Cats land a big one in Rivals250 DE O'Rourke

Northwestern is on a recruiting roll, pulling in two commitments on "Fantastic Friday," and four this week.

But the Wildcats saved the best for last, when four-star, Rivals250 defensive end Devin O’Rourke, the No. 2 player in Illinois, committed to head coach Pat Fitzgerald on Friday afternoon.

The 6-foot-6, 230-pounder from Frankfort (Ill.) Lincoln Way East announced his decision on Twitter:

O’Rourke was one of the most coveted prospects in the Midwest and the Wildcats' first four-star since cornerback Roderick Campbell in 2016. He is Northwestern's highest-rated Chicagoland commitment since running back Justin Jackson, quarterback Clayton Thorson and safety Parrker Westphal all signed with the Wildcats in 2014.

O'Rourke chose Northwestern over a dozen other schools, including Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Rutgers and Wisconsin from the Big Ten. He was also receiving heavy interest from Notre Dame.

He is ranked as the No. 11 strongside defensive end and No. 228 overall prospect in America.

O’Rourke took an overnight visit to Northwestern last weekend. He is the first defensive lineman and the sixth member of Northwestern’s Class of 2018.

Four of Northwestern's six pledges hail from Illinois, and all four of them committed in the last five days: offensive lineman Charlie Schmidt of Libertyville committed on Sunday, superback Charlie Mangieri of Rochester Dunlap on Tuesday, and both superback Brian Kaiser of Winnetka New Trier and O'Rourke on Friday.

The addition of O'Rourke caused the Wildcats' class to jump from 24th to 12th in Rivals' national rankings. The six-member class also includes quarterback Jason Whittaker of Rockford (Mich.) and offensive lineman Payne He'bert of Pearland (Texas) Dawson.

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