How many more Wildcats will follow Glover into the transfer portal?
On Monday, July 10, the firing of head coach Pat Fitzgerald sent shock waves through the Northwestern and college football communities. It also directly led to the news of the following Monday, that Northwestern freshman linebacker Nigel Glover had entered the transfer portal.
Even if the rapidly spreading hazing scandal led to Fitzgerald's dismissal, it qualified as a shocker. Glover's decision in the aftermath, on the other hand, did not.
A former three-star prospect from Clayton (Ohio) Northmont, Glover was an early enrollee from the Wildcats' Class of 2023, the highest-rated class of the 17-year Fitzgerald era. He is the first player to leave the program since Fitzgerald's firing.
Glover, who left Evanston this morning, didn't want to talk about the reasons he chose to leave Northwestern, but he did explain what he's looking for in a potential landing place.
"I am looking a stable university where I can grow as a man, player, and student," he said.
The word "stable" speaks volumes in this case. Because the last 11 days since the Northwestern hazing scandal began with the announcement of a meager two-week suspension for Fitzgerald, his experience has been anything but.
Glover's decision to leave Northwestern is completely understandable. Transfers happen after any coach is fired, let alone one as synonymous with a program as Fitzgerald, who was the fourth longest-tenured coach in the country. (Players have 30 days after a coach is fired to enter the transfer portal, but he does not have to sign with his new team within that window.)
The question now is, how many more Wildcats will follow Glover out the door? Will his departure trigger a tidal wave or transfers, or just a trickle?
We preface this by saying that it's impossible to know for sure what is going to happen. There is so much controversy surrounding the program, and lawsuits filed and pending, that this all comes with a grain of salt. The Wildcats have already lost four commitments from their Class of 2024 since Fitzgerald was fired.
But transferring is a different animal. Despite the massive upheaval caused by the dismissal of an icon like Fitzgerald, Glover's exit may not be a sign of an impending mass exodus of talent, as some expect.
One of the biggest reasons is the timing. We're in the middle of July. Some teams start their season in a little more than six weeks. Most, like Northwestern, kick off the following weekend in the start of September.
Not only is that not much time to get a player up to speed and acclimated to his new environment and new systems, there are very few places with scholarships readily available.
For many programs, the roster and the scholarship allotment is likely set, at least for this year. There may be opportunities for mid-year enrollment or grayshirts, but sitting out a season may not be as enticing for many players.
Glover, though not a four-star, was one of the most coveted players in the Wildcats' class. A versatile and athletic defender, he had 14 other Power Five offers. He didn't want to comment on potential landing spots, but he likely has several school interested in adding him. Other Wildcats may not have as many options.
We expect that most other transfers will be young players like Glover, whose eligibility clock hasn't even started yet. Their connection to the program isn't as strong and they just saw the leader of the program, the man who signed them to their letters of intent, get abruptly fired.
Fitzgerald's longevity and the program's stability were always major selling points. Now, as Glover indicated, that's out the window. All of the incoming freshman have likely at least entertained the notion of transferring if they feel they have options.
Older players, though, especially upperclassmen, are less likely to leave the program. The primary reason: the Northwestern degree.
In addition to the magnetism of Fitzgerald, the school's academic reputation was the deciding factor for the majority of the players at Northwestern. The locker room is full of high-academic kids who value a degree -- and maybe two -- from a prestigious school like Northwestern.
Fitzgerald's famous "it's a 40-year, not a four- or five-year decision" mantra was a foundational part of his recruiting pitch. "The best of both worlds" (academics and athletics) was another. Both still hold true true, regardless of who is in charge.
So for players who have been in the program for three or four years, leaving now, this close to attaining a degree from one of the top 10 academic schools in the country, doesn't seem like a wise move. That's doubly true for the players' parents, who don't want to see their sons leave school without the diploma toward which they've already put in so much work.
Upperclassmen also are more firmly entrenched. They have built strong bonds with teammates and coaches. Northwestern has become their home. They may decide to see how things go this season and wait for Northwestern to name a permanent coach before making any final decisions.
The program also still has, outside of Fitzgerald, all of the things that made it an attractive destination for them in their recruiting process. A state-of-the-art football practice facility that is one of the finest in the nation. A beautiful campus on the lake. An ideal location next to the third-largest city in the country. A strong alumni and mentorship network.
The program's culture was also always listed as a strength. In light of this ever-expanding hazing scandal, that may not be the case anymore. We don't know exactly what happened in that locker room, but if numerous players experienced the hazing described in the allegations, all bets are off, and we very likely could see greater numbers leaving Evanston for other campuses.
Glover's transfer wasn't a surprise. Now we'll have to wait and see if it's a major trend. Our guess is that it won't be. Either way, however, many more transfers could come at the end of the season, when a permanent replacement for Fitzgerald is named and scholarship spots elsewhere will open up in earnest.