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player ready...If nothing else, Northwestern’s 2013 signees are punctual.
The school locked in its 19th and final member of the ’13 class at 9:42 a.m., when Californian Brett Walsh faxed in his letter of intent.
Offensive lineman Sam Coverdale was NU’s first player to sign, sending in his fax at 6:11 a.m. The folks at NUSports.com, who produced a live blog, noted that Coverdale is a certified SCUBA diver. Perhaps the largest one in Ohio, given that Rivals.com lists Coverdale is 6-foot-7 and 280 pounds.
Two more well-regarded Ohioans, cornerback Marcus McShepard and running back/defensive back Godwin Igwebuike, signed shortly after Coverdale.
NU coach Pat Fitzgerald, who will discuss the class with the media at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Ditka’s Restaurant, has drawn high marks for this class.
Rivals.com ranks the class 50th nationally and eighth in the Big Ten. That’s an all-time high for a Fitzgerald class, beating out 53rd nationally in 2007 and ninth in the league several times.
“It’s a typical Northwestern class with Fitz-type athletes,” said Tom Lemming, the CBS Sports Network recruiting analyst who is based in Schaumburg. “They’re all perfectly suited for Northwestern, which doesn’t care about rankings. That’s the way it should be because those stars are exceptionally arbitrary.”
Asked if there is a common thread to NU’s new players, Lemming replied: “They’re all smart, overachiever-types with better athletic ability than people give them credit for.”
Here is the list of players:
Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Matt Alviti QB 6-0 185 Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South
Sam Coverdale OT 6-6 265 Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston
Tom Fuessel WR 6-4 185 Mokena, Ill./Lincoln-Way East
Matthew Harris CB 5-11 180 La Grange Highlands, Ill./Lyons
Godwin Igwebuike RB 6-0 190 Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North
Eric Joraskie DT 6-4 260 Mount Carmel, Pa./Mount Carmel
Blake King OL 6-3 250 Shorewood, Ill./Minooka
Tyler Lancaster DT 6-3 275 Romeoville, Ill./Plainfield East
Warren Long RB 6-0 180 Union City, Calif./James Logan
Marcus McShepard CB 5-11 185 University Heights, Ohio
Xavier Menifield RB 5-10 190 Valencia, Calif./Sierra Canyon
Hunter Niswander K/P 6-5 210 Peninsula, Ohio/Woodridge
Brad North OL 6-2 280 Allen, Texas/Allen
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Kyle Queiro SAF 6-3 190 Verona, N.J./Bergen Catholic
Jayme Taylor SB 6-4 225 The Woodlands, Texas
Anthony Walker LB 6-1 200 Miami, Fla./Monsignor Edward Pace
Brett Walsh LB 6-1 205 Monrovia, Calif./Monrovia
Keith Watkins II CB 5-11 170 Cincinnati, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller
Macan Wilson WR 6-0 185 Houston, Texas/Kinkaid
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