Northwestern has limped to two straight 5-7 seasons, but help could be on the way.
Coach Pat Fitzgerald introduced his 2015 class of 20 Wednesday morning on national signing day, and several of them could make an impact immediately.
“I’ve said it about all nine recruiting classes that I’ve had: I don’t decide who redshirts. They decide,” Fitzgerald said. “I’m not going to waste their year unless I have to. But I’ll look at our nine assistants, and if they think a kid can play, I’ll say that he better be in the rotation.
“I tell each kid to be ready to compete to start. If that happens, we have a fun (summer) camp.”
At this time last year, four-star running back Justin Jackson of Glenbard North was signing his letter of intent; he finished his freshman season with nearly 1,200 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.
Northwestern began this recruiting cycle amid news of its unionization vote last spring, and ended it in a second straight offseason without a bowl berth. Fitzgerald’s group — ranked 52nd in the nation and 10th in the Big Ten in 247Sports.com’s composite rankings — is headlined by Jordan Thompson, a defensive lineman from Cincinnati who turned down offers from Notre Dame and Michigan State.
The class includes five defensive backs and four wide receivers — two positions of need in recent seasons. The only quarterback is dual-threat Oak Park product Lloyd Yates. Ten signees played in state championship games this fall.
Fitzgerald was most expressive when asked about his five Chicago-area recruits.
“Do we expect to compete against our Big Ten brothers? Absolutely,” Fitzgerald said. “But most schools are recruiting nationally now, so it’s not a surprise when anyone recruits guys in Chicago.”
Northwestern’s class wasn’t set until Tuesday. The program lost Connecticut defensive lineman Zach Allen to Boston College when he decommitted Saturday, then saw a second decommitment from wideout Grant Perry on Monday, one day after home-state Michigan made him an offer.
Flynn Nagel, a three-star receiver from Lemont who previously had committed to Duke, completed the Wildcats’ class Tuesday.
“You have to recruit all the way to signing day,” Fitzgerald said regarding the decommitments. “I’m happy for kids that find the right fits for themselves, their families and their futures.
“Some kids have to go through the process differently. If we had a couple of scholarships that were available today, we’d still be working through that process. We felt strongly about the few young men we were able to add.”
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