I talked to Cameron Herron yesterday about his visit, the offer he received on it and the potential for a return trip on an official this spring or summer.

I talked to Dube Enongene, Northwestern's latest offer to a 2025 WR, about his visit to a spring practice last weekend. Enongene and Northwestern don't have a date set yet, but there is mutual interest for an official visit later this spring or summer.

Some intereting parallels to that magical 1995 season. Let’s hope CCC’s carpet ride makes it all the way to the Final Four.

At this point, we'll be anywhere from a 7 to 10 seed, most likely an 8/9. The question is, where might we play? Do we know which sites host a 7/10 game vs. an 8/9 game? Or is that all TBD? I can't find a website that shows that, but I assume somebody here has done the research.

I talked to Dube Enongene, Northwestern's latest offer to a 2025 WR, about his visit to a spring practice last weekend.

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Just wrapped up an interview with 2026 LB Tatum Evans. We'll run a full story at some point, potentially Thursday. Here are my notes from the call:

-Two points of connection to NU: his dad and his coach. His dad got an MBA from NU in the early 2000s, and his high school HC, Bob DeBesse, coached with Chris Foster back at Georgia Southern. Visit came about through the connection to Foster.

-Was very impressed by the facilities. Had been in the Evanston/NU area a couple times with his dad, including a swing through when they visited Notre Dame but this is his first visit through the program. On that note, said that Northwestern's facilities were the best he's seen and he loved the lakeside practice fields.

-His recruiting has a ways to go as a 26 in March of 24, but he said the four top teams for him right now are the ones in consistent contact: Northwestern, Notre Dame, Baylor and Oklahoma State.

-Lead recruiter so far has been Rhett Smeins, a recruiting analyst, though they will soon pass him up to the area recruiter. I'm not sure how much that has been shuffled around since the new influx of hires, but we'll work to get the areas mapped at some point. Evans said NU hopes to have a coach down to Grapevine sometime this spring to see Evans practice, and will invite him to camp this summer and a game this fall.

-Said there are three program objectives that stuck out to him from the walls of the facility: 1) be a champion 2) prepare for life 3) earn a Northwestern degree

-Always makes me chuckle when the recruits echo the coaches. Evans finished off the quote about the objectives with a Braunism: "That was how they will prepare their players. They're pouring into players and it's not just on the field."

My early read: it'll depend on how serious ND is and if other offers of a similar caliber come in. With a family and coaching connection, I don't think proximity to home will be as much of an advantage for Baylor and OSU, and the Wildcats will have the Big Ten in their corner there. Right now there's an avenue to contention if ND doesn't extend a committable offer down the road, but connections will probably only go so far if the Irish get serious or the nearby SEC teams get involved.

A lot of his tape here is at DE/DL, but he's moving to LB and projects to be recruited at that position.

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Seems the Rolling Meadows wing visited last weekend, per his Twitter post

Below is an article from StockRisers where he discusses his recruitment. What's noteworthy is that he didn't list NU among interested schools as of January, yet we still got him to make the (albeit short) trip to campus for senior night. Local kid or not, getting young players to see the new W-R and experience the fan support is critical to dispelling old notions about our program.

Ian Miletic making a name for himself in the 2025 class, talks recruitment

Since nothing has been announced yet (though that might not mean anything under Gragg), it looks like McKeown will keep his job. His contract is through next season but I thought this might be his final year based on performance (consecutive 9-21 records) and health (he missed several games this year). He's been at Northwestern for 16 seasons and made the tourney twice (which would have been three with his best team (and Big 10 champion) in the 2019-20 season that ended early because of COVID).

Recorded the Mt. Carmel 3A championship game. Angelo is a player. Great shooter, fits right into the way we want to play offense. Blocked several shots. I see him contributing next year.

On a side note: any idea where that DePaul Prep point guard is going to college? He was very impressive too.

Grapevine (Tex.) LB Tatum Evans visited NU yesterday. He doesn’t have any offers yet, but he’s visited Notre Dame, Baylor, Texas A&M, TCU and others. His parents and brother went to Baylor and he’s visited Waco several times.

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Have to imagine he would have been second team but for Gragg being the AD.

In all honestly, from everything I have heard Brooks is either the hardest working guy on the team or close to it. Nice to see him get rewarded. Would love to see him flirt with averaging a double double next year.

I had just gotten to First Ascent and was changing into my climbing shoes.

A young feller' walks and sits on the bench next to me. He has full OSU regalia--black sweats emblazoned with scarlet lettering, a Rose Bowl sweat shirt from God knows when, and a black baseball hat with the scarlet O.

"Aren't the Bucknuts playing tonight?" I asked.

"No. That's tomorrow. Thank God they fired that coach."

"Yeah. It's been a rough year for them. I've been lucky to see my team a bunch games--I'm a Wildcat." I threw the last part in because I was feeling salty.

"Kentucky?" [I wasn't sporting any NU logos]

[chuckling]. "No. Northwestern. I am used to us being overlooked. It has served us well the last two seasons."

"What do you think of the stadium plan?"

"I have some great memories, but I won't miss that old barn. The new one should be great. They nailed the basketball arena. I think football will have a similar result. I have never been to the Shoe. That must be a madhouse."

"Actually, I went to Cincinnati.."

"Really? You are a Wal-Mart Buckeye?"

"You Northwestern people are annoying..."

Rivals' Big Ten All-Conference awards are here ahead of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday. Boo Buie was one of two players unanimously voted to First Team, the only Wildcat to receive recognition. Brooks Barnhizer was an honorable mention.

I’m sure many on this board got the e-mail below, which seems to have gone out to season ticket holders. Yet another non-update update from Dr. Gragg, who appears pretty dedicated to the whole “positively” bit at the very least.

Embarrassing. Just straight up embarrassing.

——————————————————————————-

Dear Wildcat Season Ticket Holders –

I would like to begin by thanking you for your incredible support of our football program.

We are close to finalizing and announcing our home venues along with our full schedule for next season’s games.

Finalizing agreements with multiple venues has necessitated evaluating numerous scenarios and collaborating with various entities to create a viable home schedule.

We initially aimed to host a significant portion of our games at Soldier Field, particularly in September and October when baseball stadiums are typically unavailable. Regrettably, our plans for the 2024 season coincide with Major League Baseball games, and often clash with the Major League Soccer schedule as well. Moreover, the release of the NFL schedule taking place in May has posed a considerable challenge in securing Soldier Field and finalizing our competition dates at other venues. Taking these elements into consideration, we decided it was best to finalize dates now instead of waiting until May to release the schedule.

That noted, season ticket holders will receive an official communication when we announce the full schedule, inclusive of venues, in the coming weeks.

What the team was able to accomplish last season – both on the field and equally as impressive in the classroom – shocked the Big Ten and college football.

Dan & Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach David Braun, the consensus Big Ten Coach of the Year, led the team to one of the biggest turnarounds in the history of the sport. Northwestern is one of only five football teams this century to have improved from a 1-11 record to win six or more games the very next season.

After winning the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl over Utah in December, the program has now won each of its last five bowl games (and six of its last seven), after previously going 64 years between bowl game wins. We are extremely proud of our student-athletes and our coaching staff for how they represented our university.

Coach Braun has both added to and promoted within his staff, including Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach Tim McGarigle (’06), Offensive Coordinator & Quarterbacks Coach Zach Lujan, Assistant Head Coach and Safeties Coach Harlon Barnett, Offensive Line Coach Bill O'Boyle, and Special Teams Coordinator and Tight Ends Coach Paul Creighton. The staff is really pleased with the latest recruiting class and look forward to welcoming the incoming Wildcats to Evanston for spring ball.

Change is also happening with Ryan Field as demolition has begun. This stadium will be a best-in-the-nation football experience for our student-athletes and fans. It will be the crown jewel of Evanston.

I would like to thank season ticket holders, fans, student-athletes, students, staff and the entire Northwestern community for their flexibility and patience during the rebuild of Ryan Field. We acknowledge that playing in other venues may be inconvenient for you as a supporter of the program. It means everything to our student-athletes and staff that you are willing to travel to support them.

I would certainly like to thank the Ryan Family for everything they have done to make this project a reality. The stadium is privately funded, with no taxpayer financing and significant public benefits. I encourage you to visit the updated RebuildRyanField.com to learn more.

We thank you for your continued support and patience.

God Bless and Go ‘Cats!

Positively,
Dr. Derrick Gragg

the superior. although smaller, city to the east of Minneapolis, and I have no clue how to buy tickets for the BTT at the Target Center, other than just showing up. Anyone who is ticket savvy that can help?

@EdgyTim talked to Maine South OL Zak Stoilov about his visit to a Northwestern spring practice last weekend.

Looking forward to a great time at the Target Center. I'll be in the NU section dressed in Wolverine gear on Wednesday for my wife, Hawkeye gear on Thursday for my daughter and then Wildcat Purple from Friday on. Hope to see some of you up there. Go Cats!! Let's make history.

It looks like NU will play Wisconsin on Friday assuming Wisconsin wins their first game, and if NU wins that, they will play Purdue. Looking like a Purdue v. Illinois final, unless NU upsets, which they very well could do--without Nicholson?

Rivals' Big Ten All-Conference awards are here ahead of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday. Boo Buie was one of two players unanimously voted to First Team, the only Wildcat to receive recognition. Brooks Barnhizer was an honorable mention.

I’m not sure what else needs to be said. I’m looking forward to the video. Thanks Blake, you deserve it.

He and the coaching staff have had to change the focus of the team several times during the season. First the loss of Berry, then Langborg and then Nicholson. Huge changes and winning the games he had to win to get the job done. Changing the focus from O to D

Edgy calls Veldman a "nice get" for Northwestern. He likes Veldman's length and athleticism.

"HIs overall athletic ability really stood out this winter."

"It's really tough to say no to Northwestern, even after the hazing scandal."

"It's a good start for Northwestern, already having five commits in the early part of March."

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I was in the building for Northwestern's Pro Day this morning. It marked not just an opportunity for three NU players: QB Ben Bryant, WR Cam Johnson and LB Bryce Gallagher, to show their skills, it was also the first public address by Braun at Walter Athletics Center since bowl season. Here are our takeaways from the Northwestern workouts and Braun's remarks.

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Edit to include:

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Not a finished product as a passer by any stretch, but can run-run. Very excited about bringing QB run as an actual threat.

Cue the drum hook. Enter the synthesizer line. Luther Vandross grabs the Mike. Boo Buie grabs the ball. And we’re off.

The regular season is over. It’s March Madness. There’s nothing left in front of us other than recognition for a great season on a national stage and at least two opportunities to finish it off with something truly special.

Let’s enjoy it.