The last weekend before the early signing period did not go particularly well for Northwestern.
First, an expected commitment never materialized. Three-star safety Miguel Mitchell was supposed to announce his decision on Saturday at 6 p.m. Instead, he decided not to announce at all. He told WildcatReport that he has changed his mind about publicly disclosing his commitment, but reiterated that he is committed to Northwestern. His plan is to sign on Wednesday.
Then came another, bigger blow on Sunday. Three-star defensive end Denis Jaquez, who had been committed to the Wildcats since June, tweeted his decommitment. In this case, however, it wasn’t any dissatisfaction with the program; it was the fact that he was denied admission because he failed to get a high enough SAT score. Facing the prospect of not getting into school, Jaquez wisely decommitted. He visited Syracuse over the weekend and will likely sign with the Orange on Wednesday.
Northwestern also hosted official visitor Jack Lausch over the weekend. The Wildcats just offered the two-star Chicago Brother Rice quarterback the weekend before and are trying to flip him from a preferred walkon spot at Notre Dame. Our efforts to reach Lausch were unsuccessful, but three sources who were on campus with Lausch all said that the visit went very well.
“It was great,” said one source. “He was impressed,” said another.
Still, Lausch didn’t commit over the weekend and then was seen at Notre Dame, watching a bowl practice. Coupled with one negative (Jaquez’s decommitment) and one concern (Mitchell’s postponement), the narrative is not trending well for the Wildcats just three days before signing day. Especially coming on the heels of quarterback Bennett Meredith’s decommitment earlier this month, under somewhat dubious circumstances.
But all of this will just be viewed as a speed bump if the Wildcats sign both Mitchell and Lausch on Wednesday.
As WildcatReport previously reported on The Rock, Mitchell is already on board in the Wildcats’ class of 2022. His abrupt cancellation of the announcement that he tweeted to the world just days before is what makes the situation curious. He had a pick-6 and was named MVP of the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game on Saturday, so there is some speculation that an SEC or other program is making a late push for the former Vanderbilt commitment.
Mitchell only took one official visit since decommitting, though, and was fully sold on the NU program. If he’s having second thoughts and wants to back out, he will likely have to wait until February to sign. NU is not overly concerned at this point.
To help woo Lausch, all three of Northwestern’s 2022 commitments from the Chicago area went up to Evanston. Reggie Fleurima, Deuce McGuire and Chris Petrucci hung out with Lausch at the Walter Athletic Center and answered his questions. That was important, as Lausch was the only official visitor over the weekend and NU just wrapped up finals week.
Northwestern is optimistic about their chances with Lausch. But, as one source said, “Time will tell.”
First, an expected commitment never materialized. Three-star safety Miguel Mitchell was supposed to announce his decision on Saturday at 6 p.m. Instead, he decided not to announce at all. He told WildcatReport that he has changed his mind about publicly disclosing his commitment, but reiterated that he is committed to Northwestern. His plan is to sign on Wednesday.
Then came another, bigger blow on Sunday. Three-star defensive end Denis Jaquez, who had been committed to the Wildcats since June, tweeted his decommitment. In this case, however, it wasn’t any dissatisfaction with the program; it was the fact that he was denied admission because he failed to get a high enough SAT score. Facing the prospect of not getting into school, Jaquez wisely decommitted. He visited Syracuse over the weekend and will likely sign with the Orange on Wednesday.
Northwestern also hosted official visitor Jack Lausch over the weekend. The Wildcats just offered the two-star Chicago Brother Rice quarterback the weekend before and are trying to flip him from a preferred walkon spot at Notre Dame. Our efforts to reach Lausch were unsuccessful, but three sources who were on campus with Lausch all said that the visit went very well.
“It was great,” said one source. “He was impressed,” said another.
Still, Lausch didn’t commit over the weekend and then was seen at Notre Dame, watching a bowl practice. Coupled with one negative (Jaquez’s decommitment) and one concern (Mitchell’s postponement), the narrative is not trending well for the Wildcats just three days before signing day. Especially coming on the heels of quarterback Bennett Meredith’s decommitment earlier this month, under somewhat dubious circumstances.
But all of this will just be viewed as a speed bump if the Wildcats sign both Mitchell and Lausch on Wednesday.
As WildcatReport previously reported on The Rock, Mitchell is already on board in the Wildcats’ class of 2022. His abrupt cancellation of the announcement that he tweeted to the world just days before is what makes the situation curious. He had a pick-6 and was named MVP of the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game on Saturday, so there is some speculation that an SEC or other program is making a late push for the former Vanderbilt commitment.
Mitchell only took one official visit since decommitting, though, and was fully sold on the NU program. If he’s having second thoughts and wants to back out, he will likely have to wait until February to sign. NU is not overly concerned at this point.
To help woo Lausch, all three of Northwestern’s 2022 commitments from the Chicago area went up to Evanston. Reggie Fleurima, Deuce McGuire and Chris Petrucci hung out with Lausch at the Walter Athletic Center and answered his questions. That was important, as Lausch was the only official visitor over the weekend and NU just wrapped up finals week.
Northwestern is optimistic about their chances with Lausch. But, as one source said, “Time will tell.”
