Pat Fitzgerald celebrated his 10th anniversary as Northwestern's head coach in July. With that in mind, WildcatReport looks back on the Fitz Era by breaking down his recruiting classes on Fitz Flashback Fridays.
Call them the Magnificent Seven-teen.
Simply put, Northwestern's 17-member Class of 2010 was probably head coach Pat Fitzgerald's finest in Evanston. Rivals didn't think much of the class, ranking it 86th in the nation, but hindsight showed that it was loaded with playmakers despite not having a single four-star.
Not only was the class littered with future stars -- three are in the NFL right now -- but it was strong from top to bottom, with 15 of the 17 becoming starters and major contributors and six starting at least three seasons. It even featured two, rotating starting-caliber quarterbacks who were considered No. 1 (Kain Colter) and No. 1A (Trevor Siemian).
The group also came out of the gate running, with five of the class members playing as true freshmen, an incredible number for a program that wants to redshirt as many freshmen as possible.
Here's a look back at Fitzgerald's fourth class in Evanston.
Class Superlatives
Head of the Class: Kain Colter. Ironically, Fitzgerald has Jim Harbaugh to thank for landing Colter. He was a Stanford commit until he grew tired of the then-Cardinal coach's slow-playing around admissions and picked Northwestern. Boy, is Fitz glad he did. Colter selflessly played as a true freshman after QB Dan Persa tore his Achilles, led Northwestern's stunning upset of Nebraska in 2011, and, in a career highlight, piloted one of the most dangerous option attacks in the nation to a 10-win season and the program's first bowl win in 64 years in 2012. A two-time co-captain, the dynamic Colter is Northwestern's all-time leader in career (2,180) and single-season (891) rushing yards by a QB, despite playing multiple positions and in only 40 career games. He also ranks among NU's all-time leaders in everything from career pass efficiency rating (second, with 139.0), career rushing yards (eighth; 2,180) and career rushing TDs (fifth; 28). There are some that criticize Colter for leading the failed union drive at NU, but they should appreciate everything the undersized (6-foot, 195 pounds) warrior gave the Wildcats on the field.
Honor Roll: Venric Mark was one of the most electric players to ever don purple and was a first-team All-America punt returner in 2012. Ibraheim Campbell was good from beginning to end, going from a Freshman All-America to a fourth-round NFL draft pick. Chi Chi Ariguzo and Brandon Vitabile also had outstanding careers in Evanston.
Biggest Surprises: The only surprises in this stellar class were the underachievers: C.J. Bryant never cracked the starting lineup and Adonis Smith transferred after his sophomore year after failing to carve out a niche in a crowded backfield.
