National Signing Day was a tough day at the office for Northwestern.

The Wildcats welcomed 16 new Wildcats on Wednesday but found themselves on the short end of two high-profile signing decisions at critical positions.

First, early this morning, three-star quarterback Mike Wright, who had been a UCF commit, signed with Vanderbilt over Northwestern.

Then, a little later, came the big blow: NU wide receiver commit Abdur Rahmaan-Yaseen, one of just two four-stars in the Wildcats' class of 2020, signed with Purdue.

That means that, as bad as Northwestern's passing game was in 2019 -- they finished 130th, dead-last, in the nation in passing efficiency -- the Wildcats failed to land a quarterback or a wide receiver during the early signing period.

Now, those holes will have to be filled either during signing day in February, or through the NCAA transfer portal.

Yaseen's decision especially stings because he had been committed to Northwestern for almost a full year, verbally pledging last Dec. 28. He also signed with a Big Ten West division rival, meaning the Wildcats will have to face him annually for the next four or five years, a bitter reminder of a recruiting battle lost.

Yaseen took an official visit to Purdue just last weekend that apparently swung him to the Boilers. Sources say that Northwestern's dreadful performance in the passing game last season played a role in his decision.

Wright took an official visit to Northwestern last week before visiting Vanderbilt over the weekend. He chose the Commodores, in part, because it was closer to his home in Georgia.

"I was looking at each school side by side and Northwestern checked some boxes and Vanderbilt checked some boxes," he told Rivals' Chad Simmons. "In the end, Vanderbilt checked more boxes. Location, to play in the SEC, the new offensive plan and of course the academics really stood out."

Wright was the Wildcats' best shot at landing a quarterback after former commitment Aidan Atkinson was arrested on sexual assault charges in Colorado on Nov. 22, dealing the Wildcats a stunning blow less than a month before the start of the early signing period.

Ironically, Northwestern had had good fortune with flips down the stretch while building its 2020 class. The Wildcats' last two commitments were both previously committed to other schools: CB Nigel Williams was a Wake Forest commit before flipping to Northwestern in October, while defensive tackle Jordan Butler had been pledged to Vandy before flipping to the Wildcats just last week.

Flips can go either way in recruiting. On signing day, they flipped against the Wildcats.