Looking back at an amazing week for Northwestern recruiting

NORTHWESTERN’S NEW COMMITS: DT Tyler Gant l OL Jordan Knox l DT Dylan Roberts l DE Michael Kilbane l OL Alex Doost l CB Cole Shivers l CB Joshua Fussell l LB Justin Cryer

Three-star Texas linebacker Justin Cryer committed to Northwestern on Sunday to cap an incredible week for the Wildcats.

In the seven-day period between May 15 and May 22, the Wildcats landed eight Class of 2023 commitments to bring the group's total to 14. The additions catapulted the class from 33rd to ninth in the Rivals national rankings.

That's uncharted waters for Northwestern, which has never been in the Top 10, at any point in a recruiting cycle, since Rivals started its national database in 2002.

So while perennial recruiting kings Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher were duking it out in the media last week about who bought which players, the Wildcats stole their lunch.

Take a look at the Wildcats' haul. They landed one four-star and seven three-star prospects. They hosted 13 uncommitted prospects for the first official visit of the 2023 class last weekend, and they landed seven of them. That's a 54% hit rate -- and they're expected to land at least a couple more.

In all, they snagged they two offensive linemen, two defensive tackles, two cornerbacks, a linebacker and a defensive end.

It all began last Sunday, a day when the Wildcats pulled in a historic four commitments. Defensive tackle Tyler Gant got the ball rolling, followed by offensive lineman Jordan Knox, the only one of the eight new commits who did not take an official to Northwestern that weekend. Defensive tackle Dylan Roberts and defensive end Michael Kilbane -- the lone four-star of the bunch -- completed the Sunday quartet.

Monday was quiet, but then came three straight days of pledges: offensive tackle Alex Doost on Tuesday, and then back-to-back cornerbacks: Cole Shivers on Wednesday and Joshua Fussell on Thursday. Two more down days followed before Cryer committed on Sunday to complete the whirlwind week.

Just to be clear, the Wildcats trip into the recruiting stratosphere won't last long. They are in such rarified air because they have more commits than all but one Power Five program right now (Texas Tech, with 20). Their 3.07 average star ranking won't put them anywhere near the Top 10 once other programs catch up.

But hey, it's still fun while it lasts. And it's not over, either. WildcatReport knows of three silent commitments who haven't announced their pledges yet.

At face value, Northwestern's epic haul is impressive; it's certainly the best week of head coach Pat Fitzgerald's 16 years in charge. But what makes it even more astounding is that it came on the heels of a 3-9 season, the second in three years for the Wildcats. You're just not supposed to build a recruiting class like this one after going 1-8 in the Big Ten.

So we've got to ask the question: Why has Northwestern been able to go on a roll like this one, especially after the worst year of Fitzgerald's tenure? Based on what the recruits have told us over the last several months, these are the things that prompted them to pick Northwestern. The key is that these attributes are evergreen: they will be there whether the Wildcats capture the West crown, like they did in 2018 and 2020; or finish last in the division, like they did in 2019 and 2021.

Academics: This is as obvious as Northwestern's need to settle the quarterback position. Coaches sell the heck out of Northwestern being a "40-year and not a four-year decision," to the point that many prospects repeat that very line back to us in interviews.

Northwestern's greatest strength is the value of a degree from the school currently ranked ninth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report -- and one that costs in the neighborhood of $300,000, all in.

Academics are a top priority for all of Northwestern's targets. That's by design, of course, because those are the kids that the coaching staff is looking for. It's part of the "fit" that Fitzgerald talks about at every opportunity. The staff zeroes in on the players for whom their greatest strength is a top priority. Think of it as target marketing.

Recruits know that, whether they have an NFL future or not, they'll have a Top 10 degree to fall back on. On top of that, they know that if they stay, they will graduate.

The WAC: Northwestern spent some $270 on the Walter Athletic Center, its glass-and-steel palace on the lakefront, and there's no question that they're getting a return on that investment.

"Amazing." Incredible." "Unbelievable." Those are some of the comments we've heard repeatedly from visitors, whether they end up committing or not.

During the recruiting process, coaches show prospects videos and conduct countless FaceTime tours of the facility. But nothing prepares those prospects from stepping foot in the Fitz Carlton and seeing those floor-to-ceiling panoramic views of Lake Michigan for themselves. "Pictures don't do it justice" is a common refrain.

The WAC tells recruits two things: One, they will train and spend a lot of their time in one of the most spectacular facilities in the country; and two, the school’s administration is committed to football.

Fitz: Fitzgerald is more than the leader of the program; he is a product of it. He’s the face of Wildcat football, if not the entire university.

He's known as a player's coach for good reason, and players believe in him because he believes in Northwestern. He embraces the school’s academic requirements that would send other coaches running for the hills.

In the recruiting process, prospects and their parents appreciate Fitzgerald's honesty. He is earnest, straightforward and upfront. All of the program's offers are commitable. He lets them know how many players they are taking at the position, and then tells them it's first-come, first-served. That plays very well in living rooms, especially to parents.

Maybe most importantly, Fitzgerald isn’t going anywhere. He’s signed through 2030 and is on record saying that he’ll be a Wildcat for life. In this age of annual coaching musical chairs, kids take comfort in knowing that Fitzgerald will be there the day they graduate.

The offer: In the last couple of years, we've heard more and more players talk about how honored they were to receive a Northwestern offer. They know that the program doesn't pass those out like business cards. There is a certain exclusivity about earning one, especially when compared to other schools.

Northwestern's offers are also 100% commitable, which stands in contrast to other programs who extend a scholarship offer that isn't necessarily valid if the player wants to commit to the program immediately.

Take Gant, who had more than 20 offers. He was one of six defensive tackles who were offered for two spots at Northwestern. He was one of 18 defensive tackles offered by Nebraska, and 24 offered by West Virginia.

It's all part of Northwestern's strategy: they use a rifle, not a shotgun approach, so they spend time building deeper relationships with fewer prospects, rather than spend less time with a greater number of recruits.

NFL development: Northwestern is still getting a boost from seeing two former Wildcats -- tackle Rashawn Slater (Chargers) and cornerback Greg Newsome (Browns) -- drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft in 2021, a first for the program. That was a great advertisement for NU, even if they didn't have any players drafted this year.

Recruits are well aware of how many Wildcats have landed in the pros in recent years. Defensive line prospects talk about position coach Marty Long's track record of putting guys in the league, including Tyler Lancaster and Dean Lowry (both with the Packers), Earnest Brown (Rams), Ifeadi Odenigbo (Vikings) and Joe Gaziano (Chargers). Offensive linemen will tell you that Kurt Anderson developed Slater, and has another potential first-rounder in Peter Skoronski.

New coaches: Northwestern's staff has undergone quite a bit of change in recent years, with seven of the 10 assistant spots changing hands in that period. And the new coaches Fitzgerald added are all strong recruiters.

Running backs coach Lou Ayeni is the recruiting coordinator and a former Wildcat player who has brought some aggressiveness to NU's recruiting department. Anderson came in with a stellar recruiting reputation and has lived up to it in three years, landing four-star prospects like Skoronski and Caleb Tiernan. Rookie cornerbacks coach Ryan Smith is already drawing rave reviews with recruits and brought in his first two cornerbacks last week. Second-year defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil's NFL background, and especially his film breakdowns comparing current prospects to NFL players, has been well received by the recruits we've talked to. Linebackers coach Tim McGarigle, like Fitzgerald himself, had great success at Northwestern at the same position.

In every instance, an outgoing coach was replaced by a younger one, breathing new life into recruiting and giving prospects coaches who are less removed from being players themselves.

The brotherhood: This is not new, but Fitzgerald has fostered a strong family culture at Northwestern. Almost without exception, prospects talk about the brotherhood among teammates in the locker room.

This is where fit again comes into play. Northwestern players are leaders on the field and in the classroom in high school. They get along with each other because they are similar. They become friends and form bonds on and off the gridiron.

It's something that Northwestern fans and media probably take for granted, but Wildcat players are just "good guys," the kinds of guys to which others gravitate. Fitzgerald likes to say that his players are his best recruiters; the prospects we talk to have proven him to be right.