David Braun has enough challenges to overcome in Northwestern's present that it can be hard to keep an eye on its future. But that's a necessity in the life of a head coach.
Even as he scrambles to set his coaching staff and prepare to play Rutgers in a little more than a month, Braun is starting the Herculean task of bringing in the next generation of Wildcats. He inherited a class from head coach Pat Fitzgerald that has hit dire straits since his firing on July 10.
"It's an incredible challenge right now, just from the standpoint of all the moving pieces," Braun said about retaining commits and trying to recruit new players at Big Ten Media Days on Wednesday.
The Wildcats stood at 13th in the Big Ten and 47th nationally after landing their last commitment, running back Dashun Reeder, on June 27. Since then, they've had four decommitments and dropped to last place in the conference and 75th in the nation.
Northwestern was narrowly ahead of Indiana at the start of July. Now, after losing offensive linemen Payton Stewart and Julius Tate, wide receiver Brett Eskildsen and defensive tackle Dillan Johnson, they find themselves 25 spots behind their Big Ten rivals.
What makes rebuilding the class difficult is that Braun and his staff are fighting for recruits with one arm tied behind their backs.
Braun is in place until the end of the season, but he and the rest of the coaches aren't sure if they'll be retained beyond that. So they can't sell players on a coach or a system. Then there's the hazing scandal and at least half a dozen lawsuits related to it that have been filed so far. Oh, and the director of player personnel, Jonny Kovach, just left to take a job with the Houston Texans.
How does Braun plan to staunch the bleeding and stem the tide of talent out of his program? By trusting the talent that is still there. Fitzgerald always called his players his best recruiters. Braun seems to feel the same way.
"The best thing that we can do is focus on the people that are currently in our facility and find a way to go win a bunch of football games," Braun said. "[We want to do that and] ensure that our players know that if a recruit walked in that they'd say, 'Hey, Joe Smith or whoever, I'm telling you that this place is special. You're going to get one of the best educations you can find, you're going to be playing Big Ten football and you know what? We've been through a lot but there's something special brewing here.'"
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MORE ON NORTHWESTERN'S TRANSFERS:
LB Juice Cryer l LB Nigel Glover l TE Chico Holt | S Jeremiah Lewis l OL Dylan Senda
MORE ON NORTHWESTERN'S DECOMMITMENTS:
WR Brett Eskildsen l DT Dillan Johnson l OL Payton Stewart l OL Julius Tate
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Braun also made it clear that Northwestern may have to reset its targets as the rebuild begins.
"As we move forward, we may not be able to chase after the high-end four-star," he said. "We just need to find guys that fit us. [We need to find] guys that are developmental, and want to be developed and pushed and that have a view of not who they are today, but of who they can be 36 months from now.
"Get those guys in the program and three years from now, watch out."
Not only does Braun and the Wildcats have to rebuild the Class of 2024, he also needs to hold onto what's left of the Class of 2023.
The class, the highest ranked group of Fitzgerald's 17-year tenure, stood at 19 incoming freshmen in June. Now, that number has dropped to 15 as four incoming freshmen have hit the portal: linebackers Juice Cryer and Nigel Glover, tight end Chico Holt and offensive lineman Dylan Senda. The Wildcats also lost starting safety Jeremiah Lewis to the portal earlier this week.
Add together the decommitments and transfers, and Northwestern is down nine scholarship players a week before camp begins.
"In terms of the roster, we have quite the task on hand," Braun said. "We've been thrust into this situation where we're recruiting our entire team until this transfer window [closes]...
"The best thing we can do is go put on a full display of what this place is all about and win football games. I trust that when we do that, those guys are going to realize that Northwestern is still a great option moving forward."
The 30-day transfer window that opened after Fitzgerald's firing will close on August 9.
Braun and his staff understand the unique challenge of needing to add so many players this late in the cycle. All of the same difficulties they face in recruiting high schoolers also apply to potential transfers. The program may not be able to add talent before the season, so they may have to wait until the end of the season to add both 2024s and transfers. What the coaching staff looks like at that point is anyone's guess.
"It'll be a unique recruiting cycle but I'm confident in our recruiting staff and the conversations they've started to have on how they're going to navigate that moving forward," Braun said.
