It’s a Big Ten West conference showdown. At night. Against Iowa, which will bring its share of bumble bee-colored fans. Plus, it’s the last game of the year at Ryan Field.
Maybe it doesn’t have quite the impact as the Wrigley Field game against Purdue in two weeks, but Saturday night will still be an impressive atmosphere to showcase to recruits. Yet while the Wildcats might be welcoming several visitors, there might not be as many big-time prospects there as you might expect.
Here are some of the headliners of the group: two 2022 commits and three 2023 prospects.
2022 COMMITS
Robert Fitzgerald
Safety Robert Fitzgerald will be back in Evanston to check out a Northwestern game for the first time. He last visited for his official in June, shortly before he committed to the Wildcats.
Fitzgerald and Dallas Jesuit (8-1) plays Richardson (1-8) in the regular-season finale on Friday night.
Braden Turner
Cornerback Braden Turner, who suffered a season-ending injury last month, will also take his first trip to Ryan Field. He took his official visit on the weekend of June 18, along with Fitzgerald.
McGill-Toolen (6-4) takes on Pelham (7-3) in an opening-round playoff game on Friday night.
2023 PROSPECTS
Here are three junior targets who will get a lion’s share of attention from coaches.
Adepoju Adebawore
This guy’s last name will ring a bell. Adepoju Adebawore plays the same position at the same high school as his older brother, starting NU defensive end Adetomiwa Adebawore. Adepoju will be in the stands to watch his star sibling, and he will be seeing a game though the eyes of a prospect with an offer for the first time. He picked up a scholarship offer from the Wildcats just last week.
The explosive 6-foot-4, 210-pounder has pulled in some impressive offers over the last month, including Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas and NU. He also has one from Iowa State, which was the first school to offer him, back in August.
Still, you have to like the Wildcats’ chances of keeping it in the family and pulling in yet another younger brother.
North Kansas City (4-6) plays its second-round playoff game against Platte County (8-2) on Friday night.
Damon Walters
Damon Walters is a three-star safety from Bolingbrook, the same program that produced NU starting cornerback Cameron Mitchell. Walters is ranked as the No. 5 prospect in Illinois and the No. 21 safety in the nation for 2023.
Walters has two older brothers who play college football: Brandon is at Army and, maybe more significantly as far as Northwestern is concerned, Justin is at Notre Dame. Justin was a 2021 safety who had an offer from the Wildcats but chose to play in South Bend.
Damon reports offers from Army, Iowa State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Syracuse so far. Notre Dame, Ohio State, Iowa and Wisconsin are some of the other schools showing interest.
Bolingbrook (7-3) lost its first-round playoff game last week against Glenbard North (alma mater of Justin Jackson) to end its season.
JT Fayard
JT Fayard is a 6-foot-4, 190-pound quarterback from Northwestern’s Texas hotbed of Houston. This season, Fayard has completed 65.8% of his passes for 1,576 yards, with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions, according to MaxPreps.
Fayard doesn’t have any offers yet but reports interest from LSU, where his father played, Texas A&M and Northwestern. It’s his first visit to Evanston.
Foster (4-5) closed its regular season on Thursday night against Fort Bend Kempner (2-7).
Maybe it doesn’t have quite the impact as the Wrigley Field game against Purdue in two weeks, but Saturday night will still be an impressive atmosphere to showcase to recruits. Yet while the Wildcats might be welcoming several visitors, there might not be as many big-time prospects there as you might expect.
Here are some of the headliners of the group: two 2022 commits and three 2023 prospects.
2022 COMMITS
Robert Fitzgerald
Safety Robert Fitzgerald will be back in Evanston to check out a Northwestern game for the first time. He last visited for his official in June, shortly before he committed to the Wildcats.
Fitzgerald and Dallas Jesuit (8-1) plays Richardson (1-8) in the regular-season finale on Friday night.
Braden Turner
Cornerback Braden Turner, who suffered a season-ending injury last month, will also take his first trip to Ryan Field. He took his official visit on the weekend of June 18, along with Fitzgerald.
McGill-Toolen (6-4) takes on Pelham (7-3) in an opening-round playoff game on Friday night.
2023 PROSPECTS
Here are three junior targets who will get a lion’s share of attention from coaches.
Adepoju Adebawore
This guy’s last name will ring a bell. Adepoju Adebawore plays the same position at the same high school as his older brother, starting NU defensive end Adetomiwa Adebawore. Adepoju will be in the stands to watch his star sibling, and he will be seeing a game though the eyes of a prospect with an offer for the first time. He picked up a scholarship offer from the Wildcats just last week.
The explosive 6-foot-4, 210-pounder has pulled in some impressive offers over the last month, including Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas and NU. He also has one from Iowa State, which was the first school to offer him, back in August.
Still, you have to like the Wildcats’ chances of keeping it in the family and pulling in yet another younger brother.
North Kansas City (4-6) plays its second-round playoff game against Platte County (8-2) on Friday night.
Damon Walters
Damon Walters is a three-star safety from Bolingbrook, the same program that produced NU starting cornerback Cameron Mitchell. Walters is ranked as the No. 5 prospect in Illinois and the No. 21 safety in the nation for 2023.
Walters has two older brothers who play college football: Brandon is at Army and, maybe more significantly as far as Northwestern is concerned, Justin is at Notre Dame. Justin was a 2021 safety who had an offer from the Wildcats but chose to play in South Bend.
Damon reports offers from Army, Iowa State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Syracuse so far. Notre Dame, Ohio State, Iowa and Wisconsin are some of the other schools showing interest.
Bolingbrook (7-3) lost its first-round playoff game last week against Glenbard North (alma mater of Justin Jackson) to end its season.
JT Fayard
JT Fayard is a 6-foot-4, 190-pound quarterback from Northwestern’s Texas hotbed of Houston. This season, Fayard has completed 65.8% of his passes for 1,576 yards, with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions, according to MaxPreps.
Fayard doesn’t have any offers yet but reports interest from LSU, where his father played, Texas A&M and Northwestern. It’s his first visit to Evanston.
Foster (4-5) closed its regular season on Thursday night against Fort Bend Kempner (2-7).
