The Wrather Impact
Northwestern landed the first offensive lineman of its 2020 class when three-star tackle Ben Wrather announced his commitment on Monday afternoon.
However, the Powell (Ohio) Olentangy Liberty product had already been a Wildcat for three days when he tweeted his decision. He committed to head coach Pat Fitzgerald last Friday but waited until after the Easter weekend to announce it. That in itself is an achievement, as keeping a verbal under wraps is not a simple feat in the social media era.
WildcatReport talked to Wrather on Monday night and looks at five reasons why his commitment is an important one for Northwestern.
1. He’s Kurt Anderson’s first commit: Edgy Tim O’Halloran predicted Northwestern’s offensive line recruiting would get a significant boost with the addition of Anderson as OL coach. So far, the Wildcats have had an impressive list of prospects in to Evanston for visits, but Wrather is the first one to say yes.
Wrather told WildcatReport that Anderson was instrumental in his decision to pull the trigger.
“Coach Anderson played a big role in my decision,” he said. “Relationships are a big part of the game. I had the opportunity to talk with him and watch his coaching style at practice. His approach to the game is a good fit for my style.” Specifically, “He has a lot of experience and he provides immediately individual feedback.”
2. He’s got prototypical size: Wrather is all of 6-foot-6 and 285 pounds. He is long and fluid for a player his size, and – something that Anderson likes in his charges – he plays with a big of a nasty streak.
“Coach Anderson likes my size, length and ability to move on my feet,” he said.
Tackles, because of their size and athletic requirements, are always at a premium on the line, where inside players are typically easier to find. So landing a tackle first is ideal – although Wrather said that NU coaches thinks he has the versatility to play other positions.
Anderson has made no secret of the fact that he’d like his line to play with more physicality and impose its will on opponents. We may see bigger linemen who are closer to finished products arrive in Evanston than the more development guys they’ve landed in the past.
3. NU beat out nine Power Five programs, including Penn State: Wrather had an impressive 25-school offer list, including Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Penn State, Purdue, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wake Forest and West Virginia.
However, we single out Penn State because landing Wrather provides some karmic balance in the recruiting world.
Earlier on Monday, three-star swing man Nicholas Dawkins, who just called his visit to Northwestern on April 13 “amazing,” announced his commitment to Penn State. Yet, unbeknownst to fans, Northwestern already had Wrather in the fold, softening that blow a little bit. The Wildcats beat out the Nittany Lions for Wrather, and lost to them for Dawkins.
4. He could be a domino for the O-line: As we mentioned earlier, Northwestern has been focused on several top-shelf offensive line prospects this spring: Four-stars Noah Nelson, Zak Zinter and Peter Skoronski have visited, as have three-stars with impressive offer lists like Jeffrey Persi, Josh Priebe, Connor McLaughlin and Ozzy Trapilo.
The Wildcats figure to take at least three and possibly four linemen in this class. Now that a tackle spot is off the board, NU could see a run on the position as guys may want to make a decision earlier, rather than later, for fear of losing out on a scholarship slot.
All of those players were impressed by their Northwestern visits. Priebe and McLaughlin are both scheduled to come back to Evanston for their official visits on the weekend of May 17-19.
5. He is a good fit: The Wildcats have the Walter Athletic Center to show off in recruiting now, and they are also coming off of a Big Ten championship game appearance, so business is a-booming this spring. However, one thing that Fitzgerald has emphasized is that the program still places fit above everything in recruiting.
Wrather is a fit, both on and off the field. He carries a 3.98 GPA and scored a 33 on his ACT. He’s one of those rare players who may have been able to get admitted to Northwestern as a regular student, without the help afforded to a scholarship football player.
“I was mainly looking for four things when choosing a school - relationships with the coaching staff, overall quality of the football program, academic opportunity, and general campus fit,” said Wrather. “After meeting with the coaches a couple times, I realized that they had everything I was looking for and there was no need to wait.”
Wrather is the eighth commitment overall in Northwestern’s class, which is currently ranked 21st in the nation by Rivals.