Northwestern, a team in desperate need for help on the defensive line, landed a pair of transfer defensive linemen on Monday.

Richie Hagarty, a defensive end from Southern Illinois and, before that, Miami (Ohio), and defensive tackle Matt Lawson from Fresno State, both announced their commitments to the Wildcats in tweets on Monday afternoon.

Hagarty, a 6-foot-3, 255-pounder, had 6.5 sacks for the Salukis and was a first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference pick last year. New Northwestern defensive coordinator David Braun, from North Dakota State, and defensive line coach Christian Smith, from South Dakota State, both got good looks at Hagarty last season in the MVC.

So did head coach Pat Fitzgerald: Hagarty had three tackles and a forced fumble against Northwestern when the Salukis upset the Wildcats last Sept. 17.

Hagarty, originally from Indianapolis (Ind.) Cathedral, redshirted the 2019 season and played in three games during the COVID year of 2020 for Miami. In 23 games at Southern Illinois, Hagarty had 66 tackles, 16.5 TFL and 11 sacks.

He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Lawson will help out immediately at defensive tackle, where the Wildcats had only two scholarship players during their just concluded spring practice, Najee Story and Brendan Flakes.

The 6-foot, 280-pounder played in 20 games over the last two seasons for Fresno State. He had 12 tackles and 1.5 TFL in 12 games for the Bulldogs last season, and five tackles and .5 TFL in 2021.

A run-stuffing specialist with quick get-off, Lawson should step into playing time immediately as a rotational tackle for the Wildcats. Originally from Ontario (Calif.) Colony, Lawson began his career in 2018, so the upcoming 2023 season will be his sixth year of college and final year of eligibility.

The Cats have just four defensive tackles on the current roster, including walkons Carmine Bastone and PJ Spencer. They also have a pair of freshmen coming in next season in three-stars Tyler Gant and Dylan Roberts.