Northwestern kicked off its summer camp season last Friday, and it’s already over. The Wildcats held three one-day camps, on June 2, 4 and 5.
The Pat Fitzgerald Football Camps usually bring a flurry of offers for the current class, but not this year. With Northwestern already sitting on 14 Class of 2018 commitments, most of the focus is on the 2019 and beyond.
Here is a look at some news that came out of the camps and some names to keep an eye on in the future.
Mitchell earns NU offer: 2019 cornerback Cameron Mitchell of Bolingbrook (Ill.) picked up an offer from Northwestern after his performance at Sunday’s camp. It was the first Power Five offer for Mitchell, who also holds offers from Bowling Green and Northern Illinois. WildcatReport was unable to reach the 5-foot-10, 175-pounder, who tweeted out this message on Sunday:
Williams has work to do: With an offer list that already includes Iowa State, North Carolina and Syracuse, 2019 outside linebacker Cameron Williams of Merrillville (Ind.) Andrean was one of the more impressive prospects in camp. However, if the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder wants to earn an offer from Northwestern, he has to raise his GPA. Williams said he currently has a 2.7 GPA and recruiter Dennis Springer told him that they’d like to see him earn a 3.2. “They mostly told me to keep focus on academics and keep my head on straight, but Coach (Springer) said they already knew I would impress.” If Williams hits the books and raises his grades, Northwestern would be one of his favorites. “Of course I would be interested in going to Northwestern,” he said. “It’s a great academic school and a very good team in the Big Ten.”
Pierce not in NU’s plans: Despite putting up some impressive numbers at Sunday’s camp, 2018 wide receiver Alec Pierce of Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard West was told that he won’t be able to earn a scholarship offer from the Wildcats. The 6-foot-3, 196-pounder ran a 4.45 40 at the camp and posted a 10-foot, 9-inch broad jump (see Tweet below for official numbers), but he was caught in the numbers game at NU. “They were impressed on how I performed at camp. I talked to Coach Fitzgerald after camp and he said they have a small class with a lot of early commits, and they only have one spot left for a skill guy and they need to get a RB,” he said. Pierce, who holds 13 offers, will camp with Illinois, Purdue and Wisconsin in the coming weeks in the hopes of earning a Power Five offer.
Whitmore one to watch: John Whitmore isn’t yet in the Rivals database, but Northwestern has its eyes on the linebacker from St. Louis Park (Minn.) Benilde-St. Margaret’s (the alma mater of Sanjay Lumpkin). Defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz visited BSM this spring and was impressed by what he saw from Whitmore in camp on Monday. “Coach Hankwitz said that he liked what he saw and it was good to see me move around. They said that they will stay in touch and will contact me more next fall due to the NCAA rules,” said the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder that helped BSM to its first-ever state title last season. “They said they are excited to see my film for next year and will stay in touch with me. Coach Fitzgerald said we should come down for a game.”
Next up on the camp schedule is the Chicagoland Showcase on June 9-10. That is a bigger event, with hundreds of prospects, as well as coaching staffs from the MAC, Ivy League and other FCS programs.
The Pat Fitzgerald Football Camps usually bring a flurry of offers for the current class, but not this year. With Northwestern already sitting on 14 Class of 2018 commitments, most of the focus is on the 2019 and beyond.
Here is a look at some news that came out of the camps and some names to keep an eye on in the future.
Mitchell earns NU offer: 2019 cornerback Cameron Mitchell of Bolingbrook (Ill.) picked up an offer from Northwestern after his performance at Sunday’s camp. It was the first Power Five offer for Mitchell, who also holds offers from Bowling Green and Northern Illinois. WildcatReport was unable to reach the 5-foot-10, 175-pounder, who tweeted out this message on Sunday:
Williams has work to do: With an offer list that already includes Iowa State, North Carolina and Syracuse, 2019 outside linebacker Cameron Williams of Merrillville (Ind.) Andrean was one of the more impressive prospects in camp. However, if the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder wants to earn an offer from Northwestern, he has to raise his GPA. Williams said he currently has a 2.7 GPA and recruiter Dennis Springer told him that they’d like to see him earn a 3.2. “They mostly told me to keep focus on academics and keep my head on straight, but Coach (Springer) said they already knew I would impress.” If Williams hits the books and raises his grades, Northwestern would be one of his favorites. “Of course I would be interested in going to Northwestern,” he said. “It’s a great academic school and a very good team in the Big Ten.”
Pierce not in NU’s plans: Despite putting up some impressive numbers at Sunday’s camp, 2018 wide receiver Alec Pierce of Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard West was told that he won’t be able to earn a scholarship offer from the Wildcats. The 6-foot-3, 196-pounder ran a 4.45 40 at the camp and posted a 10-foot, 9-inch broad jump (see Tweet below for official numbers), but he was caught in the numbers game at NU. “They were impressed on how I performed at camp. I talked to Coach Fitzgerald after camp and he said they have a small class with a lot of early commits, and they only have one spot left for a skill guy and they need to get a RB,” he said. Pierce, who holds 13 offers, will camp with Illinois, Purdue and Wisconsin in the coming weeks in the hopes of earning a Power Five offer.
Whitmore one to watch: John Whitmore isn’t yet in the Rivals database, but Northwestern has its eyes on the linebacker from St. Louis Park (Minn.) Benilde-St. Margaret’s (the alma mater of Sanjay Lumpkin). Defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz visited BSM this spring and was impressed by what he saw from Whitmore in camp on Monday. “Coach Hankwitz said that he liked what he saw and it was good to see me move around. They said that they will stay in touch and will contact me more next fall due to the NCAA rules,” said the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder that helped BSM to its first-ever state title last season. “They said they are excited to see my film for next year and will stay in touch with me. Coach Fitzgerald said we should come down for a game.”
Next up on the camp schedule is the Chicagoland Showcase on June 9-10. That is a bigger event, with hundreds of prospects, as well as coaching staffs from the MAC, Ivy League and other FCS programs.
