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.

@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

I don’t know if there are any other cricket fans on these boards, but this summer, the US and West Indies are cohosting the Cricket World Cup. One of the sites is in New York and they have built temporary seating (remind you of anything?). This stadium was just a barren cricket field a few months ago, but should be ready to host its first match on June 3. A total of 8 different matches will be played here between June 3 and June 12.

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I talked to RB Ryver Peppers about his first official visit, the bar Northwestern set and his decision timeline.

Roster has been leaked…looks like no recent or current college aged stars have been chosen. Roster is heavy loaded with veterans…41 year old Diana Tauras!?! Britney ?!? (when was the last time she played?). How short sighted! Is Gragg running the show over there?? SMH.

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Jameson Purcell out of Maine South looks to be one of the next top QBs to come out of the Chicagoland area. He already has offers from Indiana, Vandy and most recently the University of Miami. This one has the feel of a Thotson/Alviti to me…a local QB with solid academics at one of our “feeder” schools. I’d assume Lujan will make (hopefully already has made) Purcell a priority recruit…he could be the guy leading us in our new stadium. Lots of good connections here for NU.

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Follows the offer to MacPherson’s kid last week:

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Rhett Smeins recently went from NU’s recruiting department to Iowa’s, wonder if that had anything to do with it.

Either way… INTERESTING.

EDIT TO UPDATE: Ryan Fitz’s offer is as PWO. MacPherson’s seems to be scholarship based on his X/Tweet. Still interesting regardless.

This is NOT a rant post. Watching the tributes to the Normandy Invasion today, and being older myself, watching these men over 100 years old who somehow survived that horrible battle to defeat Nazi Germany, I recognized I have had no clue, in spite of having served myself, of the courage revealed by these men. 4,400 Allied troops died that day. We would not have the society we have now without them, yet we are without them. [REDACTED]

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

Saw this article after learning that drummer Blackie Onassis died earlier this week.

I knew legendary producer Steve Albini attended NU, but had no idea Nash and Eddie did. Saturation takes me back to the still-seedy Wicker Park of my undergrad years in the early 90s.

“He overdosed and was saved by an adrenalin shot”: How Urge Overkill went from being Steve Albini’s pet project to year-long parties and accidentally re-enacting that famous scene from Pulp Fiction

Nate Sheppard out of Louisiana.

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Ouch! Assistant coach Talor Battle leaves Northwestern for Ohio State.

He’s the older brother of star point guard Boo Buie, who also left Evanston after exhausting his eligibility.

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I have learned that 2025 RB Gabe Fields will visit Northwestern on Saturday.

He has offers from Baylor, Iowa State and Toledo, and has already visited Ames four times.

No relation to Arby. 😉

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At last count, I think there were almost a dozen plaintiffs suing a variety of defendants related to the NU FB program. By now, the first wave of motions to dismiss have to have been fully briefed, argued and rulings given. Anyone know whether any of the lawsuits have fallen or if the defendants are all now expected to file their answers? Could be new information in the answers and affirmative defenses.

It's June, which means it's visit season for college basketball recruiting.

Head coach Chris Collins and his staff were on the road in May, checking out prospects in AAU tournaments across the country during the Evaluation Period. Now that the Dead Period that prohibits recruiting contact ended on June 2, they will try to get their top Class of 2025 targets on campus this month.

The program will have to replace guards Ty Berry and Brooks Barnhizer, and big man Matt Nicholson, at a minimum, after the 2024-25 season.

These are the seven players -- five guards and two bigs -- that sources say are the program’s primary focus right now:


GUARDS

Mason Blackwood
Login to view embedded media Northwestern is one of eight programs to offer Blackwood since May 19 – Boston College, West Virginia, Rutgers, Penn State and Wake Forest are some of the others. A big guard/wing player with toughness and athleticism, Blackmon hails from New York but is playing a prep year at New Hampton (N.H.).

Jaden Forsythe
Login to view embedded media Forsythe has become a hot commodity after a strong showing for Team Final on the AAU circuit. He’s picked up recent offers from Northwestern, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Xavier and now has nine Power Five offers. A tough, athletic two guard, he has proven that he can score from anywhere.

Phoenix Gill
Login to view embedded media Gill’s famous father Kendall played at Illinois, but his mother is a Northwestern grad. The Cats offered Gill after a visit last July. The Chicago St. Ignatius product has also visited Illinois, Iowa State (multiple times) and Stanford, and he will likely choose from among those four.

Josiah Sanders
Login to view embedded media Northwestern’s offer on May 24 was one of five Power Five offers that Sanders received within five days. He said that NU’s guard play and the hostile home-court atmosphere at Welsh-Ryan Arena is why the program interests him. He now has 15 total offers, eight from the Power Five.

Simon Walker
Login to view embedded media Interest in Walker has skyrocketed after his impressive performances on the Under Armour circuit. He picked up eight offers at the end of May, including Northwestern on May 25. The versatile shooter from Huntsville, Ala., also drew tenders from Butler, Clemson, DePaul, Iowa, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and UAB.


BIGS

Cade Bennerman
Login to view embedded media Bennerman only has an offer from Tennessee State at this point, but he drew attention from big-time programs after his strong showing for Game Elite (Ga.) on the Adidas Three-Stripe Select circuit. Duke, Iowa, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt are among the schools to reach out.

Brady Koehler
Login to view embedded media Koehler added offers from Northwestern, Rutgers, Stanford, Virginia and West Virginia in the past month. Butler, Notre Dame, Wake Forest and a long list of mid-majors got on him over the winter, after he averaged 15.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game for Indianapolis Cathedral.

Beggars can’t be choosers.

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