Cats are in Washington that weekend, why not step up?

WGN ran this feature on Northwestern’s one-armed RB, Albert Kunickis.

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Yes, a bar will be returning to Norris! Good timing with possible football games on the lake.

Kind of slow here as we wait for camp to start so I thought I would post something that I found interesting.

I was at a work conference the last couple days and got on the bus to take everyone back to the airport. A younger woman in social media relations chose to sit next to me on the bus and we chatted a bit. She is from Houston originally but had lived in Chicago so we had something in common.

Later in the conversation she was talking about getting recruited with a scholarship to a mid-tier SEC school (sports-wise) because she hung out with the football players that they were trying to recruit. Their thinking was if they can get people who know the players to go to the school, it is more likely the players will go too.

She said it worked for 3 to 4 guys from her high school but the practice is stopped now. I know the world has changed with NIL vs. 2015, but thought it was an interesting data point that NU would never ever participate in.

It would be interesting to hear if GCG or others have similar stories of recruiting lows competitors will sink to.

Now that donations are required for all football season tickets...are they REALLY donations? Are they tax-deductible? If not, they're not really donations. And why go the "donations" route anyway? I know many schools do it, but why? If it's required for the purchase, why not just roll it into the season ticket price?

Northwestern offers 2025 TE Brian Kortovich from Cleveland, Ohio. This is his fourth Big Ten offer, joining Indiana, Illinois and Purdue.

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Alabama spent more than $1 million on analysts alone in 2023, according to public records. Alabama also listed 69 off-field staffers in its 2023 media guide, including five in recruiting, four in player personnel, three in player development, two special assistants (former Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt was one) and two chefs.

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Phoenix Gill from Chicago (Ill.) St. Ignatius announced his commitment to the Wildcats today on social media. The three-star guard is the son of Illinois legend and NBA player Kendall Gill.

Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard West offensive tackle Michael O'Connell committed to Northwestern. We broke down the impact on NU's Class of 2025.

I talked to recent basketball commit Phoenix Gill about charting his own path as Kendall Gill's son, why Northwestern and how he sees himself in the future of the program.

I talked to recent basketball commit Phoenix Gill about charting his own path as Kendall Gill's son, why Northwestern and how he sees himself in the future of the program.

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This is the third offer out to an in-state quarterback in 2026. The first was Jonas Williams, a four-star at Lincoln-Way East that quickly got out of Northwestern's range. The second was Owen Lansu, a three-star at Downers Grove North that the Wildcats have been in strong position for so far. He has gotten some early national interest from programs like Auburn and Florida State, but no offers yet.

O'Brien from Palatine (Ill.) Fremd is the third offer out in Illinois. Fremd struggled last season with a 3-6 campaign but will make a push for playoffs this year in O'Brien's junior season.

I couldn’t make it and would love to hear any key takeaways if there were some. For some reason, NU didn’t record for on-demand viewing. Thanks!

The latest: https://n.rivals.com/news/rb-nate-s...official-visit-plans-after-northwestern-offer

Don't think NIL will go away entirely unless Congress gets involved, but hopefully, there will be some sort of guardrails implemented that the courts won't overturn.

@mshelton33 talked to Nate Sheppard about his offer from the Cats on Friday. Can NU make a late push to land him?

Northwestern offered Darrin Strey, their fourth OL offer of the 2025 cycle so far, on Jan. 22. Here's our story on Strey, the offer and his thoughts on Northwestern so far.

O’Connell is a Cat per his Instagram page.

Silent no more!

Gerritt Kemp from Dacula, Ga. earned the first offer for a WR from Northwestern in the 2025 cycle. I talked to him about the offer, his recruitment and his potential plans to visit.

I couldn’t stay for the whole meeting, but these are some details provided:

~ Coach Braun expressed gratitude to season ticket holders. He said it won’t be perfect, but it will be ours.

~ Enthusiastic presenters frequently said the word “unique”. To their credit, no one said “very unique”.

~ Initial capacity will be under 15,000. Additional seating is planned.

~ NU football players, coaches, and staff will be on West side.

~ East side seats will have obstructed view caused by lower bleachers and opposing team. Seems like there will be a lot of standing to see the action on that side.

~ North side will have band and students.

~ Seat backs for extra cost will be available on bleacher seats.

~ Several lots will allow tailgating.

My story...

Gill!

@lou v talked to Tommy Ahneman, a 6-foot-11 center from North Dakota, about his recruiting explosion after EYBL, his offer from Northwestern and where the Wildcats stand.

I talked to RB Ryver Peppers about his first official visit, the bar Northwestern set and his decision timeline. He continues to say NU plans to take two running backs, though I was surprised to say he considers himself in the shifty category since they've offered a few much smaller prospects like JT Lindsay or Kolin Wilson. The only 'power back' offered, that's uncommitted, would be Isaiah Groves. Haven't heard back from Groves yet after his offer but will be reaching out again soon.

He did give a bit of a pause before reiterating a July timeline, but don't want to put something that subjective in the story. He has some time to sit and think on this trip, his next OV is a month from now to Iowa State. Though Utah has recently offered, he hasn't shared anything with me yet about taking an OV there, but that could fill in that month-long gap.

I saw the replay of the Chicago Sky player knocking over CC. There was a ref within 15" of the incident, but only a common foul was called. The WNBA should immediately suspend the Sky player. CC may be the most important player to enter the league in the recent past and the league and all its players should recognize their futures may depend on the popularity of players like CC.

There looked to be a pretty good crowd at the game, many possibly there to see CC. I know she was an attractive draw at many college games and assume that has carried over to the WNBA. I heard the Sky player explain her philosophy of playing basketball and I hope that her opponents employ the same "rules" against her. Cutting her legs out on a layup will certainly seem like an appropriate lesson.

I will fall back on my rugby experience. Rugby is a brutally violent game, but intentional foul play is rare because retribution awaits at the next ruck