Northwestern signed only one player for the "traditional" national signing day on Wednesday, but he's a recruit that fills a critical need for the Wildcats.
Two-star prospect Evan Hull from Maple Grove (Minn.) knows he wasn't Northwestern's first choice for a running back in this recruiting cycle, but he's thrilled with the way things worked out.
Hull knew that he wanted to be a Wildcat since his first visit for a camp last summer. He didn't get his offer from NU until Jan. 18, after the Wildcats had swung and missed on a few other backs. He committed the very next day but kept the news a secret for more than a week. He, took his official visit the weekend of Jan. 25-27 and announced his decision to the world on Jan. 28.
Go behind the facemask and get to know Northwestern's newest Wildcat in this Q&A with WildcatReport.
WR: You identified Northwestern as your dream school early. What was the No. 1 thing that stood out to you about the program?
Hull: Early in the recruiting process I had laid out a list of all the things that I wanted in a school. With every school that began to recruit me, I used this list to help me decide whether that school was a good fit for me or not.
What stood out to me about Northwestern is that it fit all of those criteria easily. It’s at a very high level academically and very high level athletically being in the Big Ten and those were two things that I wanted the most out of a college— to be challenged both on the field and in the classroom.
WR: How would you describe yourself as a running back for NU fans? What do you hope you can do for the Cats?
Hull: I see myself as a one cut and go type back with speed to get to the house, but I also run with toughness and I can bounce off of tackles.
WR: Why is the bond between you and running backs coach Louis Ayeni so strong?
Hull: What began our bond was our shared home state of Minnesota, but also knowing the difficulties of being a running back from Minnesota. College recruiters typically come here for the big offensive lineman and don’t expect there to be talent at the running back position.
He went to high school in Woodbury, just an hour away from me. He had recruited me since his time at Iowa State and I remember when I visited there we hit it off right away when we started talking football.
WR: What do you like to do when you’re not playing football?
Hull: I do track and wrestling in the other seasons, but outside of athletics altogether, I love to play the piano and draw.
WR: What was the highlight of your high school football career?
Hull: I would say it was my senior season against White Bear Lake. We won 28-0, I had rushed for 302 yards, and it was also my 18th birthday.
WR: What three words would you use to describe yourself?
Hull: Consistent. Tough. Voracious.
WR: What kind of movies do you like? What are some of your favorite movies?
Hull: I really enjoy thrillers like A Quiet Place, but my all-time favorite movies are Rush Hour, Princess Mononoke, The Good Lie, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
WR: Finish the sentence: One thing that most people don’t know about me is...
Hull: That I love to play piano.
WR: What do you want to do when your All-Pro NFL career is over?
Hull: I want to stay within the game of football. I’d like to be one of the guys you see on ESPN or SportsCenter talking about stats and games.
WR: What’s your favorite social media app? Why?
Hull: My favorite is Twitter. The kind of funny tweets people make are unparalleled to any other social media application.
WR: Who is your role model as a football player? Why?
Hull: Barry Sanders, because in my opinion, he was the best to ever play the running back position and despite all the accolades, he remained very humble.
