Five thoughts about Northwestern's 2021 class

Three-star wing Casey Simmons took the last scholarship of the 2021 class on Saturday when he committed to Northwestern. He is the third member of the class, joining guards Julian Roper and Brooks Barnhizer.

All three of Northwestern's available scholarships have now been taken, but you can't say for certain that the Wildcats are done recruiting for this class. With transfermania still running rampant across the country, anyone can leave the program at any time and open up a scholarship. Recruiting never stops.

And if, say, five-star Patrick Baldwin Jr. decides in the end that the wants to be a Wildcat for his lone year of college, you can be sure that Northwestern will find a way to accommodate him.

But for all intents and purposes, Simmons put a bow on this class, a pivotal one in head coach Chris Collins' quest to rebuild the program. It's a group of three-star prospects who are long on future potential and versatility.

Here are five thoughts on this 2021 group:

Don't focus on who isn't in the class: There are certain to be some fans who will be disappointed in the class because it doesn't include Baldwin or Max Christie, two five-star, Top 20 prospects whose parents played for Northwestern. Many will no doubt look at that as a golden opportunity missed.

But as Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald likes to say about football recruiting, you don't focus on the guys you didn't get; you focus on developing the ones you got. That certainly applies here.

Northwestern addressed their needs. They picked up three players who fit well into Collins' system and offer him flexibility and athleticism. Even thought their rankings may not reflect it, all three also have big upsides, especially Simmons, the type of explosive athlete that Northwestern rarely gets.

Collins showed that he can flat-out recruit: Think about what Collins was up against while recruiting this class. The Wildcats were coming off of a dreadful 8-23 season. They finished last in the Big Ten for two straight years. They lost 12 straight games in 2020, one year after dropping 10 in a row.

To put it bluntly, the team had been on a steep downward trajectory since making the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history in 2017.

Yet Collins and his staff beat out Wisconsin for Roper, who also had offers from Illinois, Iowa and Ohio State. They beat out Butler and Xavier for Barnhizer. They beat out Pittsburgh, Xavier, Georgetown, Miami, Penn State and Boston College for Simmons.

All three players talked about how Collins' vision for rebuilding the program was a key to their decisions. They believed in Collins more than they did his record the last few seasons.

You can question Collins' coaching or substution decisions in-game. But the guy knows how to sell his program to recruits.

The class is versatile: Northwestern doesn't really think of traditional 1-5 positions with its lineups. They play with a lead guard, a post and three wings. This class gives Collins a lot of flexibility using his personnel.

Two years ago, the Wildcats struggled in large part because they didn't have a true point guard to run the offense. Those days are long gone now.

This year, the Cats bring in Ty Berry, a four-star combo guard, and add guards Anthony Gaines and Chase Audige, who sat out last year with an injury and as a transfer, respectively. All three members of this year's class can handle the ball in some capacity, too.

Roper is a true combo guard who can play on or off the ball and will play lead guard on occasion. Barnhizer is the best shooter of the bunch and plays point guard for his high school team. Simmons is another player who can handle the ball as a wing and is an athletic slasher in the mold of Vic Law.

Collins likes length on the defensive end of the floor, and that is where this class can really shine. Roper can guard point or shooting guards and has a chance to be a Gaines-level defender. Barnhizer can check shooting guards or small forwards, while Simmons may be assigned to guard anyone from 1-3.

The class has tremendous upside: Don't get hung up on the players' rankings. Roper (No. 139) and Simmons (141) are on the fringes of the Rivals150, and Barnhizer didn't make the cut. This will be just the second time in eight classes that Collins failed to land at least one four-star.

But we believe that all three were undervalued. Rivals' Corey Evans emphasized what each of them has the potential to become in the future.

Roper, he said, has "great potential down the road thanks to his size, length, athleticism and versatility."

Barnhizer has "a ton of value as a defender that can guard multiple spots. (He) has to get stronger but Is a bouncy body that can dribble, drive and shoot."

And Simmons has the biggest upside of the trio as "a long rangy wing (who) excels in the open floor. Plenty of defensive value in guard multiple spots along the perimeter." As one source added, the coaching staff is really high on Simmons, who "has a chance to do some special things with his god-given gifts."

Evans added that both Barnhizer and Simmons would have "blown up" if the typical tournaments would have been held during the live periods this spring.

The Cats are back on track: Northwestern rapidly went from its greatest height in 2016-17, when the team was the belle of the Big Dance, to one of its lowest lows in 2019-20, when it posted its worst record in 20 seasons. But this class caps a three-year recruiting run that seems to have the Wildcats pointing in the right direction again.

The last two seasons of struggling gave valuable experience to a talented young core of players: stars Miller Kopp and Pete Nance are juniors this season. Sophomores Boo Buie, Robbie Beran and Ryan Young are already proven commodities. This year the Cats will add to the mix Audige, another athletic backcourt option, along with freshmen Berry and 7-footer Matt Nicholson. All of the scholarship players on this year's roster are scheduled to come back for the following season.

So in 2021-22, when this class hits campus, Northwestern's roster will feature:

- Fifth-year senior Gaines (assuming he comes back for his final season),

- Seniors Kopp, Nance and Ryan Greer,

- Juniors Buie, Young, Beran and Audige,

- Sophomores Berry and Nicholson, and

- Freshmen Roper, Barnhizer and Simmons.

Is that lineup good enough to make it back to the NCAAs? Only time will tell. But it will be fun finding out.