Cats land 3-star Arizona safety Gunner Maldonado

Northwestern landed the first safety in its 2020 class when three-star Gunner Maldonado committed on Thursday afternoon.

The 5-foot-11, 180-pounder from Chandler (Ariz.) announced his commitment on Twitter.

Maldonado was a two-way player for Chandler, helping the Wolves to the Arizona state title last season, the program's third straight. He was a former teammate of Northwestern running back Drake Anderson at Chandler in 2017.

Maldonado took an official visit to Northwestern on May 17-19, when the program hosted 16 official visitors, including seven uncommitted prospects. He called the experience "eye-opening."

Maldonado is the second commitment to come form that official visitor group, following on the heels of defensive end Sean McLaughlin, who committed last Friday.

The No. 39 safety in the nation for 2020, Maldonado chose Northwestern over seven other offers, including home-state programs Arizona and Arizona State. He was expected to take an official visit to ASU but pulled the trigger for the Wildcats instead.

The athletic Maldonado collected offers for both safety and wide receiver.

Northwestern's 12-member 2020 class is currently ranked 18th in the country by Rivals.

More to come from WildcatReport...