looming and will have the recency effect on their side. I still feel very good about our chances. After taking a bunch last year, we may only take one DE in 2016 and Carnifax would be a great fit. At DT, Jovan Swann a quick, physical, aggressive DT on tape, but seems hard to get a read on his recruiting process (plus I believe he has a brother at Indiana, which can be a good or bad thing). For other DTs, I like both Adam Korutz (who I also think would be a good OG prospect) and Tymir Oliver; we probably have a better shot with these two.

Linebacker: It should be interesting to watch Wisconsin and Northwestern battle for Jango Glackin and Griffin Grady. NU seems to be in a good position for both, but there are some "big boys" looming on both. I also suspect that Tucky would be a "take" at LB if he wanted that. Paddy Fisher as a Mike and Travis Whilock (plays DB and probably could at the BCS level, but looks like a Sam in the Jimmy Hall mold to me) would be fun as part of the "Katy Three," but I get the feeling they're holding out for offers down South. Xander Gagnon is interesting on tape, but seems like a Southern guy to me.

Defensive Back: Roderick Campbell and Brian Bullock are each interesting prospects in their own right and good to have on board. Campbell is pretty clearly a long, smooth corner who should be good in a zone scheme (doesn't necessarily have IDEAL top-end speed, but good enough) while Bullock could play either safety or corner. As noted above, Collin Wilder would be great to complete the "Katy Three" and Whilock could probably play BCS safety, but I think they're looking to stay down South (though I would love to be wrong). There are some other interesting guys on the board with whom we may have a shot (i.e. Nick McCloud, Ikenna Okeke, and a few others), but I don't have a great feel for their recruiting priorities right now. We can afford to be "choosy" at this position with our young talent and two commits.

Specialists: Blake Gillikin seems to be a versatile kicking prospect. Let's be careful not to read too much into his recruitment besides "it's usually a good idea to have at least two good kicking legs on the roster." If the coaches thought him good enough to offer after an in-person evaluation, then that's fine by me.

So where does that leave us? Hopefully Carnifax and Skowronek are on board by this time next month. I suspect we may have an OL or two jump on board in the near future. Hopefully a QB will do the same. This should be a pretty large class (20+ scholarships are likely on offer), so we have to start converting guys from "we have a good shot" to "committed to NU."


I think we are on the outside for Brown due to his intent to visit VaTech in mid June. We know how much Fitz likes that. Once Deuce decommitted, I thought Brown or Jackson would snap up the offer. Think we offer Aidan Smith soon.

You didn't mention Khalid Kareem who has made a few visits. I assume you got him in the unrealistic category. I think we could still be in play to some extent. DT Jake Saunders seemed to have been high on our board at one time, but it's gone dark with him. We got some good D linemen last year and offers seems to be very limited this year. Carnifax would be a nice add.

OL offers are exploding and I agree that we will have a couple of commits in June. Asbury and Vogel are my picks but we may offer 10 more before the month ends.

I think we may have a slight edge on Whisky for both Jango and Griffin. Tucky appears to be a good enough athlete to play either O or D. In the hunt for each of them.

Larkin and Bryant will both be good players. Would be happy with either. Taylor is another fine prospect that can play here or the slot.
 
I think we are on the outside for Brown due to his intent to visit VaTech in mid June. We know how much Fitz likes that. Once Deuce decommitted, I thought Brown or Jackson would snap up the offer. Think we offer Aidan Smith soon.

You didn't mention Khalid Kareem who has made a few visits. I assume you got him in the unrealistic category. I think we could still be in play to some extent. DT Jake Saunders seemed to have been high on our board at one time, but it's gone dark with him. We got some good D linemen last year and offers seems to be very limited this year. Carnifax would be a nice add.

OL offers are exploding and I agree that we will have a couple of commits in June. Asbury and Vogel are my picks but we may offer 10 more before the month ends.

I think we may have a slight edge on Whisky for both Jango and Griffin. Tucky appears to be a good enough athlete to play either O or D. In the hunt for each of them.

Larkin and Bryant will both be good players. Would be happy with either. Taylor is another fine prospect that can play here or the slot.

1) Brown -- on the filp side, it could be a good thing that he hasn't committed anywhere before taking his VaTech visit. Maybe he's really wants to take that visit, but really likes NU and doesn't want to violate Fitz's "no visit" policy. We won't know until mid-June at the earliest.

2) No shot at Khareem. He's got Sparty written all over him.

3) I thought about including Saunders, but there hasn't been much by way of an update on him in a LONG time, so I just don't have a feel for his recruiting process.
 
Thanks GCG.

My prediction - we exit June with 7-8 commitments total. Things are about to start going quickly, just about time for the shoe to drop...
 
While the evaluation period technically runs through the end of May, we've already started to see reports of new offers as the coaches get an "eyes on" evaluation of the next tier of the Big Board. With that, thought I would do another run-through of the board as it stands today with quick evaluations of the prospects and my view of our chances with each. For the most part, I've excluded guys with whom I don't think we have any realistic shot (i.e. Camilo Eifler, Javon McKinley, Austin Mack, etc.).

Note further that this list could grow daily as we hear of more offers -- just today, we are seeing reports of offers to Jacob Buccigrossi and others. This time of year is very fluid and we should see a relative flurry of new offers toward the end of May/beginning of June. But it was a slow day before the Memorial Day wekeend, so you get this post now. Sorry.

As always, click on the players' names to see tape that's available (the gray-on-white in the new format doesn't give much contrast, so thought I'd point that out). With that, we're off...

(Apparently the new boards have a character limit, so I'm splitting this into offense and defense on separate posts)

Quarterback: Doesn't appear that much has changed at this position. I think we have a pretty good shot with either Joshua Jackson or Anthony Brown, but neither seem to be in much of a hurry. Brown is probably the "higher ceiling" prospect while Jackson is a "higher floor" prospect, but I would be happy with either as this year's QB. It will be interesting to see how long the coaches wait on those two before moving on to guys like Aidan Smith, Steven Frank, or someone who's not even our our collective radar. A program like Northwestern needs a high-quality QB in each and every class. Hope we can find one.

Running Back: Another position where not a ton has changed. Jeremy Larkin still looks like the top guy, but I get the feeling he's waiting to see if any "big fish" offer, which is a shame because I think he would be a great fit in NU's zone-based spread run game. Tre Bryant and AJ Taylor are two guys from Missouri that fit the same mold. We probably have a better shot with Bryant than Taylor (who's got some pretty serious offers, but is also being recruited by TJ Green), but both are very good-looking RB prospects -- Bryant's more physical style or Taylor's more slashing style have both been proven to work in spread run games. We can (and have been) pretty picky about RB offers with Jackson, Anderson, and Moten providing a very nice core of young talent at the position.

Superback: We can also be pretty picky here with Taylor and Dickerson around for years to come. Dickeron looks like he can handle in-line blocking duties, so the coaches seem to have focused on more Dunsmore/Vitale types like Ethan Tucky and Brock Miller. Tucky looks a bit thicker while Miller is more lean, but both show the athleticism and versatility requisite to be effective from this position. We probably have a better shot with Tucky as a Midwest kid who (I believe) is planning a visit over the summer, though he may have to wrap his mind around playing offense instead of defense.

Wide Receiver: Have to feel pretty good about our chances with Ben Skowronek and hopefully he can be the longer, field-stretching type wideout we haven't had for a while. Depending how he fills out, I could see him used as a pseudo-Superback as well. Donald Stewart is a great-looking prospect wioth whom I'd heard we had a good shot, but that was before Michigan and some of the other "big boys" got involved. AJ Taylor could also probably be an effective slot guy. Seems like we are being selective with our offers after taking a bunch of wideouts in 2015.

Offensive Line: This is where things are getting interesting. Nik Urban is a great way to start off the class and hopefully he can be a physical presence up front that we are sorely lacking. While guys like Will Fries and Michael Menet are great-looking prospects with whom we still might have a shot, the staff has pretty clearly shown that they want to deepend the pool of offers. Amongst the newer offers, I'm especially intrigued by Jordan Asbury (shows very good flexibility, hip roll, and balance with a frame that looks like it could carry a lot more weight; looks very much like Mulroe on tape). Also of interest are guys like Gunnar Vogel (big frame that flashes athleticism; I assume we offered after an in-person evaluation this spring, so the growth is presumably legitimate), Sam Heckel (good tape, but he would probably jump at a Wisconsin offer), and some others. I also like our chances with Jesse Meyler (can't figure out why he isn't being recruited at a higher level, though he has picked up some big-time offers of late), Trent Maynard (big, road-grading guard that we need), and Cameron Kolwich (Michigan "conditional offer" be damned). This class is very important for our OL and I anticipate us taking five or six guys, so it's nice to see the staff building out a deep pool of offers.


Thanks for the post. What do you mean by "hip roll"?
 
Thanks for the post. What do you mean by "hip roll"?

Literally the ability to roll forward hips on contact to engage the lower body. He's got the ability to root guys out and drive them back because of his ability to bend.
 
1) Brown -- on the filp side, it could be a good thing that he hasn't committed anywhere before taking his VaTech visit. Maybe he's really wants to take that visit, but really likes NU and doesn't want to violate Fitz's "no visit" policy. We won't know until mid-June at the earliest.

2) No shot at Khareem. He's got Sparty written all over him.

3) I thought about including Saunders, but there hasn't been much by way of an update on him in a LONG time, so I just don't have a feel for his recruiting process.

Brown be gone. I don't know what BC is doing, but I don't like the potential trend brewing here. BC is NOT a school we lose recruits to and I hope that doesn't start now. Next thing you know, we'll be losing recruits to Illinois.
 
Brown be gone. I don't know what BC is doing, but I don't like the potential trend brewing here. BC is NOT a school we lose recruits to and I hope that doesn't start now. Next thing you know, we'll be losing recruits to Illinois.

Brown may well have felt he was a B list NU recruit and BC had a higher regard for him.
 
Thanks GCG.

My prediction - we exit June with 7-8 commitments total. Things are about to start going quickly, just about time for the shoe to drop...


I think you are undershooting it. I think we'll have 10-12+ commitments by the end of June. I'd be concerned if we don't.
 
Brown be gone. I don't know what BC is doing, but I don't like the potential trend brewing here. BC is NOT a school we lose recruits to and I hope that doesn't start now. Next thing you know, we'll be losing recruits to Illinois.

It's not exactly surprising that a kid from up the road goes to BC. To wit, even the "gurus" over at 247 predicted it with 100% accuracy. It would have been more surprising if we were able to get him. He just made his commitment earlier than I suspected, though he could very well still take his VaTech visit.
 
Brown be gone. I don't know what BC is doing, but I don't like the potential trend brewing here. BC is NOT a school we lose recruits to and I hope that doesn't start now. Next thing you know, we'll be losing recruits to Illinois.

Huh? What other recruit have we recently lost to BC? Maybe you are referencing the last minute decommit of Allen? Last year 7 of our commits had BC offers!
 
While the evaluation period technically runs through the end of May, we've already started to see reports of new offers as the coaches get an "eyes on" evaluation of the next tier of the Big Board. With that, thought I would do another run-through of the board as it stands today with quick evaluations of the prospects and my view of our chances with each. For the most part, I've excluded guys with whom I don't think we have any realistic shot (i.e. Camilo Eifler, Javon McKinley, Austin Mack, etc.).

Note further that this list could grow daily as we hear of more offers -- just today, we are seeing reports of offers to Jacob Buccigrossi and others. This time of year is very fluid and we should see a relative flurry of new offers toward the end of May/beginning of June. But it was a slow day before the Memorial Day wekeend, so you get this post now. Sorry.

As always, click on the players' names to see tape that's available (the gray-on-white in the new format doesn't give much contrast, so thought I'd point that out). With that, we're off...

(Apparently the new boards have a character limit, so I'm splitting this into offense and defense on separate posts)

Quarterback: Doesn't appear that much has changed at this position. I think we have a pretty good shot with either Joshua Jackson or Anthony Brown, but neither seem to be in much of a hurry. Brown is probably the "higher ceiling" prospect while Jackson is a "higher floor" prospect, but I would be happy with either as this year's QB. It will be interesting to see how long the coaches wait on those two before moving on to guys like Aidan Smith, Steven Frank, or someone who's not even our our collective radar. A program like Northwestern needs a high-quality QB in each and every class. Hope we can find one.

Running Back: Another position where not a ton has changed. Jeremy Larkin still looks like the top guy, but I get the feeling he's waiting to see if any "big fish" offer, which is a shame because I think he would be a great fit in NU's zone-based spread run game. Tre Bryant and AJ Taylor are two guys from Missouri that fit the same mold. We probably have a better shot with Bryant than Taylor (who's got some pretty serious offers, but is also being recruited by TJ Green), but both are very good-looking RB prospects -- Bryant's more physical style or Taylor's more slashing style have both been proven to work in spread run games. We can (and have been) pretty picky about RB offers with Jackson, Anderson, and Moten providing a very nice core of young talent at the position.

Superback: We can also be pretty picky here with Taylor and Dickerson around for years to come. Dickeron looks like he can handle in-line blocking duties, so the coaches seem to have focused on more Dunsmore/Vitale types like Ethan Tucky and Brock Miller. Tucky looks a bit thicker while Miller is more lean, but both show the athleticism and versatility requisite to be effective from this position. We probably have a better shot with Tucky as a Midwest kid who (I believe) is planning a visit over the summer, though he may have to wrap his mind around playing offense instead of defense.

Wide Receiver: Have to feel pretty good about our chances with Ben Skowronek and hopefully he can be the longer, field-stretching type wideout we haven't had for a while. Depending how he fills out, I could see him used as a pseudo-Superback as well. Donald Stewart is a great-looking prospect wioth whom I'd heard we had a good shot, but that was before Michigan and some of the other "big boys" got involved. AJ Taylor could also probably be an effective slot guy. Seems like we are being selective with our offers after taking a bunch of wideouts in 2015.

Offensive Line: This is where things are getting interesting. Nik Urban is a great way to start off the class and hopefully he can be a physical presence up front that we are sorely lacking. While guys like Will Fries and Michael Menet are great-looking prospects with whom we still might have a shot, the staff has pretty clearly shown that they want to deepend the pool of offers. Amongst the newer offers, I'm especially intrigued by Jordan Asbury (shows very good flexibility, hip roll, and balance with a frame that looks like it could carry a lot more weight; looks very much like Mulroe on tape). Also of interest are guys like Gunnar Vogel (big frame that flashes athleticism; I assume we offered after an in-person evaluation this spring, so the growth is presumably legitimate), Sam Heckel (good tape, but he would probably jump at a Wisconsin offer), and some others. I also like our chances with Jesse Meyler (can't figure out why he isn't being recruited at a higher level, though he has picked up some big-time offers of late), Trent Maynard (big, road-grading guard that we need), and Cameron Kolwich (Michigan "conditional offer" be damned). This class is very important for our OL and I anticipate us taking five or six guys, so it's nice to see the staff building out a deep pool of offers.

Kolwich on the board!
(What's a conditional offer? Is this a holdover practice from Stanford?)
 
Huh? What other recruit have we recently lost to BC? Maybe you are referencing the last minute decommit of Allen? Last year 7 of our commits had BC offers!

I'm talking about Allen and now Brown. 2/2 as I understand. I'm hoping it's not the beginning of a trend - losing any recruits to BC is a disturbing sign. As would be losing anyone to Illinois.
 
I'm talking about Allen and now Brown. 2/2 as I understand. I'm hoping it's not the beginning of a trend - losing any recruits to BC is a disturbing sign. As would be losing anyone to Illinois.

Seriously? I believe eight guys in our class of 2015 chose NU over BC. Allen was the first guy we've lost to BC in a LONG while. That's 8 of the last 10 if we count Allen and Brown. They're going to get one from us occasionally, especially guys from the northeast.

As pointed out elsewhere, it's now 9 of 11 including Meyler. I suspect it will be 10 out of 12 with Skowronek.
 
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I think you are undershooting it. I think we'll have 10-12+ commitments by the end of June. I'd be concerned if we don't
The recent round of offers to OL had the desired impact with Meyler and Kowlich. I think both of these guys have big time potential. Like I said, I think the rest of May and June is a big stretch for us and we will have 10-12+ commitments by the end of it.
 
Seriously? I believe eight guys in our class of 2015 chose NU over BC. Allen was the first guy we've lost to BC in a LONG while. That's 8 of the last 10 if we could Allen and Brown. They're going to get one from us occasionally, especially guys from the northeast.


You can now add Meyler to the list.
 
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