The recruiting dead period ends on Friday, and that’s a good word to describe Northwestern’s 2019 recruiting: dead. As far as we know, anyway.
WildcatReport has been working the phones the last couple days to see how the Wildcats will close out their 2019 class and have come up with very little.
We know that Northwestern is in the market for a couple more additions to the 18 players that signed on Dec. 19, on early national signing day. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald confirmed that day the Wildcats are still looking for a running back and then a best-available type to top off a group that currently ranks 48th in the country and 11th in the Big Ten.
In December, it looked like the running back would be one – or perhaps two – of three three-star prospects: Evan Hull, Micah Kelly and Ainias Smith. Now, however, it looks like all three are off the board.
Smith committed to Texas A&M on Jan. 1. That wasn’t a surprise to anyone, as the Aggies seemed to be his favorite all along and he wanted to play wide receiver, not running back, at the next level. The only thing that may raise anyone’s eyebrows there is that Smith told WildcatReport that he was all set to pledge Duke before changing his mind just before making his verbal.
Hull and Kelly essentially said the same thing: Northwestern’s communication with them ended just before the dead period, which began on Dec. 17. That’s a sign that the Wildcats have moved on.
The dead period only prohibits face-to-face contact between coaches and players or parents. Coaches can still call, text, email or use social media to reach recruits, and if Northwestern was still pursuing those two players, they would be in touch. Other schools certainly have been. And remember, the Wildcats landed a 2020 commitment, Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen, during the dead period.
Hull said that he talked to NU recruiting coordinator and running backs coach Lou Ayeni on the phone right before the dead period but hasn’t talked to him since. “We were trying to set a date for an official visit,” he said. “My understanding is that (he’ll) get back to me as soon as…they figure out what date works for them.”
Kansas State didn’t let the dead period stop their recruiting of Hull. They became the first Power Five school to offer Hull just yesterday.
As we reported earlier, Kelly hasn’t heard from Northwestern since before Christmas, either. The big news for the Mississippian is that Texas entered the picture – again, during the dead period. The Longhorns are talking to Kelly about an official visit and Kelly feels like “I should have (an offer) by next week.”
The other two schools still in the mix for Kelly are Colorado State and Western Kentucky.
Hull and Kelly appear to be out of the picture, though there's a chance that NU could still come back to them. But the bigger question is, if those guys are no longer targets, who are the Wildcats looking at for that running back scholarship?
The bottom line is we don’t know. Sources are tight-lipped in Evanston, and Twitter hasn’t been much help, either.
WildcatReport reached out to Kevin Pyne, who is certainly on Northwestern's board as a best-available type, but he didn’t respond to our requests. Pyne, a four-star tackle, took an official to NU in December, when almost all of the 2019 then-commits were on campus. But his plan is to enroll next January and essentially greyshirt himself, so he would count as a 2020, not a 2019. Regardless, Pyne’s offer lists reads like the AP Top 25 and we’re not sure where Northwestern stands.
Another best-available target to keep an eye on: Brian Ugwu, a three-star athlete from New Jersey.
Other than that, the amount of activity coming from our soruces is just like the recruiting period: dead.
WildcatReport has been working the phones the last couple days to see how the Wildcats will close out their 2019 class and have come up with very little.
We know that Northwestern is in the market for a couple more additions to the 18 players that signed on Dec. 19, on early national signing day. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald confirmed that day the Wildcats are still looking for a running back and then a best-available type to top off a group that currently ranks 48th in the country and 11th in the Big Ten.
In December, it looked like the running back would be one – or perhaps two – of three three-star prospects: Evan Hull, Micah Kelly and Ainias Smith. Now, however, it looks like all three are off the board.
Smith committed to Texas A&M on Jan. 1. That wasn’t a surprise to anyone, as the Aggies seemed to be his favorite all along and he wanted to play wide receiver, not running back, at the next level. The only thing that may raise anyone’s eyebrows there is that Smith told WildcatReport that he was all set to pledge Duke before changing his mind just before making his verbal.
Hull and Kelly essentially said the same thing: Northwestern’s communication with them ended just before the dead period, which began on Dec. 17. That’s a sign that the Wildcats have moved on.
The dead period only prohibits face-to-face contact between coaches and players or parents. Coaches can still call, text, email or use social media to reach recruits, and if Northwestern was still pursuing those two players, they would be in touch. Other schools certainly have been. And remember, the Wildcats landed a 2020 commitment, Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen, during the dead period.
Hull said that he talked to NU recruiting coordinator and running backs coach Lou Ayeni on the phone right before the dead period but hasn’t talked to him since. “We were trying to set a date for an official visit,” he said. “My understanding is that (he’ll) get back to me as soon as…they figure out what date works for them.”
Kansas State didn’t let the dead period stop their recruiting of Hull. They became the first Power Five school to offer Hull just yesterday.
As we reported earlier, Kelly hasn’t heard from Northwestern since before Christmas, either. The big news for the Mississippian is that Texas entered the picture – again, during the dead period. The Longhorns are talking to Kelly about an official visit and Kelly feels like “I should have (an offer) by next week.”
The other two schools still in the mix for Kelly are Colorado State and Western Kentucky.
Hull and Kelly appear to be out of the picture, though there's a chance that NU could still come back to them. But the bigger question is, if those guys are no longer targets, who are the Wildcats looking at for that running back scholarship?
The bottom line is we don’t know. Sources are tight-lipped in Evanston, and Twitter hasn’t been much help, either.
WildcatReport reached out to Kevin Pyne, who is certainly on Northwestern's board as a best-available type, but he didn’t respond to our requests. Pyne, a four-star tackle, took an official to NU in December, when almost all of the 2019 then-commits were on campus. But his plan is to enroll next January and essentially greyshirt himself, so he would count as a 2020, not a 2019. Regardless, Pyne’s offer lists reads like the AP Top 25 and we’re not sure where Northwestern stands.
Another best-available target to keep an eye on: Brian Ugwu, a three-star athlete from New Jersey.
Other than that, the amount of activity coming from our soruces is just like the recruiting period: dead.
