It looks like Northwestern will have just two 2022 prospects on campus for their official visits this weekend. Brendan Flakes and Miguel Mitchell, who were both committed to other programs previously, will arrive in Evanston today and stay through Sunday.
There's a chance that there could be a late addition to the guest list, but sources have been tight-lipped all week. One person did confirm that, to his knowledge, there wouldn't be any 2022 commits on campus.
Both of these players picked up their offers from the Wildcats in the last six weeks and represent the Wildcats' top priorities -- at least in terms of high school players. We typically hear very little, if anything, about transfer targets.
So, we'll focus on these two incoming prospects for now. What are NU's chances with Flakes and Mitchell? Could they get one or both of them before the weekend is out? Here are our predictions.
DE Brendan Flakes
Former commitment: Marshall
Chance he'll be a Cat: 95%
Outlook: The only reason Flakes is not at 100% is because you can never go all-in on the actions of an 18-year-old kid. But we feel like Flakes will be a Wildcat before the weekend is out. Why? As we wrote in our story just two days ago, Flakes just decommitted from Marshall on Tuesday, the same day that head coach Pat Fitzgerald and defensive line coach Marty Long visited him. That's a telling sign if there ever was one. He's an academic kid who had offers from the Ivy League, but he committed to Marshall because he wanted to play at the highest level. His horse finally came in when he got his offer from Northwestern on Oct. 31. It was his first Power Five offer, and it happened to come from a Top 10 academic school in the nation. It just makes too much sense for him NOT to be a Wildcat. He just picked up an offer from Nebraska yesterday, but we think that they're late to the party and just don't have the academic pedigree that Flakes is looking for. Look for an announcement from Flakes soon.
S Miguel Mitchell
Former commitment: Vanderbilt
Chance he'll be a Cat: 70%
Outlook: We haven't talked to Mitchell since shortly after he received his offer from Northwestern, on Nov. 7, but we like the Wildcats' chances here, too. As his previous commitment to Vanderbilt attests, Mitchell is another high academic kid who reports a 4.0+ GPA. Since decommitting on Nov. 3, he picked up offers from NU and West Virginia. If you're looking for an academic and athletic balance, there's no question which way to go there. Vanderbilt is ostensibly still on the table, but all recruits say that about the school they just left. He also held an offer from Wake Forest, but the fact that he scheduled an OV to Northwestern tells you what his priority is with only 12 days until signing day. Besides, the kid is from Alabama, Northwestern's new recruiting hotbed. If he commits, Mitchell will become the fourth Alabamian in this class, and the fifth in the last two. That's pretty incredible. We think Mitchell will eventually make Northwestern his Sweet Home.
There's a chance that there could be a late addition to the guest list, but sources have been tight-lipped all week. One person did confirm that, to his knowledge, there wouldn't be any 2022 commits on campus.
Both of these players picked up their offers from the Wildcats in the last six weeks and represent the Wildcats' top priorities -- at least in terms of high school players. We typically hear very little, if anything, about transfer targets.
So, we'll focus on these two incoming prospects for now. What are NU's chances with Flakes and Mitchell? Could they get one or both of them before the weekend is out? Here are our predictions.
DE Brendan Flakes
Former commitment: Marshall
Chance he'll be a Cat: 95%
Outlook: The only reason Flakes is not at 100% is because you can never go all-in on the actions of an 18-year-old kid. But we feel like Flakes will be a Wildcat before the weekend is out. Why? As we wrote in our story just two days ago, Flakes just decommitted from Marshall on Tuesday, the same day that head coach Pat Fitzgerald and defensive line coach Marty Long visited him. That's a telling sign if there ever was one. He's an academic kid who had offers from the Ivy League, but he committed to Marshall because he wanted to play at the highest level. His horse finally came in when he got his offer from Northwestern on Oct. 31. It was his first Power Five offer, and it happened to come from a Top 10 academic school in the nation. It just makes too much sense for him NOT to be a Wildcat. He just picked up an offer from Nebraska yesterday, but we think that they're late to the party and just don't have the academic pedigree that Flakes is looking for. Look for an announcement from Flakes soon.
S Miguel Mitchell
Former commitment: Vanderbilt
Chance he'll be a Cat: 70%
Outlook: We haven't talked to Mitchell since shortly after he received his offer from Northwestern, on Nov. 7, but we like the Wildcats' chances here, too. As his previous commitment to Vanderbilt attests, Mitchell is another high academic kid who reports a 4.0+ GPA. Since decommitting on Nov. 3, he picked up offers from NU and West Virginia. If you're looking for an academic and athletic balance, there's no question which way to go there. Vanderbilt is ostensibly still on the table, but all recruits say that about the school they just left. He also held an offer from Wake Forest, but the fact that he scheduled an OV to Northwestern tells you what his priority is with only 12 days until signing day. Besides, the kid is from Alabama, Northwestern's new recruiting hotbed. If he commits, Mitchell will become the fourth Alabamian in this class, and the fifth in the last two. That's pretty incredible. We think Mitchell will eventually make Northwestern his Sweet Home.
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