Typically, distance from home would work against Northwestern for a Texas prospect like Tavierre Dunlap. After all, Evanston is more than a thousand miles from where he lives in Del Valle, just south of Austin.

But for Dunlap, who was born in the Chicago suburbs and still has a 773 area code on his cell phone, geography might work in the Wildcats' favor. Ask the three-star running back why he was happy to get an offer from Northwestern on Feb. 5 and his answer speaks volumes.

"It's in my home state," he says.