Northwestern lands a difference maker in 4-star DE Anto Saka

Northwestern has assembled a strong cast for its Class of 2022. Today, the Wildcats landed a headliner.

Simply put, Anto Saka is a difference maker -- on the field, of course, but also for this 2022 class. He is the second Rivals250-ranked commitment for the Wildcats, joining wide receiver Reggie Fleurima. The Wildcats' class, ranked 31st in the nation before his commitment, will get a big shot in the arm with the addition of Saka.

It's not very often that the Wildcats land a player like the edge rusher from Towson (Md.) Loyola Blakefield. Take a look at his credentials.

Saka is a four-star prospect, ranked as the No. 202 player in the nation and the No. 4 player in Maryland for 2022. He is also the 18th-best outside linebacker in the country, according to Rivals -- even though, because he's already 240 pounds, Northwestern sees Saka playing defensive end with his hand on the ground.

But if you don't trust Rivals analysts and stars don't impress you, take a look at his offer list. Thirty-five schools offered Saka a scholarship. His final three, announced on July 10, were Northwestern, USC and Penn State, and that was after he eliminated Michigan. That's some pretty good company.

If even that doesn't do it for you, just take a look at his tape. Saka leaps off the screen, a fluid athlete with a rare combination of size and quick-twitch speed. He can blow by tackles on the edge, blow through blockers in the middle and run down quarterbacks from the backside. He is a dominant force.

So how did Northwestern beat out those traditional powers to land Saka? What was the Wildcats' secret sauce in his recruitment?

It starts with the fact that the Wildcats were better than those blue-blood programs on the field in 2020. The Wildcats are coming off of their best season in 25 years in this recruiting cycle, finishing 10th in the nation and winning the Big Ten West division title. USC finished 21st in the final AP poll, while Penn State had a losing record. It didn't hurt that Saka knew he would be joining a lights-out defense that finished fifth in the nation in scoring, either.

Saka is also tailor-made for Northwestern as a recruit. An excellent student with a GPA over 3.5, he was looking for the balance between high-level football and high-level academics. That's right in the program's strike zone.

"If you're a true student-athlete, Northwestern is a place you have to consider," he told WildcatReport this spring. "They have the best of both worlds: they're Top 10 nationally academically, and they have a Top 10 football program."

Like many players of Nigerian descent, Saka's family places a strong emphasis on academics, so it was his No. 1 criteria in looking for a school. His father holds a Ph.D. His mother and two sisters hold Master's degrees. As he told us, "With my family, it's not a big deal if you have a Master's or Ph.D."

Northwestern made Saka a top recruiting priority. The Wildcats use a rifle, rather than shotgun approach in recruiting. They offer a limited number of prospects, far below the numbers of many other Power Five programs, and then work to build relationships with the players. Saka, for example, was one of eight outside linebackers or weakside defensive ends the Wildcats offered; he was one of 39 for Michigan.

Saka felt the love. Defensive line coach Marty Long started talking to Saka over the winter and the program offered him in mid-March. He was among the program's first group of official visitors, on the June 4-6 weekend.

While being a prospect's first visit can be a disadvantage -- recency bias is a real thing -- the Wildcats in effect set the bar for Saka with the visit. No other program, in his eyes, was able to clear that bar.

USC, where Saka visited next, on June 11-13, couldn't do it. Neither could nearby Penn State, which he visited the following weekend. Michigan was slated for an official visit on the last weekend of June but Saka never made it: by then, he had already made up his mind that he wanted to be a Wildcat.

Northwestern's 2022 class has thus far been a typically strong ensemble cast, dominated by three-star prospects and a some under-valued prospects. But with Saka, the Wildcats got the kind of player they can put on the marquee.