With the basketball season annoyingly lasting longer than anticipated, we can finally get back to what's really important... football recruiting! [Ducks]
Anyway, I don't know that I've done a 2018 post yet and it felt like a good time for one. As always, click the prospects' names for tape that I could find... And we're off!
The Commits
QB Jason Whittaker -- always good to start the class with a priority QB and Whittaker looks like a very "toolsy" prospect on tape. While he might have further to go than a guy like Re-Al Mitchell in refining his throwing motion, he's got the size and physical abilities to do just that. Plus he shouldn't be in any kind of hurry with Thorson's chokehold on the job for the foreseeable future.
OL Payne He'bert -- an "out of nowhere"/"under-the-radar" commitment, I don't know that I'd seen his name discussed on the boards until he committed despite an offer coming in late 2016. He'Bert is a developmental kid, but has a very interesting and projectable frame. I know we've talked about him playing tackle at NU, but I think he would be most successful inside. Plays hard and to the whistle, but has a tendency to grab and twist so will have to be careful that doesn't result in holding calls against bigger/better competition at the next level.
OL Charlie Schmidt -- this one really felt like a matter of time, but a good commitment to get. He's a stout kid with pretty good bend and a projectable frame. Could probably get by at tackle, but a little better-suited for the interior. Also plays with some nasty, which is great to see.
SB Charlie Mangieri -- a pretty big, versatile kid who could probably contribute on either side of the ball. Makes some athletic plays on offense, but don't know that I see a ton of top-end speed; while understandable for a guy his size, would be ideal to see him running past some kids at the high school level. For some reason just comes across as a competitive kid on tape.
SB Brian Kaiser -- another kid who seemed like a matter of time, but dragged out much longer than I would have anticipated. He's a very long kid with very good body control at this point; he'll clearly have to get bigger and stronger, but shows signs of having the athleticism to pull that off. I wonder to what extent his volleyball has kept him from adding the weight he will have to find to play in the B1G. Seems like an interesting matchup slot guy in the mold of Stanford's Devon Cajuste, adding a different element to our suddenly-deep SB room.
DE Devin O'Rourke -- unlike Schmidt or Kaiser, I don't know too many people saw this one coming (at least at this early stage in the recruiting process). O'Rourke is pretty clearly the jewel of the class so far, flashing a very interesting combination of physical skills and technical abilities. He doesn't necessarily blow you away in every rep, but that seems dictated by the scheme in which he's playing (i.e. some engage/read/react, especially against the run)... but can really go with some burst. For my money, there's no reason he couldn't turn into a better version of Dean Lowry.
OL Wyatt Blake -- another local guy that plays with some nasty, his position will probably be dictated by his size; interior if on the 6-3 side of a listed 6-5, outside if closer to a legit 6-5. Continues the trend to getting bigger guys who don't require quite as much development to compete at the B1G level.
In all, this is a solid start to the class. While I would still look for a true OT, it seems like the staff is willing to shift to "best available" mode on OL with the three commits above. The focus necessarily has to shift to the defense and skill players, which brings us to...
The Board
Just who else is on the board at this point? I typically try to narrow this to guys with whom I believe NU has a legitimate chance for one reason or another, so please don't take this as an attempt at an exhaustive list of players with an NU offer (which is available through Rivals here if you are so inclined).
DL Jacob Sykes -- following his NU visit and subsequent Ivies trip, I frankly thought he would be committed to NU by now. Also a little confused as to why he isn't being recruited a bit more. The tape is good, the frame is good, he's apparently an excellent student, and Rockhurst isn't exactly an unproven program. Maybe coaches think he's too smartfor most DL rooms? Either way, I'll take him at NU and redshirt him to put on weight and play inside in the B1G.
DB Greg Newsome -- a long, versatile athlete that could probably play either corner or safety (probably wouldn't be bad at WR either), the tea leaves seemed to be leaning to NU before ND started showing interest. He's due to visit ND this weekend and, if he doesn't come away with an offer, I would feel much better about him committing to NU during or shortly after his visit on April 1. Would be a very welcome addition to an already deep and competitive defensive backfield.
[At this point, we get into guys about whom I don't know quite as much or for whom I don't have a great feel on their recruiting process. Sykes and Newsome are probably the closest to committing to NU in my mind.]
LB Khalid Jones -- always a good sign when he's been to campus already, and is reportedly somewhat close with Whittaker in addition to being an outstanding student. Would be great to have in purple, but the competition is already pretty tough (Duke, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Tennessee, Wake Forest, and Wisconsin have already offered and I suspect his list will grow as ACC and SEC teams start working through their evaluations).
DE Andrew Leota -- on this list because he took an unofficial this spring, he's an effective pass rusher with room to add weight to become even more effective. Despite his visit, it might be tough to pull him away from the likes of UNC and VaTech.
LB/DB Evan Stewart -- on this list because he's reportedly coming in for an unofficial this spring, he's a rangy and versatile athlete from a top-notch program who could probably play DB or LB; I believe NU is recruiting him first as an OLB.
From there things get even more dicey, grouped roughly into guys who would be great to have but will be very highly recruited (i.e. DL Josh Walker, DB Shayne Simon, DL Taylor Upshaw, etc.) to out-of-state guys who we probably need to get to campus to have a shot (i.e. DB Ely Doyle, LB Grayson Mann, DB Elisha Guidry, etc.) to guys I like on tape but really don't know much about (i.e. RB Tyrone Tracy, RB Jahmir Smith, WR Kyle Phillips, etc.). Still wouldn't be surprised if we get another shot at WR Micah Jones, but we'll cross that bridge if/when it becomes relevant.
I suspect that the board will be solidified a bit during the upcoming spring evaluation period, which runs from April 15 through May 31. This is especially important for coaches in getting in-person evaluations done on out-of-state prospects and/or getting those players to commit to at least taking a visit to Evanston. Another potential wrinkle would be the NCAA instituting summer official visits, which could/should benefit NU.
I suppose that's a lot of words to add up to this conclusion: I'm happy with the solid start to this class, especially in landing some of the top in-state talent early in the process and, while the recruiting board is a bit murky at this point, we should get some additional clarity over the next couple months... and hopefully continue riding the momentum to another competitive class.
Anyway, I don't know that I've done a 2018 post yet and it felt like a good time for one. As always, click the prospects' names for tape that I could find... And we're off!
The Commits
QB Jason Whittaker -- always good to start the class with a priority QB and Whittaker looks like a very "toolsy" prospect on tape. While he might have further to go than a guy like Re-Al Mitchell in refining his throwing motion, he's got the size and physical abilities to do just that. Plus he shouldn't be in any kind of hurry with Thorson's chokehold on the job for the foreseeable future.
OL Payne He'bert -- an "out of nowhere"/"under-the-radar" commitment, I don't know that I'd seen his name discussed on the boards until he committed despite an offer coming in late 2016. He'Bert is a developmental kid, but has a very interesting and projectable frame. I know we've talked about him playing tackle at NU, but I think he would be most successful inside. Plays hard and to the whistle, but has a tendency to grab and twist so will have to be careful that doesn't result in holding calls against bigger/better competition at the next level.
OL Charlie Schmidt -- this one really felt like a matter of time, but a good commitment to get. He's a stout kid with pretty good bend and a projectable frame. Could probably get by at tackle, but a little better-suited for the interior. Also plays with some nasty, which is great to see.
SB Charlie Mangieri -- a pretty big, versatile kid who could probably contribute on either side of the ball. Makes some athletic plays on offense, but don't know that I see a ton of top-end speed; while understandable for a guy his size, would be ideal to see him running past some kids at the high school level. For some reason just comes across as a competitive kid on tape.
SB Brian Kaiser -- another kid who seemed like a matter of time, but dragged out much longer than I would have anticipated. He's a very long kid with very good body control at this point; he'll clearly have to get bigger and stronger, but shows signs of having the athleticism to pull that off. I wonder to what extent his volleyball has kept him from adding the weight he will have to find to play in the B1G. Seems like an interesting matchup slot guy in the mold of Stanford's Devon Cajuste, adding a different element to our suddenly-deep SB room.
DE Devin O'Rourke -- unlike Schmidt or Kaiser, I don't know too many people saw this one coming (at least at this early stage in the recruiting process). O'Rourke is pretty clearly the jewel of the class so far, flashing a very interesting combination of physical skills and technical abilities. He doesn't necessarily blow you away in every rep, but that seems dictated by the scheme in which he's playing (i.e. some engage/read/react, especially against the run)... but can really go with some burst. For my money, there's no reason he couldn't turn into a better version of Dean Lowry.
OL Wyatt Blake -- another local guy that plays with some nasty, his position will probably be dictated by his size; interior if on the 6-3 side of a listed 6-5, outside if closer to a legit 6-5. Continues the trend to getting bigger guys who don't require quite as much development to compete at the B1G level.
In all, this is a solid start to the class. While I would still look for a true OT, it seems like the staff is willing to shift to "best available" mode on OL with the three commits above. The focus necessarily has to shift to the defense and skill players, which brings us to...
The Board
Just who else is on the board at this point? I typically try to narrow this to guys with whom I believe NU has a legitimate chance for one reason or another, so please don't take this as an attempt at an exhaustive list of players with an NU offer (which is available through Rivals here if you are so inclined).
DL Jacob Sykes -- following his NU visit and subsequent Ivies trip, I frankly thought he would be committed to NU by now. Also a little confused as to why he isn't being recruited a bit more. The tape is good, the frame is good, he's apparently an excellent student, and Rockhurst isn't exactly an unproven program. Maybe coaches think he's too smartfor most DL rooms? Either way, I'll take him at NU and redshirt him to put on weight and play inside in the B1G.
DB Greg Newsome -- a long, versatile athlete that could probably play either corner or safety (probably wouldn't be bad at WR either), the tea leaves seemed to be leaning to NU before ND started showing interest. He's due to visit ND this weekend and, if he doesn't come away with an offer, I would feel much better about him committing to NU during or shortly after his visit on April 1. Would be a very welcome addition to an already deep and competitive defensive backfield.
[At this point, we get into guys about whom I don't know quite as much or for whom I don't have a great feel on their recruiting process. Sykes and Newsome are probably the closest to committing to NU in my mind.]
LB Khalid Jones -- always a good sign when he's been to campus already, and is reportedly somewhat close with Whittaker in addition to being an outstanding student. Would be great to have in purple, but the competition is already pretty tough (Duke, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Tennessee, Wake Forest, and Wisconsin have already offered and I suspect his list will grow as ACC and SEC teams start working through their evaluations).
DE Andrew Leota -- on this list because he took an unofficial this spring, he's an effective pass rusher with room to add weight to become even more effective. Despite his visit, it might be tough to pull him away from the likes of UNC and VaTech.
LB/DB Evan Stewart -- on this list because he's reportedly coming in for an unofficial this spring, he's a rangy and versatile athlete from a top-notch program who could probably play DB or LB; I believe NU is recruiting him first as an OLB.
From there things get even more dicey, grouped roughly into guys who would be great to have but will be very highly recruited (i.e. DL Josh Walker, DB Shayne Simon, DL Taylor Upshaw, etc.) to out-of-state guys who we probably need to get to campus to have a shot (i.e. DB Ely Doyle, LB Grayson Mann, DB Elisha Guidry, etc.) to guys I like on tape but really don't know much about (i.e. RB Tyrone Tracy, RB Jahmir Smith, WR Kyle Phillips, etc.). Still wouldn't be surprised if we get another shot at WR Micah Jones, but we'll cross that bridge if/when it becomes relevant.
I suspect that the board will be solidified a bit during the upcoming spring evaluation period, which runs from April 15 through May 31. This is especially important for coaches in getting in-person evaluations done on out-of-state prospects and/or getting those players to commit to at least taking a visit to Evanston. Another potential wrinkle would be the NCAA instituting summer official visits, which could/should benefit NU.
I suppose that's a lot of words to add up to this conclusion: I'm happy with the solid start to this class, especially in landing some of the top in-state talent early in the process and, while the recruiting board is a bit murky at this point, we should get some additional clarity over the next couple months... and hopefully continue riding the momentum to another competitive class.