Looks like this week/weekend is shaping up to be a MONSTER time for NU's 2017 recruiting. A whole slew of our top prospects either have been or will be on campus.
That got me thinking... what now? First I'll go through the visitors, then take a shot at outlining just how important this week/weekend could be in building the class of 2017.
The Visitors
(As I was typing, Steve Wiltfong released a list of visitors in a free post... the group is even more significant and bigger than I thought when starting this post!)
These guys have all either been on visits or are supposed to be in this weekend. I've organized them in my rough estimation of likelihood that they end up in Evanston from most likely to least likely.
OL Ethan Wiederkehr -- I see a big kid who could play a variety of positions, but is likely to be an OT at the P5 level. Coaches identified him early, so must believe in his growth potential. My guess is he commits this weekend or shortly thereafter, reducing the number of available OL spots to one (which is a GREAT situation for recruiters).
QB Kasim Hill -- I've long said I think Hill is the best fit for our offense from the early QB offers. Unfortunately, he's the only one left uncommitted at this point (and I'm not too thrilled about the other QBs on the board). This weekend will be his third time on campus, he has a couple of former Gilman teammates on the team, and seem like plenty of reasons we have a better shot than many would guess to get Hill. His trips to Michigan State, Purdue, and Vanderbilt are interesting, as I would have guessed he's largely down to Maryland or NU. Hoping we can pull this one out sooner than later.
SB Bryce Wolma -- A more recent SB offer (seemingly as a fallback for Kmet, Marwede, and Calcaterra), Wolma is athletic enough to split out at the HS level but I would guess is more of an in-line guy at the P5 level. His top schools of NU, Arizona, and Tennessee are an interesting mix. Would guess/think he ends up staying in the Midwest, but don't know a ton about his thought process at this point.
OL Blaise Andries -- Reportedly a high academic kid whose recruiting has taken off a bit of late, I think he's a pretty darn good OT prospect. Good frame, good athleticism, needs to get a bit stronger (but that's typical of HS OL, especially kids with his size). Might be hard to fend off the home-state Gophers, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, but might get a little easier if/when Wiederkehr commits. Believe this is also a return trip for Andries, which is always a good sign.
WR Jeremy Singleton -- made the trek up from New Orleans on his own dime, but feels like a kid who will stay down south if the right opportunities come up. He's got a top four of NU, Arkansas, Kansas State, and Vanderbilt to go with reported interest from other SEC schools (Ole Miss, etc.). I get the feeling he will try to wait for a non-Vanderbilt SEC opportunity as long as he can.
RB Lamont Atkins -- Decommitted from Vandy three days ago and I'm including him on this list because Wiltfong at 247 made NU his prediction (usually doesn't make predictions until he has some level of certainty -- and as I was typing this, Wiltfong confirmed his visit in a free post). In any event, Atkins is a pretty dynamic player who reminds me in some ways of Larkin, but with a better burst. His size and speed won't blow you away, but he does a pretty good job setting up blocks and has a nice burst once he sees the hole. Also flashes the ability to catch the ball, which is extremely helpful in our offense. Would be a solid get.
SB Grant Calcaterra -- Came away saying the right things about his NU offer, but has plenty of "name" schools after him and it's always hard to pull a west coast kid with those kind of offers. Which is a shame, because he could be lethal as a pass-catching SB.
QB Jack Sears -- An interesting name to see on the list, always a nice sign when a west coast QB with west coast offers/interest (Arizona, ASU, Utah, etc.) shells out cash to make the trip. Not sure he has an NU offer yet, but would anticipate he gets one this weekend. I like his tape better than some of the other "go-to" QBs, as he's a pretty polished passer with decent athleticism. More than anything, his presence might put some pressure on Hill.
SB Trey Pugh -- a big, versatile athlete that could probably do a lot of things on the football field. Ohio State is obviously going to be hard to beat for a kid from Ohio (not to mention Duke, Michigan, Penn State, etc.), but always figure we have a shot if we get a kid on campus.
OL/ATH Carson Van Lynn -- Don't know much about this kid as Wiltfong's article is the first time I saw his name. With a Kentucky offer in-hand, he shows up as a pretty versatile athlete on tape whose position will likely be determined by how big he gets. A bit awkward in his movements, but has a HUGE frame. Wouldn't be surprised if gets an offer this weekend assuming coaches like what they see in person.
OL Tyler Beach -- Technically visits next week, but wanted to include him on this list. Offers in hand from in-state Wisconsin, Michigan, and Notre Dame will be tough to beat (especially considering he doesn't have an NU offer yet to my knowledge), but he's another big-framed kid who I would expect to be offered on campus. It means something that he's willing to visit with those offers in hand, but have to put him low on the "likely" scale as a result.
CB Russ Yeast -- a Kentucky commit, Yeast's visit is in and of itself significant because he wasn't sure about taking additional visits when NU offered. He's a dynamic athlete who could probably play on either side of the ball, but have to put him at the bottom of the list just because he's still committed elsewhere.
The Impact
The potential impact of this week's visitors is probably pretty evident just in the length of the list. But it's even more than that -- we have two scholarship-level QBs on campus, one of which is pretty clearly the top QB left on our board in Hill; an OL in Wiederkeher who seems a possible commit that could accelerate the timetable for others at his position; some guys who are making visits despite some significant offers in-hand; a handful of guys who could be real difference-makers at offensive skill positions.
This is a weekend that could start the dominoes in a number of ways. If Hill indicates that he wants to drag his process out further, the coaches will probably offer Sears (and possibly others) in a "first come, first served" situation. If Wiederkehr commits, the coaches will likely let the other offered prospects know there are limited OL spots available (would guess one MAYBE two), which could accelerate their decisions much like what we saw at DE with Brown and Kent. Getting a QB commit can make it easier to recruit offensive skill guys, plus we might get one or two RB/WR/SB types to commit coming out of this week.
All in all, I'm hoping things break right for the Cats this weekend and we start to see the class fill up in a hurry. We may already be seeing the benefits of wrapping the 2016 class pretty early so that the class could start building relationships with 2017s. It would be great to get a similar head start on 2018s.
Fingers crossed.
That got me thinking... what now? First I'll go through the visitors, then take a shot at outlining just how important this week/weekend could be in building the class of 2017.
The Visitors
(As I was typing, Steve Wiltfong released a list of visitors in a free post... the group is even more significant and bigger than I thought when starting this post!)
These guys have all either been on visits or are supposed to be in this weekend. I've organized them in my rough estimation of likelihood that they end up in Evanston from most likely to least likely.
OL Ethan Wiederkehr -- I see a big kid who could play a variety of positions, but is likely to be an OT at the P5 level. Coaches identified him early, so must believe in his growth potential. My guess is he commits this weekend or shortly thereafter, reducing the number of available OL spots to one (which is a GREAT situation for recruiters).
QB Kasim Hill -- I've long said I think Hill is the best fit for our offense from the early QB offers. Unfortunately, he's the only one left uncommitted at this point (and I'm not too thrilled about the other QBs on the board). This weekend will be his third time on campus, he has a couple of former Gilman teammates on the team, and seem like plenty of reasons we have a better shot than many would guess to get Hill. His trips to Michigan State, Purdue, and Vanderbilt are interesting, as I would have guessed he's largely down to Maryland or NU. Hoping we can pull this one out sooner than later.
SB Bryce Wolma -- A more recent SB offer (seemingly as a fallback for Kmet, Marwede, and Calcaterra), Wolma is athletic enough to split out at the HS level but I would guess is more of an in-line guy at the P5 level. His top schools of NU, Arizona, and Tennessee are an interesting mix. Would guess/think he ends up staying in the Midwest, but don't know a ton about his thought process at this point.
OL Blaise Andries -- Reportedly a high academic kid whose recruiting has taken off a bit of late, I think he's a pretty darn good OT prospect. Good frame, good athleticism, needs to get a bit stronger (but that's typical of HS OL, especially kids with his size). Might be hard to fend off the home-state Gophers, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, but might get a little easier if/when Wiederkehr commits. Believe this is also a return trip for Andries, which is always a good sign.
WR Jeremy Singleton -- made the trek up from New Orleans on his own dime, but feels like a kid who will stay down south if the right opportunities come up. He's got a top four of NU, Arkansas, Kansas State, and Vanderbilt to go with reported interest from other SEC schools (Ole Miss, etc.). I get the feeling he will try to wait for a non-Vanderbilt SEC opportunity as long as he can.
RB Lamont Atkins -- Decommitted from Vandy three days ago and I'm including him on this list because Wiltfong at 247 made NU his prediction (usually doesn't make predictions until he has some level of certainty -- and as I was typing this, Wiltfong confirmed his visit in a free post). In any event, Atkins is a pretty dynamic player who reminds me in some ways of Larkin, but with a better burst. His size and speed won't blow you away, but he does a pretty good job setting up blocks and has a nice burst once he sees the hole. Also flashes the ability to catch the ball, which is extremely helpful in our offense. Would be a solid get.
SB Grant Calcaterra -- Came away saying the right things about his NU offer, but has plenty of "name" schools after him and it's always hard to pull a west coast kid with those kind of offers. Which is a shame, because he could be lethal as a pass-catching SB.
QB Jack Sears -- An interesting name to see on the list, always a nice sign when a west coast QB with west coast offers/interest (Arizona, ASU, Utah, etc.) shells out cash to make the trip. Not sure he has an NU offer yet, but would anticipate he gets one this weekend. I like his tape better than some of the other "go-to" QBs, as he's a pretty polished passer with decent athleticism. More than anything, his presence might put some pressure on Hill.
SB Trey Pugh -- a big, versatile athlete that could probably do a lot of things on the football field. Ohio State is obviously going to be hard to beat for a kid from Ohio (not to mention Duke, Michigan, Penn State, etc.), but always figure we have a shot if we get a kid on campus.
OL/ATH Carson Van Lynn -- Don't know much about this kid as Wiltfong's article is the first time I saw his name. With a Kentucky offer in-hand, he shows up as a pretty versatile athlete on tape whose position will likely be determined by how big he gets. A bit awkward in his movements, but has a HUGE frame. Wouldn't be surprised if gets an offer this weekend assuming coaches like what they see in person.
OL Tyler Beach -- Technically visits next week, but wanted to include him on this list. Offers in hand from in-state Wisconsin, Michigan, and Notre Dame will be tough to beat (especially considering he doesn't have an NU offer yet to my knowledge), but he's another big-framed kid who I would expect to be offered on campus. It means something that he's willing to visit with those offers in hand, but have to put him low on the "likely" scale as a result.
CB Russ Yeast -- a Kentucky commit, Yeast's visit is in and of itself significant because he wasn't sure about taking additional visits when NU offered. He's a dynamic athlete who could probably play on either side of the ball, but have to put him at the bottom of the list just because he's still committed elsewhere.
The Impact
The potential impact of this week's visitors is probably pretty evident just in the length of the list. But it's even more than that -- we have two scholarship-level QBs on campus, one of which is pretty clearly the top QB left on our board in Hill; an OL in Wiederkeher who seems a possible commit that could accelerate the timetable for others at his position; some guys who are making visits despite some significant offers in-hand; a handful of guys who could be real difference-makers at offensive skill positions.
This is a weekend that could start the dominoes in a number of ways. If Hill indicates that he wants to drag his process out further, the coaches will probably offer Sears (and possibly others) in a "first come, first served" situation. If Wiederkehr commits, the coaches will likely let the other offered prospects know there are limited OL spots available (would guess one MAYBE two), which could accelerate their decisions much like what we saw at DE with Brown and Kent. Getting a QB commit can make it easier to recruit offensive skill guys, plus we might get one or two RB/WR/SB types to commit coming out of this week.
All in all, I'm hoping things break right for the Cats this weekend and we start to see the class fill up in a hurry. We may already be seeing the benefits of wrapping the 2016 class pretty early so that the class could start building relationships with 2017s. It would be great to get a similar head start on 2018s.
Fingers crossed.
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