In 2018, Northwestern pulled four-star defensive end Devin O’Rourke out of Lincoln Way East High School. Now, the Wildcats are back in Frankfort, Ill., trying to land another coveted defensive end: 6-foot-7, three-star Sean McLaughlin.

McLaughlin picked up an offer from Northwestern last week and will be in Evanston on Thursday to watch a spring practice. It will be McLaughlin’s first recruiting visit to Northwestern, but not his first time on campus by a longshot.

McLaughlin’s grandfather, William J. “Joe” Deegan, played football at Northwestern for legendary coach Ara Parseghian for one year, in 1960. Grandpa Joe took McLaughlin to several games when he was in elementary and middle school, so he is a Wildcat fan. He even thanked his grandfather in his offer tweet last Thursday.

Find out what McLaughlin had to say about his offer and the Wildcat program in this WildcatReport premium story.