After two weeks of commitments, the dust has settled in the short term on Northwestern's first official visit from May 9-11, and it was an impressive effort.

Doubts and concerns swirled around the class when the Wildcats stood at just two commits in early May, and with neither of those players earning a competing offer from a Power Four program.

But the staff answered the bell on that official visit. That weekend produced seven new commitments, bringing the class to nine players overall and a No. 53 national ranking, with room to move higher as two players yet to receive evaluations.

Northwestern will host another group of official visitors this weekend. So we are taking this opportunity to take a look at the members of the class in reverse order, from the latest commitment to the first.

Running back Sean Morris may be the coup of the class so far, as Northwestern new running backs coach Aristotle Thompson went back to his old turf in California to land the three-star Los Angeles Loyola product.

“It was really coach (Aristotle Thompson) and coach (David) Braun,” Morris told Rivals' Adam Gorney. “They really brought it home for me.

“They told me about the plan after football as well as the plan during football, and that really brought it home and made me feel like that was the place to be.”

Morris announced his commitment on X on May 22 to become the seventh May 9-11 official visitor to become a Wildcat.

MORE ON MORRIS: Three-star running back Sean Morris makes Big Ten decision | Northwestern offers 2026 RB Sean Morris II, sets OV within the same week

The Wildcats staved off a late offer from Stanford and future official visits to Boise State and Utah to win Morris' recruitment. He is the first player from California to commit to Northwestern after being offered by Stanford since Jordan Perkins in the Class of 2011. Considering that Perkins was a Stanford commit that was dropped by then-head coach Jim Harbaugh and the Cardinal staff just weeks before signing day, the next player in the Rivals database to pick the Cats over the Cards is Warren Anderson in the Class of 2003.

Wide receiver Jaden McDuffie announced his decision less than two hours before Morris on May 22. He was the first wide receiver to commit to Northwestern in this class.

"As soon as I got on the flight home, I knew Northwestern was for me!" McDuffie wrote via text message. "Northwestern's vision and goals is what really drew me to them!"

MORE ON MCDUFFIE: Family atmosphere highlights WR Jaden McDuffie's OV to Northwestern| Northwestern offer a dream come true for 2026 WR Jaden McDuffie

The 6-foot-3 McDuffie has yet to receive his ranking from Rivals but committed to Northwestern over 15 other non-Power Four offers, including Temple and Navy.

Safety Gabe Davis-Ray went into his official visit thinking he'd commit but it took him a little time to do so -- he announced on May 21, 10 days after the end of his official visit.

He is the first safety in Northwestern's Class of 2026.

"I felt it going into the visit and the interaction with the staff, how the process has gone from the beginning since I was initially offered...it just felt right," he said. "Getting back there and spending some time with the guys, that was confirmation that this is the place I wanted to be."

Davis-Ray was the first of what became a trio of commitments, with McDuffie and Morris, in a two-day span.

MORE ON DAVIS-RAY: New 2026 safety commit Gabe Davis-Ray: ‘This is the place I wanted to be’ | Davis-Ray 'really impressed' by spring practice visit to Northwestern | Northwestern offer 'at the top already' for Gabe Davis-Ray

Davis-Ray is another quality win for Northwestern's staff, who got in early with their offer and built off that foundation to fend off five competing offers from Power Four programs, including high-academic foil Stanford and Big Ten foes Michigan State and Minnesota. The Wildcats were the first of the group to offer back on Feb. 12, more than a month before any other Power Four school.

Defensive lineman Calvin Lorek is the middle man of the trio of Ohioans to commit to Northwestern on their official visit.

Lorek is listed as a defensive end but will bulk up to play tackle for the Wildcats. He announced his decision on May 15, just a couple hours after linebacker Brayden Reilly.

"One of the other kids is from my city and being able to talk with him, get to know him...that was massive," Lorek said. "We all decided that this is home."

MORE ON LOREK: DL Calvin Lorek knew that NU was the place for him during official visit

Lorek committed to Northwestern over 10 other offers, including Eastern Michigan and all three military academies.

Reilly was the ringleader of the Ohio contingent while in Evanston, building bonds that led to his decision, alongside Lorek and Davis-Ray, to make the move to Evanston.

Reilly hails from powerhouse Cincinnati (Ohio) St. Xavier, which produced recent Wildcats like linebacker Noah Taylor and tight end Marshall Lang.

"The combination of academic reputation and Big Ten football really made me want to be a Wildcat," Reilly said. "Once I really got to spend time with Coach Braun, [defensive coordinator and linebackers] coach [Tim] McGarigle and staff, I knew it was right."

Reilly announced early in the afternoon of May 15 as the third commit from the official visit, and the fifth of the class overall.

MORE ON REILLY: Official visit made committing an easy decision for LB Brayden Reilly | Northwestern offer was no surprise for 2026 LB Brayden Reilly

Reilly committed to Northwestern over 17 other offers, six from Power Four programs, including Indiana, Minnesota and Missouri. Although he's listed as a safety, McGarigle thinks Reilly can pack on a few pounds and play linebacker.

He is the second linebacker in this class and Northwestern is likely done recruiting this position.

Linebacker Jacob Curry is another strong win for Northwestern, which moved quickly to secure the Ponte Vedra (Fla.) Nease player's commitment.

The Wildcats offered on May 1, hosted him for an official visit on May 9 and secured a commitment that weekend. Curry's commitment went public on May 14, so it all went down within a matter of two weeks.

Curry was the first linebacker to commit to the class but was soon joined by Reilly.

Curry committed to Northwestern over 17 other offers, including Iowa State, Kansas State and Louisville from the Power Four. As a 5.7-rated three-star, he is currently the top-rated player in the class by Rivals.

Although he had originally scheduled his official visit for late June, offensive tackle Leighton Burbach from Norfolk (Neb.) Catholic took his trip to Northwestern more than a month earlier, on May 9, and was the first visitor to announce his decision.

Burbach went public on May 11, the same day the visit came to a close.

Burbach was the third player in the class overall. He is the only offensive lineman in the class so far, so you can expect Northwestern to continue to recruit this position actively with multiple big men set to visit next weekend.

Defensive end Nick Zalewski from Worthington (Ohio) Thomas Worthington was Northwestern's first commitment of the calendar year, announcing his decision on April 16, some 10 months after the first commitment. (Cornerback Joshua Sims committed to NU before Zalewski, but he has since flipped to Tulane and reclassified to the Class of 2025)

Zalewski stands 6-foot-6 and, at just 230 pounds, he has the potential to fill out and become another in the long line of Wildcat recruiting diamonds-in-the-rough. He committed to Northwestern over just two other offers, from Kent State and Toledo.

MORE: Northwestern lands Ohio DE Nick Zalewski

Quarterback Johnny O'Brien was the first commit of the class all the way back in June of 2024, announcing his decision shortly after the Wildcats hosted him for their summer camp and offered him after evaluating his performance.

It represented a childhood dream for a player who grew up a Wildcat fan.

"I've been going to Northwestern games since I was seven years old," he said after committing. "When I got that offer, I knew that Northwestern was the place for me."

O'Brien has been an active recruiter in the class as a local prospect and showed up on May 11 for the last day of the official visit. He is set for an official visit of his own next Friday to Sunday.

O'Brien committed to Northwestern over just one other offer, Western Michigan, but likely would have gotten more had he gone through a summer camp circuit as a junior instead of shutting down his recruitment after his commitment to the Wildcats.

MORE ON O'BRIEN: O'Brien furthers relationships during Northwestern Prospect Day visit | Scouting Report: 2026 QB Johnny O’Brien sets record in playoff loss | QB Johnny O'Brien fulfills childhood dream with commitment to Northwestern

Want to keep up to date about the future of Northwestern's Class of 2026? Subscribe to WildcatReport and see the players set to visit on May 30-June 1 here, and our evaluation of the uncommitted official visitors here.

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