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QB Ryan Boe from Batavia, Ill. announced his decommitment from North Dakota State and his commitment to Northwestern today.

More to come from WildcatReport.

There season is over now. Maybe Braun will announce hires. Not sure right before bowl game though. But before signing period.

Check out this story for the journey of Ryan Boe's recruitment by David Braun, from NDSU to Northwestern, and more about Boe's process.

Didn’t see this one coming.

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Nice background piece on Bryant and the Cats

Hey Matt, any word on these two? Are you expecting them to sign on Wednesday? Not a peep out of either on social media in regards to NU as of late. 🤷‍♂️

Ranked 25 in the AP poll (the one that counts).

Just wanted to let the non-hoop heads know on this board. They deserve all the support they can get this year.

Football at NU is the hardest job in the P5. Now keep in mind hardest does not equal most/least stressful (I'd argue normally we're one of the least stressful).

Minimal attendance.
Minimal improvement in attendance even in good years (unless playing marquee opponent).
Difficult to improve fandom (elite school, small school, divide loyalties locally, pro town).
Exceedingly poor institutional support.
Highest academic standards.
Exceedingly low NIL program/contributions (despite J. Schmidts efforts).
Transfer portal where nobody gives a hoot about transferring to a good academic school (especially the good players).
Looming threat of being left behind once the power schools consolidate conferences (I think this will happen in the next 20 years).
Disinterested alumni and student body.
Bad weather.
High cost of living.
Historically poor program performance.
Making bowl game has no meaning anymore (so what are we even playing for).
No recruiting interest.

I think we're a worse job than Duke, Wake Forest, Stanford, Vanderbilt. No wonder (and luckily) we couldn't hire anyone else or garner interest with anyone else.

Also a big FU to Wilbon who said "there is major interest from big name coaches" when Fitz was fired. He's a dinosaur that is now doing more damage to the Northwestern program than good. Same goes to the disinterested BoT who should all lose their nepo baby position.

Sorry just the pessimist in me venting today.

Who can NU beat and who will NU likely lose to?--as to the latter, I'd say Illinois, Purdue (away). Indiana, Wisconsin. I predict NU to finish in the middle of the pack--unless they have another stellar season--the possibilty is there!

Northwestern didn’t get many style points but they got a 56-46 win over DePaul. Here’s my story from tonight’s game at Wintrust Arena.

I know @CoralSpringsCat and @Hungry Jack were discussing on a separate thread, but thought this was interesting enough to merit its own post.

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Looks like a very good fit on paper — self-reported 4.2 GPA, local, projectable OT traits on tape (seems pretty thick in the lower half).

He’s scheduled for an OV to West Virginia this weekend. WVU offered in October so likely has a bit of a head start on us in relationship-building. However, the differences between NU and WVU are pretty stark (especially for a high-academic local guy). I’d expect Lucas to take an OV to NU the weekend of 12/16-12/17 so that he can sign when the early period opens on 12/20. Going just on conjecture, seems like a much better fit for NU than WVU.

Perhaps more interesting than the player is that an OL offer went out with Anderson’s future very much in question. Does that mean Anderson is sticking around? Or just that it makes sense to offer/recruit a local guy to backfill VanSickle’s spot? I don’t think anyone really knows (even inside the building).

LB Carson Cooney from Oswego HS.

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As far as I can tell here are the names still left on our board. We’re sitting at 13 commitments (not counting Smith and/or Green).

Matthew Smith (NC) - LB - silent commit
Alex Green (TX) - WR - silent comment (pending final admissions approval)
Lucas Austin (IL) - OL - visiting this week
Qayvier Johnson CT) - DE/LB - visited last weekend

Check out this story for the journey of Ryan Boe's recruitment by David Braun, from NDSU to Northwestern, and more about Boe's process.

I just wrapped up a call with Batavia QB Ryan Boe who is currently silently committed to NU. Story will be pending as we always respect prospects breaking the news to teams in both directions. He said he plans to tell NDSU tomorrow night and then announce publicly for NU shortly thereafter that same night or Saturday.

But until then, here are my notes from the call:

His initial NDSU recruiter was David Braun! Braun held off when he initially got to NU because he didn't want to bring in Boe without knowing he would be there long-term. Braun reached out 2-3 weeks ago and they moved quickly from there given the proximity.

Braun reached out so you guessed it, Bajakian's role has been very limited. Boe said he's appreciated how straightforward and honest Braun has been, and that he told him whether Bajakian stays or goes he has a spot at NU. If there will be a replacement, Braun said he'd immediately be put in touch to start building communication.

The way I read that between the lines: Braun is letting the kids know or strongly hinting about areas that could be replaced, and there's likely a directive not to share outside of vague comments with media.

Boe said that Entz' departure for USC wasn't necessary for his commitment to NU but did serve as a nail in the coffin.

Another rave review for Jack Lausch as a player host, and Boe is apparently a better Xbox player than Ricky Ahumaraeze.


Like I said, it'll be a couple days before the full story goes up on the site so I'm happy to expand on things if there are comments or questions. Seems like NU has their QB for 2024!

David Braun was formally announced as the permanent head coach at Northwestern in a press conference at Ryan Fieldhouse. Here are our takeaways from what Braun had to say about his hiring process, this season and the program's future.

No. 25 Northwestern (7-1, 1-0 Big Ten) hosts Chicago State (3-9) tonight at Welsh-Ryan Arena at 7 p.m. The game will air on BTN.

I mean really. W IN THE ACTUAL F

19 times in the litter box. Once behind the couch

There will be six players in the Las Vegas Bowl that carried offers from both Northwestern and Utah, three on each team. @lou v broke down which players the Utes and Wildcats battled for, who won, and why.

I had no idea this a cappella group existed. Perhaps they were named after NU's football team, the Underdogs?

There will be six players in the Las Vegas Bowl that carried offers from both Northwestern and Utah, three on each team. @lou v broke down which players the Utes and Wildcats battled for, who won, and why.

Is Benet 7-foot sophomore Colin Stack any relation to former Wildcat Jim Stack?