http://northwestern.scout.com/2/1147174.html

UofI was a finalist in his initial recruiting.

I'm going over to his house right now with a big bag of cash.

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All U of I needs is one 5 star WR and they are BACK

Sincerely, Arelious Benn

They did go to The Rose Bowl that year.

They've also won back-to-back bowl games for the first time in their history. So, in some respects, these are the salad days of Illini football - except for firing their coach and all.

I've also read that Kiffin wouldn't release Prater unless he promised not to go to another PAC-10(thousand or whatever) school or ND. But, they just had a top RB go to ND so I don't know if I believe that.

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Apparently Trib saying NU or Wiscy. NU seems to have a decent chance since its clear that proximity and a high quality degree (not that Wiscy ain't high quality) is important to him. Apparently he wants broadcast journalism and NU and USC are tops here.

We got two 4-star recruits this year, and missed on two others that wanted NU but couldn't get through admissions. This is a big change for things up in Evanston. Fitz seems to be doing something right. Not ND levels, but much better than historically. If we add Prater it may be the first 5 star I remember.

He would have two years of eligibility since he's already taken a redshirt in 2010 - is that correct?

I read that he would have 3 years.

Not likely that he would use them all and if he did you're likely going to be disappointed in him.

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Looks like Prater can't get in NU either. 17 on the ACT.

Northwestern has let previous student athletes in with just as low ACT scores. Maybe his GPA wasn't high enough.

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NIU Football:
2011, 2012, & 2014 MAC Football Champions

17 is pretty low, but I don't doubt that NU would make an exception if the kid had a high GPA. I'm not optimistic. I genuinely hope they do offer Prater. I really think NU needs to loosen up standards a bit. Notre Dame has and it hasn't seemed to have an impact on school's academic reputation. USC is a very good school too, but the door is wide open for athletes.

I don't know if that is a good idea. The program would probably be slightly better but they'd lose the built in excuse that they can't recruit like other teams can. They have a good setup now. As long as they are above average they can celebrate the state of the program excelling against all odds. A 6-7 wouldn't be as acceptable.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I see what you did there.

But seriously, I know I'm a little bit of an anomaly for a Northwestern fan (all 3 of us), but I never try to make excuses for strict academics. I also love the fact that you've never seen Fitz make excuses for them either. It is what it is. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean I have to like it. I do think we could flex a bit more. Having Faith Ekatie just miss admissions and wind up at Iowa was painful. Having Abner Logan have an issue with one of his classes that didn't count towards his GPA like he thought it would, and us losing him to Maryland kills me. Both these 4-star kids wanted NU, but apparently our admissions department works in a vacuum and won't let the football program make a case for the kids. Some think this is a badge of honor... I just think it is stupid and short-sighted. A successful athletics program benefits the whole school in the long run.

Did one of the 4 jump off the bandwagon?


I'm not sad about it...nope, not one bit.

It seems a little weird. Prater was considering Stanford out of HS and had an offer.

But I guess that doesn't necessarily mean he qualified.

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Nah. He was 88 and finally died.

http://espn.go.com/chicago/ncf/story/_/id/7480364/ex-usc-receiver-kyle-prater-says-northwestern-frontrunner

I'll bet he's pulling a 4.4 in his 40 class.

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We lost two 4 stars to academics. I'm curious if there using his grades at USC. Lane Kiffin might have a actually helped us. Thank god for basket weaving.

Lot of enthusiasm out there for this bust. He was a 5* out of high school. Two years later of poor play and injuries, he's really more of a 3*.

OK. I'll still take him.

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I'll give you injuries, but not poor play. I'm not gonna argue stars, but he is a high quality get for NU anyway you shake it. Frankly with Tony Jones, Christian Jones, Rashad Lawrence... and now potentially Prater, NU is in phenomenal shape for WR for a good while. And with Colter, Siemian, and Oliver... and potentially Matt Alviti at QB, we're likely to have someone decent to throw the ball to them. Now if we could only fix the defense.

As Kiel has moved from LSU to Notre Dame, do you think that puts us in a better position to sign Alviti?

Absolutely. How could it not? It's basically down to NU vs. ND. And ND just signed one of the best QB prospects in the country. Matt can run a spread pass-happy offense to showcase his abilities and have less competition to do it. I think it is a no brainer. But some kids get enamored with gold flecks in helmets and murals of Jesus on buildings.

I like our chances too.

Here's an article you may like, MUD.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-s ... 09516.html

He picks the Kitties

Go Cats.

Cheaters.

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You know me like that.