Tackle Zachary Franks flips from Penn State to Northwestern

Sometimes, things just work out in recruiting. That's certainly the case for Northwestern in the recruitment of Zachary Franks.

The three-star tackle from Baltimore (Md.) Gilman School, who committed to Penn State just eight days ago, flipped to Northwestern on Friday to become the 15th member of the Wildcats' class.

Franks announced his decision on Twitter.

The 6-foot-6, 280-pounder had Northwestern as one of his leaders after an official visit to Evanston in June that he called "the best visit I ever had." But Penn State came in with an offer the very next week and he wound up committing to the Nittany Lions on Aug. 2, shortly after attending the Lasch Bash Barbecue in State College.

However, sources say that Franks had a change of heart shortly afterward and felt like he wasn't a good fit for the Penn State program. He had a Gilman coach reach out to Northwestern's staff to see if his scholarship was still available, and the rest is history.

Franks is the second tackle in Northwestern's 2019 class, joining fellow three-star Connor Foster. The Wildcats wanted to land at least one more tackle for their class and are excited to have Franks fall into their laps. The fact that he comes from a rival Big Ten school doesn't hurt, either.

Northwestern has built a solid pipeline to Gilman, one of the elite programs in Maryland, in recent years. Current Wildcats Alonzo Mayo and Jelani Roberts are both former Greyhounds.

More to come from WildcatReport...