Cats land a big one in 4-star, Rivals250 DE Najee Story

Northwestern added a big fish to its 2021 class on Sunday.

Four-star defensive end Najee Story, the 195th-ranked player in the country, committed to the Wildcats to give Northwestern a third four-star recruit in its class.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder from Solon (Ohio) chose Northwestern over finalists Ohio State, Penn State, Minnesota and Tennessee. His offer list also included Alabama, Michigan and Notre Dame.

Most noteworthy among those finalists is no doubt Ohio State. It's not too often the Wildcats beat out the Buckeyes for an Ohio prospect.

Story announced his commitment on Twitter.

Story is the third four-star commitment of Northwestern's class, joining tackle Caleb Tiernan and linebacker Mac Uihlein. Story's verbal pledge also came a day after fellow Ohio DE Aidan Hubbard committed to the Wildcats, no doubt influencing the timing of his announcement.

Northwestern hasn't had three four-star commitments in a class since 2014, when they landed four: Justin Jackson, Clayton Thorson, Garrett Dickerson and Greg Kuhar.

The Wildcats' 2021 class is currently ranked 33rd in the nation by Rivals. It was ranked 52nd yesterday before Hubbard and Story jumped on board.

More to come from WildcatReport...