You can imagine how difficult it is for the five Northwestern 2021 commitments who are not playing football this fall because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Week after week, they follow the exploits of their future Wildcat teammates on social media and online. They see highlights of games in neighboring states. They watch college and NFL games on the weekends.

Yet they remain on the sidelines, unable to play the game they've played their whole lives.

Jackson Carsello and Mac Uihlein play in Illinois, which has postponed the high school football season from the fall to the spring. In North Carolina, where commits Lawson Albright and Jacob Gill play, some schools are playing now, but theirs are planning to play in the spring. Same with Donnie Gray, in Massachusetts, where his school, Deerfield Academy, is not currently playing, but might yet try to this fall.

We captured their thoughts on how tough it is to be a spectator, and not a player, this season.