No reason to worry; Cats can be patient in the portal

There have been a flurry of transfer commitments across the country since the end of the 2023 season. Make that a blizzard. And with each one, Northwestern fans seem to grow more and more anxious.

The Wildcats, of course, haven’t landed a single transfer as of yet. They’ve lost seven players to the portal, and a 0-to-7 ratio is now what you’re looking for.

Other programs, meanwhile, are stockpiling transfers like blocking dummies. Louisville has commitments from 24 transfers, the most in the nation. Colorado has 22. In the Big Ten, four teams have brought in 10 or more, led by Indiana with 20. Northwestern and Iowa are the only two conference schools who have yet to land a single one.

So fans’ concerns are understandable. Why haven’t the Cats landed anyone? Will anyone be left in the portal? Is NIL killing the program’s chances? Those are some of the questions we’ve been asked via X, and X direct messages.

WildcatReport is here to tell you not to be worried. The Wildcats have never been too active early in the portal. And this year, more than any other, they have more reasons than ever that they are behind the curve.

Northwestern has some built-in hurdles to overcome when it comes to transfers. First and foremost, of course, is academics. Getting an undergrad transfer into school is just about impossible, which is why, in the last two cycles, 14 of the 15 Northwestern transfers were graduates, including all six of them last year.

Secondly, there’s Northwestern’s quarter system, which starts right after the New Year, instead of mid-January, and makes getting an athlete through admissions in time for the start of classes very difficult. Furthermore, players who start classes in the spring quarter miss half of spring practice.

On top of all that, in this cycle, David Braun was, uh, kind of busy. In December, the newly minted permanent head coach was preparing the Wildcats to play in – and win – the Las Vegas Bowl. He was finalizing the signing of 15 members of the Class of 2024.

Since then, he’s been busy getting his staff in order. Thus far Braun has dismissed five coaches, promoted one within the staff and hired three – though they have yet to be officially announced. So he still has some work to do. He’s also still working on the Class of 2024, too, picking up his latest high school commitment, Ezomo Oratokhai, over the weekend.

But the late timing of transfers is nothing new for the NU program. Look at the 2022-23 cycle, when the evaluation and recruiting systems were firmly in place in Pat Fitzgerald's 17th year as head coach. Just one of the Wildcats' six transfers came in January; the other five committed in May.

The year before that, in 2021-22, the Wildcats were much more active over the winter. They got one commit in December, and six more in January. Northwestern just hosted its first transfer official visitor for this cycle over the weekend, so things could be cranking up soon.

But even if they don’t land any this month, or the next, or even the one after that, be patient. Graduate transfers, unlike other “regular” transfers, can enter the portal and commit to another school at any time and aren’t bound by the windows. The Wildcats aren't "falling behind."

The transfers the program added in the last cycle worked out pretty well, and five of the six committed in May. There will also be an influx of many more transfers in the spring, after spring practice, when a lot of players will reassess their options and hit the portal.

Fans seem most concerned about the quarterback position as they watch one big name after another commit to other programs. The Wildcats have a need for a veteran QB who can come in and beat out, or at least challenge Brendan Sullivan for the No. 1 job.

Remember that grad transfer quarterbacks Ben Bryant and Peyton Ramsey weren’t the biggest names in their respective years, either. They committed to the Wildcats in May and March, respectively, and thrived at NU, leading the Wildcats to bowl games.

The takeaway here: the Wildcats have time. It's not when you land transfers that counts. It's who they are.