It took Chris Petrucci quite a while to receive his offer from Northwestern. It didn't take him long to act on it.
The three-star tight end from nearby Park Ridge (Ill.) Maine South committed to Northwestern on Wednesday, just a day after picking up his scholarship offer, to become the second member of the Wildcats' Class of 2022.
Petrucci, a 6-foot-5, 210-pounder, chose Northwestern over offers from 18 other schools, including Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Purdue from the Big Ten, and Kentucky and Tennessee from the SEC.
But in the end, the Wildcats' combination of a Top 10 academic school and a Top 10 football program won the day.
"It’s been a dream school of mine ever since I was a kid," he told WildcatReport. "I believe that NU is the best place for me because of the great academics and great football."
Petrucci had seriously considered Iowa, and even scheduled an official visit to Iowa City in June. But he knew that he probably wasn't going to be able to wait that long and still have a spot waiting for him at Northwestern.
Wildcat coaches made it clear that they were taking only one tight end in this recruiting cycle. So when an offer went out to Josh Kattus, another 2022 tight end, on Tuesday night, Petrucci knew he had to act fast.
"I didn’t want to lose out on the spot when I was probably going to end up committing to NU eventually," he said.
Petrucci called Fitzgerald to officially become a Wildcat on Wednesday morning. He didn't announce it until later in the day so he could first call the coaches at other schools who had recruited him.
Northwestern had been recruiting Petrucci for quite some time but wanted to see film of his playing varsity football this spring season before deciding whether to offer. He always seemed to be a perfect fit for the program as an athletic and versatile tight end from just a few miles away with a 3.9 weighted GPA.
Petrucci told WildcatReport two weeks ago that the wait didn't really bother him because he knew where he stood with the coaching staff.
"I know that NU is slow with the offer process, and they like to take their time with their recruits and I respect that," he said.
Petrucci is Northwestern's second 2022 commit, joining four-star wide receiver Reggie Fleurima of Naperville (Ill.) Central. It's no coincidence that both of NU's early commits hail from the Chicago area, where Fitzgerald likes to focus his recruiting.
Petrucci's addition also marks the second year in a row that Northwestern has landed a player from Chicago-area powerhouse Maine South. Left tackle Peter Skoronski, a freshman All-America in 2020, is also a former Hawk.
