2015 Recruiting Class “By the Numbers”:
- 19 three-star recruits, 1 two-star recruit
- 11 offensive players, 10 defensive players (wait, wait…that doesn’t add up to 20. Hint: there’s an overlap)
- 5 players from Illinois (most represented state)
- 5 wide receivers (most heavily recruited position, #addressyourweaknesses)
Here's a list of all 20 future Wildcats, as well as some quick, pertinent information about the standouts on this list:
Three-star recruits:
Defensive Tackle Jordan Thompson, La Salle High School (Cincinnati, Ohio)
- Thompson had offers from five B1G Schools, plus Notre Dame and ‘BAMA and he picked NU. As if you needed further proof, the guy’s an absolute monster. Highlight tapes are sometimes misleading, but this one is worth your time, I promise.
Quarterback Lloyd Yates, Oak Park-River Forest High School (Oak Park, Illinois)
- This dual-threat quarterback can bring the Kain Colter Effect back to NU’s offense, but with talented redshirt freshman Clayton Thorson above him on the depth chart, it’s possible that he could convert to wide receiver or something of the like. This guy needs to touch the ball regardless – he runs a 4.5-second 40-yard dash (just a blink slower than Trevor “4.38 speedster” Siemian could in his healthy days. We’ll miss you, Trev).
Wide Receiver Jelani Roberts, Gilman School (Baltimore, Maryland)
- Roberts is 5'8" and only weighs 153 pounds, but this dude can straight fly. He runs a blazing fast 4.39-second 40, and although he may not fit in as a receiver, he just might be the long-awaited solution to NU’s punt returner problem.
Wide Receiver Cameron Green, Adlai Stevenson High School (Lincolnshire, Illinois)
- Green picked NU over several other Power 5 schools, including Nebraska. He’s got good hands, and with his 6'2" frame, he could find himself catching balls next year (despite below-average speed).
Safety Simba Short, De La Salle High School (Concord, California)
- Other than having a truly incredible name, Mufasa’s son has developed into quite a safety while he was off in the desert with Timon and Pumbaa. But at 6'2" and 210 pounds, he could find himself playing linebacker, or killing Scar. Who really knows with recruits?
Linebacker Nathan Fox, Clear Lake High School (Houston, Texas)
- Fox is a talented pass rusher from deep in the heart of Texas, so his learning curve at the college level may be pretty short (no bias here, none whatsoever). Also, he turned down offers from Oregon (yes, that Oregon) and an on-the-rise Mississippi State program to go to Northwestern. I have no explanation for this. I heard NU has a good journalism program?
And the rest of the three-stars:
Wide Receiver Flynn Nagel, Lemont High School (Lemont, Illinois)
Safety Jacob Murray, Coppell High School (Coppell, Texas)
Linebacker Tommy Vitale, Wheaton Warrenville South (Wheaton, Illinois)
Offensive Guard Andrew Otterman, Delbarton School (Morristown, New Jersey)
Wide Receiver Steven Reese, Buford High School (Buford, Georgia)
Cornerback Alonzo Mayo, Gilman School (Baltimore, Maryland)
Safety/Cornerback/Running back Trae Williams, Athens High School (The Plains, Ohio)
Wide Receiver Charlie Fessler, Cathedral Prep (Erie, Pennsylvania)
Offensive Tackle Adam Lemke-Bell, Oak Park-River Forest High School (Oak Park, Illinois)
Running back John Moten, John Burroughs High School (St. Louis, Missouri)
Defensive End Trent Goens, Chino Hills High School (Chino, California)
Defensive End Joe Gaziano, Xaverian Brothers High School (Westwood, Massachusetts)
Offensive Guard Jared Thomas, Cathedral High School (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Two-star recruits:
Cornerback Montre Hartage, Crisp County High School (Cordele, Georgia)
- Why am I talking about the only two-star recruit? Because the star system is highly politicized and not necessarily a good determiner of future success? Well yes, but also because Hartage played some wide receiver in high school, so he won’t bring brick hands to the secondary, and shows good tackling form on his highlight reel. He’s not really coming into a positional area of weakness, but he figures to be a big part of the defense when a spot opens up for him.