It looks like Northwestern's trend of early enrollees will continue in the Class of 2018.
WildcatReport has confirmed that linebacker Khalid Jones, safety Jeremiah McDonald and cornerback Greg Newsome will all enroll at Northwestern in January. They will then be able to participate in spring practice and, theoretically, get a leg up on their classmates in terms of getting acclimated to both college and football.
While Northwestern is relatively new to the early enrollee game, it seems to be slowly becoming an annual ritual.
Safety Parrker Westphal was the first Wildcat to enroll early, in 2014. He was followed by defensive end Tommy Carnifax in 2016. Last year, two players enrolled early for the first time: defensive end Samdup Miller and superback Trey Pugh. Now the Wildcats will have three players reporting before the rest of their classmates.
Head coach Pat Fitzgerald was once against early enrollment, preferring that recruits stay in high school to enjoy their senior years. But Fitzgerald is keeping up with the times as more and more signees are enrolling early.
Now it is even easier to do with the early signing day on Dec. 20. Previously, when only one signing day existed in February, early enrollees had to sign a grant-in-aid earlier than the rest of the class in order to start school in January. Now, everyone that chooses to sign early (and Northwestern expects its entire class to do just that) is automatically eligible to enroll early.
Jones is a three-star prospect from Duncan (S.C.) Byrnes who could play inside or outside linebacker. McDonald, a three-star safety from Slidell (La.) Northshore, visited Northwestern on Saturday for the Penn State game. Greg Newsome, a three-star cornerback, came from Carol Stream (Ill.) Glenbard North, the same school that produced Justin Jackson and Jace James, and now attends powerhouse Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, the alma mater of Jango Glackin.
WildcatReport has confirmed that linebacker Khalid Jones, safety Jeremiah McDonald and cornerback Greg Newsome will all enroll at Northwestern in January. They will then be able to participate in spring practice and, theoretically, get a leg up on their classmates in terms of getting acclimated to both college and football.
While Northwestern is relatively new to the early enrollee game, it seems to be slowly becoming an annual ritual.
Safety Parrker Westphal was the first Wildcat to enroll early, in 2014. He was followed by defensive end Tommy Carnifax in 2016. Last year, two players enrolled early for the first time: defensive end Samdup Miller and superback Trey Pugh. Now the Wildcats will have three players reporting before the rest of their classmates.
Head coach Pat Fitzgerald was once against early enrollment, preferring that recruits stay in high school to enjoy their senior years. But Fitzgerald is keeping up with the times as more and more signees are enrolling early.
Now it is even easier to do with the early signing day on Dec. 20. Previously, when only one signing day existed in February, early enrollees had to sign a grant-in-aid earlier than the rest of the class in order to start school in January. Now, everyone that chooses to sign early (and Northwestern expects its entire class to do just that) is automatically eligible to enroll early.
Jones is a three-star prospect from Duncan (S.C.) Byrnes who could play inside or outside linebacker. McDonald, a three-star safety from Slidell (La.) Northshore, visited Northwestern on Saturday for the Penn State game. Greg Newsome, a three-star cornerback, came from Carol Stream (Ill.) Glenbard North, the same school that produced Justin Jackson and Jace James, and now attends powerhouse Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, the alma mater of Jango Glackin.
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