courtesy of MGO Blog

The following came from MGO Blog... one of the more respected blogs for the Big Ten and college sports as a whole

It's been a quiet week, relatively speaking, for Michigan recruiting, so today's roundup kicks off with an update on the program making a serious run for the #3 spot in the Big Ten recruiting rankings: Northwestern.

Yes, you read that right.

No, seriously, you read that right.

The Wildcats built upon their on-field success under Pat Fitzgerald with a solid recruiting class in 2013, landing consensus four-star QB Matt Alviti, underrated RB Godwin Igwebuike, and a solid group of three-stars—not just Midwest kids, either, with signees hailing from Texas (3), California (3), Florida, and New Jersey.

On the heels of a ten-win season and their first bowl win in 63 years, Northwestern is now poised to put together their best recruiting class in... ever? The Wildcats have already hauled in another four-star signal-caller, Clayton Thorson, giving Northwestern future four-star depth at quarterback, a position where they've already managed to turn an array of middling recruits with varying levels of scrambling ability into competent (at the very least) conductors of their up-tempo spread in recent years. Now the Wildcats have jumped up to 19th(!) in the 247 Composite Team Rankings after reeling in MI OL Tommy Doles and OH ATH Dareian Watkins in the last week.

Doles, of course, was long thought to be a heavy Michigan lean—I lost count of the number of times the Grand Rapids Christian product has been on campus in the last year. Given his other offers—Army, Air Force, Iowa State, and Northwestern—and the fact that he seemed on the verge of committing for months, it appears Doles' choice has as much to do with Michigan backing off as Northwestern coming on strong; regardless, the Wolverines should be fine when it comes to O-line recruiting, and the academic-minded Doles found a great fit from an on- and off-field perspective in Evanston.

Watkins, who announced his choice this morning, is the more interesting example of a prospect choosing the Wildcats over several Big Ten (and beyond) options previously thought to be more desirable. Michigan State was his other finalist, and he also held offers from Illinois, Iowa, Louisville, Maryland, NC State, Penn State, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, among others. When Watkins' father explained his choice, Northwestern's academics were cited as a huge reason for the commitment, but the football reasons played a large role as well ($) [emphasis mine]:

"We're all very very excited about the chance to go to Northwestern. We think it's not just an amazing academic opportunity, but an amazing football opportunity. The academics overshadow the football part sometimes, but Coach Fitz has turned the program around. They were 10-3 last year, won the Gator Bowl against an SEC football team, and he was 2-0 against the SEC last year. We think it's undervalued what they are as a football program. As much he chose a life path, he's also very competitive. He wants to be part of a Big Ten Championship and compete for national championships and we think that can be done at Northwestern."

We'll, um, see about the national championships, but there's no question Fitzgerald has put the program in a position to contend for conference titles.

Unlike me, Brian is willing to wade into the shallow end* of the RCMB (Michigan State message boards), and he passed along this glorious response to the usual unhinged ranting following Watkins pledging to Not Michigan State:

I find it funny that people would think we have such a clear advantage over NW. At least they've been to a Rose Bowl since I've been out of diapers.

Northwestern has long been on the cutting edge when it comes to both academics and the spread offense; with their location, new-found winning tradition, and ideal fit at head coach, it's about time we get used to them not just pulling upsets on the field, but in recruiting as well. And maybe we won't call them "upsets" for long.

I think there is a common fallacy that Northwestern does more with less... and the implication is that they don't recruit very well. I'm not sure that is entirely accurate, at least with respect to the last couple years. In fact, this year is shaping up to be one of the best recruiting years that they've had. This is most recently spotlighted by the commitment of Dareian Watkins, a 4-star receiver who committed yesterday, choosing NU over Penn State, Michigan State, Iowa... and every other Big Ten school not named Ohio State and Michigan.

Every now and then you get a kid like that, but I think the quality of the other recruits is just as amazing. A couple decades ago, NU competed with MAC schools for commits... now Northwestern is in the mix with every major Big Ten program with several prospects. What's impressed me in this class is the list of offers from other major programs. Previously they'd get one 4-star kid every 5 years. Now NU is getting one in each class. So far, the Cats have 2 in this years class and they are only about a third of the way done with recruiting. NU also on the short-list for Glenbard North 4-star RB Justin Jackson.

Now Northwestern will never show up as a great recruiting class on the rankings. And that has everything to do with the size of the recruiting class, which factors in to both Scout's and Rivals' rankings figures. And NU typically has 14-18 spots, where other programs have 22-25. NU graduates more players than any other Division 1 school. Fitz prefers kids to redshirt their freshman year. NU will tell you they recruit "character" kids... now laugh all you want, but I can't remember the last time I saw a NU kid in the paper for drinking, fighting, raping, etc. (can you say that for Notre Dame?). Perhaps its the culture of the program, but the fact is that they generally stay out of trouble.

With that small class size, Northwestern can be a bit more deliberate in the offers that it makes. There is no doubt that pressure for roster spots for kids potentially interested in NU go quick. That's why Northwestern generally wraps up 80% of its recruiting before the first snap of the Fall season. This has been the case for the last 4 years. No surprises and no hat dances.

It is very rare for Northwestern to go after jucos or transfers (last year was an exceptional one when both Kyle Prater and Quinn Evans joined the squad). Fitz likes to home grow his players. Fitz comments that the spread offense that Mick McCall runs takes awhile to learn, so he'd like the players to ease into it. But with better recruiting, there have been some occasions for more athletic players to see the field sooner (see Kain Colter, Treyvon Green, Traveon Henry, Nick VanHoose). I would not be surprised to see more true freshman to see the field quicker given the uptick in recruiting.

Is Igwebuike related to the former Buccaneer kicker of the same name?

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Wow. That's a lot of self congratulation even for a Northwestern football article.

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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!

LOL... that was from a Michigan blog, not Northwestern! Now if you were talking about my post, would you expect anything less?

Well, I was referring to the quotes in that article, and then obviously your post.

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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!

yep. He's either playing safety or RB. He said he's happy with whatever coach decides. I'd like to see him compete for the RB spot.

Yeah... I think that was from his father. It's one of those Blind Side situations. He was adopted. And they have another kid living with his family in a similar situation. Apparently the other kid is quite an athlete too.

By the way, a person close to the family posted this today on the Scout site. Thought the part about Ohio State was particularly interesting.

I have been friends with Dareian's Father for over 30 years. I have been blessed to be part of the recruiting process from the beginning. I have known much more information than most, but have never said anything because it would not have been fair to Dareian.

In the end there was truly 4 schools.

#1 Ohio State .. We are Buckeyes and it would be a dream for him to play in the shoe. He was not technically offered, but was told he would receive a call later and he would have 5 minutes to commit. That wasn't in his time frame and he simply moved on.

#2 Wisconsin .. After Bielema left the communication stopped. It picked up later with new staff and an offer was extended, but at that point he did'nt feel comfortable in Madison. If he choose a school last year at this time he would have been a Badger.

#3 Michigan State .. Liked it there a lot, but he wants to play WR in college and The Spartans were honest about him maybe being a safety.

#4 Northwestern.. What can I say, His Parents Love Evanston. They love what Coach Fitzgerald is doing there. Also everyone locally (in his hometown) were almost unanimious in loving only one coach who ever visited and it was Pat Fitzgerald. I can not tell you how happy his mom is knowing that she is sending her son off to play for a coach who will make a good kid and even better man!

It didn't hurt that his "God Brother" has always said he will be attending Northwestern after he graduates in 2015. Hopefully on a full ride scholrship to play football.

The only drawback with Northwestern was the travel. It is a long drive and with Re-alignment of the Big 10 he will be in the east and the games will all be commutes. Choosing Northwestern means long trips with their family and will cost a lot of money. Choosing Northwestern was a commitment for the whole family. The "easy" way out was to choose a school closer.

Also the Northwestern student body needs some credit. Whenever Dareian went to Evanston the Football players and the regular student body hung out together. It was truly a family feeling.

There is now a small town in Ohio that is still 100% Buckeye, but we all have a second favorite team now.

How many moral victories does Northwestern need to qualify for the moral national championship?

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Where are you going with this? The point is that recruiting is improving at Northwestern (or at least appears to be). No one is talking about moral victories here. If I did I would list all the four and five star recruits that had Northwestern on their short list and didn't end up committing.

Just never felt NU should have been that bad all those years I attended games and parked cars.

They have something to offer of value that someones parents had to recognize.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

"Someone's parents" is the key thing. Fitz wins over the parents easy. But when you are on campus and let's say your from California or Texas, its hard to look at the ugly chicks in their parkas and say "Fuck yeah, I'm going here!!!". Full disclosure, I married a Northwestern chick.

And the gameday atmosphere is horrible in comparison to Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa etc. But I really think the Big Ten Network has been awesome for programs like Northwestern. NU is getting exposure it would never normally get and reaching more homes across the U.S. As long as they don't pan the endzones for crowd shots, TV kinda makes it seem like we're a "real program" sometimes

I see what you are saying at first blush. Then you start to notice that there are plenty of other schools who have football, good academics and are in better locales. Stanford is the one that always comes to mind but you have great schools in the Pac 12 with good weather and football. UCLA and USC aren't a big dropoff academically from Northwestern. I cannot imagine it being a choice if offered a scholarship by both schools. Cal is probably superior. We know arizona only lets in the best of the best.

The ACC offers the same thing with Duke, UNC, BC etc.

Even in the midwest, ND and Vanderbilt are comparable with superior situations.

Sure, Northwestern has something to offer, but what they offer is not unique. They just have to (and they have been of late) selling it harder

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I think Good Dolphin has it right. If my kid could get into Stanford, I'd tell him to go there any day of the week. The things that NU has going for it is 1) the degree which is the equivalent of $250K and 2) proximity to Chicago. And for some reason the kids seem to respond pretty well to Pat Fitzgerald.

As a side note, I think Darrell Hazell will do well at Purdue. I think he's the type of young, determined coach who will show very well on the recruiting trail. The biggest obstacle he has is selling West Lafyette, Indiana. But I have confidence he'll be able to do that.

By the way, Indiana has quietly become a Dark Horse. That passing attack can put up a ton of points. And finally, FINALLY, they seem to be recruiting a bit better. Just get that defense from "Abysmal" to simply "Bad" and I think they will win some shootout games. Reminds me of Northwestern from a couple years ago.

I think Justin Jackson has an offer. I know the principal at the high school and told him that Iowa is his best choice but I don't think he's convinced. Where would NU target him? DB or RB?

I think he'll do well too, but West Lafayette is the least of his problems. I wish the town was the biggest problem he had to overcome. West Lafayette is your standard college town. It's not that much different than East Lansing or Champaign or Iowa City. In my opinion, Evanston is really the only desirable Big Ten town that would get me excited to be going there. Minneapolis is probably pretty good too.

Hazell has to overcome:
1) A losing culture where 6 wins was considered a "success".
2) An apathetic and spoiled fan base.
3) Failure to successfully recruit Indiana by Danny Hope.
4) The need for stadium improvements, which should happen at some point soon.

Solve those issues, and players can overlook that West Lafayette is boring at times. Any town is fun if you are a football player.

_________________
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!

They keep rolling...

Apparently Auston Anderson, the Plano Texas speedster, just committed to the Cats. Picked them over:
Arizona
ASU
Arkansas
Baylor
CAL
Georgia Tech
Navy
Nebraska
Rice
Stanford
TCU
Texas
Texas Tech
UCLA
Washington and Washington State

Northwestern just landed its third 4-star recruit... Justin Jackson of Glenbard North. Ever since the star system was started (late 1990's??? just a guess), I don't believe that Northwestern EVER had more than 1 4-star kid on a team, if any. Then last year we got two... and this year three and potentially more now that DE Garrett Dickerson and Parrker Westphal still list Northwestern among those still in consideration. Frankly, I doubt will get either, but Garrett's brother Cameron is currently on the team, so we do have some reason to pull an upset.

JJ is considered an all-purpose back, but could eventually play DB too. But putting him in the backfield with Auston Anderson (who is more of a small, quick scat back) would be very fun to see.

Justin Jackson's offer list was perhaps not as great as Auston Anderson's (our last RB commit), but still very high quality:
BC
CAL
Illinois
indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Minnesota
Mississippi State
Missouri
Purdue
Syracuse
Toledo
Vanderbilt

Tweet from the TheChampaignRoom (Illini sports blog):

"Also, using Rivals, there are 9 4-star players from IL in the 2014 class. Two have committed to NU, one to Vandy and one to Tennessee. Neat."

Got my answer.

Jackson is a smart kid and not surprised he chose NU. Watkins went to NU from the same high school.

So did NU finally decide to start dropping off the bags of cash?

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YES!... Actually $250K to be specific. $50K per year for 5 years.

Just got #10. Blake Hance A 3-star OT/TE from Jacksonville, IL

Another one that we beat out Nebraska and Missouri and Vanderbilt. Also had offers from Illini, Gophers, NIU, Purdue and Wyoming (among others)

sounds like NU is turning a corner in the quality of its talent

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.