If Northwestern ends up landing Steven Franklin, coaches may want to send a bottle of wine to the designers at Under Armour because it was the Wildcats' jerseys that opened the door to his recruitment.

Franklin, a Class of 2017 linebacker from Glasgow (Ky.), decided to send his highlight tape to Northwestern based solely on the team's uniforms. He didn't even know about the school's excellent academic reputation.

"I couldn't tell you anything about Northwestern (when I sent the tape). I liked the jersey, so I sent them a tape," he said.

About a week later, on Monday, Franklin received an offer from the Wildcats. It was Franklin's second offer, coming after Illinois State, which extended him a scholarship earlier the same day.

"Getting the offer (from Northwestern) was a surprise to me," he said.

Since sending his tape, Franklin has been talking to Northwestern player personnel director Chris Bowers and has learned about the value of a Northwestern degree.

"My Dad used to play football and he tells me to get a good education," said Franklin, who carries a 3.3 GPA. "Northwestern has a great academic background. If I don't go to the next level in football, I'll have a great academic plan."

Franklin also thinks he'd be a good fit in Northwestern's defensive system. He is being recruited by the Wildcats as either an inside or outside linebacker.

"I like the way the outside linebackers come down and rush (the quarterback), and then drop back into coverage on a zone blitz," he said. "I'd like to multi-task like that."

Franklin plays with his hand on the ground as a defensive end at Glasgow. He says that recruiters like the way he gets off the ball and his aggression, which they think will translate well to playing linebacker.

"Quickness off the ball is the No. 1 thing for me, at 6-1, 215," he said. "I'm gonna be physical, I'm not going to patty cake around. And I know how to finish plays."

He goes on to say that leadership is also one of his strengths. Franklin has been playing on the varsity at Glasgow since he was a freshman and he tries to be a role model and mentor to younger players on the team.

In addition to the two offers, Franklin is also getting a lot of interest from Kentucky, Louisville and Marshall, the schools he has built the strongest relationships with. Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky are other programs he has heard from.

Franklin has yet to take any visits, but he's planning to go to the campuses of several schools in the future. At this point he isn't sure when he'll get out to Northwestern. On visits, Franklin says he will look at how coaches interact with players, "the overall atmosphere" around the program and how he fits into the defense.

Franklin "doesn't want to go too far" away from Glasgow, preferring to stay within "a five- or six-hour drive" of his hometown. Evanston is about 400 miles, or close to seven hours, from Glasgow, but that may not be a deal-breaker for the Wildcats.

"I'll always remember that they were one of the first to offer me," he said.

In the meantime, he'll be following Northwestern on television. He watched the Wildcats beat Duke last weekend and liked what he saw -- and not only from the team's defense.

"I really like those all-white uniforms," he said.