Underwhelmed by this class

[ThePurpleKnight]

Not the most impressive recruiting class on paper. One 4 star and a bunch of 3 star prospects, doesn't look too impressive as compared to other programs in the BigTen. Not a single recruit with a grade in the 80's. Realize the you can't grade this class for a couple years, but sure hope there's a few surprises in the group. Anyone wish they'd give Lees a look at QB? We are supposed to run a dual threat system.

 

[Gladeskat]

Lees doesn't have the arm strength to play QB. I have no idea how accurate he is except that he completed all of his passes in the highlight films. I like Adain Smith as a QB.

 

[corbi2961]

Not the most impressive recruiting class on paper. One 4 star and a bunch of 3 star prospects, doesn't look too impressive as compared to other programs in the BigTen. Not a single recruit with a grade in the 80's. Realize the you can't grade this class for a couple years, but sure hope there's a few surprises in the group. Anyone wish they'd give Lees a look at QB? We are supposed to run a dual threat system.

Relative to NU's recruiting track record since Fitz has been the HC, this class ranks right up there as one of the best classes. Using star rankings as the guide, the Thorson, Juston Jackson, and Westphal class is the only one that can be argued to be clearly superior.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Not the most impressive recruiting class on paper. One 4 star and a bunch of 3 star prospects, doesn't look too impressive as compared to other programs in the BigTen. Not a single recruit with a grade in the 80's. Realize the you can't grade this class for a couple years, but sure hope there's a few surprises in the group. Anyone wish they'd give Lees a look at QB? We are supposed to run a dual threat system.

Who cares what our ranking is? Doesn't make them any better or worse once they get here. Fact is, our guys committed before their senior year. All new offers effectively stopped. Watch the tape of our guys and compare it to low 4 stars. The rankings are BS that rarely change unless you go to a camp or get big name school offers. Vitale and NVH from last year's class were 2 stars. Lowry and Harris lower 3 stats. walker, not a 4 star either.

Amazing that it supposed to be a celebratory day for the program, and most topics veer to complaints about our recruiting ranking or coaches. Hoping those complaints would ease for a few days and we could be optimistic for the potential of the recruits!

 

[Turk_rivals223269]

Not the most impressive recruiting class on paper. One 4 star and a bunch of 3 star prospects, doesn't look too impressive as compared to other programs in the BigTen. Not a single recruit with a grade in the 80's. Realize the you can't grade this class for a couple years, but sure hope there's a few surprises in the group. Anyone wish they'd give Lees a look at QB? We are supposed to run a dual threat system.

i step down from last year. Not great but not terrible

 

[CatsDad]

i step down from last year. Not great but not terrible

Maybe so, but I disagree. You have two kids coming from Katy Texas who played on an undefeated national championship team against the best players in Texas. They are great players who know how to win. And you have Jango who started every game over higher ranked players and we went undefeated against the Nation's best teams. Larkin wins two State titles in row Jake Saunders has won a State title. I know our other players have won big time too. This is a class of winners who are use to winning and doing the work needed to win. This class is special.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Relative to NU's recruiting track record since Fitz has been the HC, this class ranks right up there as one of the best classes. Using star rankings as the guide, the Thorson, Juston Jackson, and Westphal class is the only one that can be argued to be clearly superior.

Inside NU did an interesting analysis. We may not have the studs at the top that some others, especially 2014 had, but the average rating per 247 is close to our highest recorded (since the Walker and Fitz years - 1996 not recorded), 2nd to only 2014. Our lowest rated recruit is the highest lowest rated recruit ever.

 

[Gladeskat]

Inside NU did an interesting analysis. We may not have the studs at the top that some others, especially 2014 had, but the average rating per 247 is close to our highest recorded (since the Walker and Fitz years - 1996 not recorded), 2nd to only 2014. Our lowest rated recruit is the highest lowest rated recruit ever.

So he's the tallest midget?

I've pointed out for years that our lowest rated recruits in a class usually become star players or contributors, e.g., Sherrick, Peters, Matthews, Vitale, Ebert, Phillips, and Gill are some names that come to mind (5 of which made it to the NFL).

 

[TheC]

Maybe so, but I disagree. You have two kids coming from Katy Texas who played on an undefeated national championship team against the best players in Texas. They are great players who know how to win. And you have Jango who started every game over higher ranked players and we went undefeated against the Nation's best teams. Larkin wins two State titles in row Jake Saunders has won a State title. I know our other players have won big time too. This is a class of winners who are use to winning and doing the work needed to win. This class is special.

I don't want to seem unwelcoming, but I would think boards like this wouldn't be a good place for a parent of a player to hang out. I imagine it must be really tempting to want to read what people are saying about your son and his teammates, but with that level of celebrity, you have to take the whole package - good and bad. And I would think it wouldn't be worth it. I doubt people on here will hold back just because one of the parents is reading.

 

[EvanstonCat]

So he's the tallest midget?

I've pointed out for years that our lowest rated recruits in a class usually become star players or contributors, e.g., Sherrick, Peters, Matthews, Vitale, Ebert, Phillips, and Gill are some names that come to mind (5 of which made it to the NFL).

That may be true in some cases, but over the long haul, I think the statistics go the other way.

Alex Miller is the lowest rated recruit in this class. For all we know, he may end up the best. But, that's not what we're talking about here.

And you mixed the analogy up. If anything, he's the shortest giant. But, like I said, in the end he may be the tallest of them all. And to be honest, he's ahead of everyone the class already as he's already delivered value in getting his brother on board.

 

[della]

It was a small class, but a solid class.

 

[pawildcat_rivals209725]

It was a small class, but a solid class.

Actually, this is a fairly large class for Northwestern. We don't have the "churn" that many other programs do (primarily because we usually graduate 97-98 percent of our players).

 

[Deeringfish]

I don't want to seem unwelcoming, but I would think boards like this wouldn't be a good place for a parent of a player to hang out. I imagine it must be really tempting to want to read what people are saying about your son and his teammates, but with that level of celebrity, you have to take the whole package - good and bad. And I would think it wouldn't be worth it. I doubt people on here will hold back just because one of the parents is reading.

CatsDad is a special breed IMO. As far as I can tell he is the only parent of a player that posts regularly (maybe they ask them not to when the kids enroll?). I think he gets that this is a venting, ranting medium of mostly amateurs. When I say amateurs, I mean it in the best sense. Amore, the root wood means love. We love the Cats but that doesn't mean we know what we are talking about. We love the Cats, but along with that comes frustration and concern that expresses itself as anxiety.
I think CatsDad is a tough dude who can handle our screwy out bursts but I agree with you it probably is not for everyone, thus the lack of other parents.

 

[pawildcat_rivals209725]

i step down from last year. Not great but not terrible

At this point, we haven't the slightest idea whether this class is better or worse than last year's. Time will tell.

 

[Deeringfish]

Not the most impressive recruiting class on paper. One 4 star and a bunch of 3 star prospects, doesn't look too impressive as compared to other programs in the BigTen. Not a single recruit with a grade in the 80's. Realize the you can't grade this class for a couple years, but sure hope there's a few surprises in the group. Anyone wish they'd give Lees a look at QB? We are supposed to run a dual threat system.

I disagree. I find this to be a really solid class. There are some reasons why it doesn't have some of the "Flash" you are looking for IMO.
1) Many early commits who don't get further scrutiny, publicity and reranking.
2) Many lineman who are actually the heart and soul of a football team but don't ever get the adulation they deserve that more naturally goes to guys who play the "skill" positions.
3) Small class. Big or average buy NU standards but small relative to many schools.
4) No flashy players. Not unusual for NU but press wise they don't draw flies. Our one four star is a fairly soft-spoken guy.
5) NU suffers from the Rodney Dangerfield syndrome.

 

[KKAT]

Maybe so, but I disagree. You have two kids coming from Katy Texas who played on an undefeated national championship team against the best players in Texas. They are great players who know how to win. And you have Jango who started every game over higher ranked players and we went undefeated against the Nation's best teams. Larkin wins two State titles in row Jake Saunders has won a State title. I know our other players have won big time too. This is a class of winners who are use to winning and doing the work needed to win. This class is special.

I recall a big part of Fitz's MO has always been to recruit those used to winning. This class is no exception....

 

[CSCatFan1]

Not the most impressive recruiting class on paper. One 4 star and a bunch of 3 star prospects, doesn't look too impressive as compared to other programs in the BigTen. Not a single recruit with a grade in the 80's. Realize the you can't grade this class for a couple years, but sure hope there's a few surprises in the group. Anyone wish they'd give Lees a look at QB? We are supposed to run a dual threat system.

Why is this troll permitted to spew negativity the day after signing day? He never has anything positive to say about the program.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Maybe so, but I disagree. You have two kids coming from Katy Texas who played on an undefeated national championship team against the best players in Texas. They are great players who know how to win. And you have Jango who started every game over higher ranked players and we went undefeated against the Nation's best teams. Larkin wins two State titles in row Jake Saunders has won a State title. I know our other players have won big time too. This is a class of winners who are use to winning and doing the work needed to win. This class is special.

Agree Mr Jango, but would add all of the big uglies to your list of potential impact players. Kolwich won a state title. All of them are very aggressive and play with an edge.

 

[CatsDad]

I don't want to seem unwelcoming, but I would think boards like this wouldn't be a good place for a parent of a player to hang out. I imagine it must be really tempting to want to read what people are saying about your son and his teammates, but with that level of celebrity, you have to take the whole package - good and bad. And I would think it wouldn't be worth it. I doubt people on here will hold back just because one of the parents is reading.

I don't expect you to hold back or care if you do I served my whole life so that we all can voice our opinions, even the ones I don't agree with. My son is a Wildcat, with that comes good and bad from fans. I don't get mad when opinions of my son or any of his teammates are talked poorly about. I may defend them, but I am never mad. I have realistic expectations for the Wildcats and it's players. I don't expect anyone to hold back because of me, I am more limited on what I can post than anyone on here. I would rather see any posts than no posts on this site, it show passiom for the program. Nothing anyone says is going to make me less proud that my son is a Wildcat. I hope the haters and the pessimists keep spewing their negative opinions because soon they will be silenced.

 

[CatsDad]

Why is this troll permitted to spew negativity the day after signing day? He never has anything positive to say about the program.

Rather have him posting than not. Soon he will act like he always knew we would be good. I will take Luke Kuechly and JJ Watt on my team, 3 star and a 2 star. No one knows the effort a recruit will put forward or their desire to be great. Every recruit has the ability to be good, at this level it is more about desire and a burning desire to work your butt off to be the best player and teammate you can be. These recruits have been extremely successful at football with many winning at the highest level, so screw the stars thst are used to hype certain players at the huge fan based teams to sell subscriptions. We have a team of proven winners

 

[CatsDad]

I don't want to seem unwelcoming, but I would think boards like this wouldn't be a good place for a parent of a player to hang out. I imagine it must be really tempting to want to read what people are saying about your son and his teammates, but with that level of celebrity, you have to take the whole package - good and bad. And I would think it wouldn't be worth it. I doubt people on here will hold back just because one of the parents is reading.

Thanks Dad

 

[Hungry Jack]

It was a small class, but a solid class.

Seeing that Della is an intellectually oriented female, this is almost certainly a double-entendre.

 

[CatsDad]

Northwestern won ten games this year and was one half of a football game from winning the West. It was a great season made up of young players who are only going to get better.

 

[Fitz51]

I hope the haters and the pessimists keep spewing their negative opinions because soon they will be silenced.

By death!

 

[ThatadultfromHolland]

Honestly this a very solid class with a high bottom with not much flashy media hyped players (not always a bad thing). There are players in positions where we need an improvement in and a bunch of just winners that are going to a 10-3 Northwestern team that is building winning mentality. I have absolutely no complaints.

 

[xxxbobxxx]

CatsDad is a special breed IMO. As far as I can tell he is the only parent of a player that posts regularly (maybe they ask them not to when the kids enroll?). I think he gets that this is a venting, ranting medium of mostly amateurs. When I say amateurs, I mean it in the best sense. Amore, the root wood means love. We love the Cats but that doesn't mean we know what we are talking about. We love the Cats, but along with that comes frustration and concern that expresses itself as anxiety.
I think CatsDad is a tough dude who can handle our screwy out bursts but I agree with you it probably is not for everyone, thus the lack of other parents.

Didn't Mauro's dad post here often too?

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I don't expect you to hold back or care if you do I served my whole life so that we all can voice our opinions, even the ones I don't agree with. My son is a Wildcat, with that comes good and bad from fans. I don't get mad when opinions of my son or any of his teammates are talked poorly about. I may defend them, but I am never mad. I have realistic expectations for the Wildcats and it's players. I don't expect anyone to hold back because of me, I am more limited on what I can post than anyone on here. I would rather see any posts than no posts on this site, it show passiom for the program. Nothing anyone says is going to make me less proud that my son is a Wildcat. I hope the haters and the pessimists keep spewing their negative opinions because soon they will be silenced.

I am sure you know this, but there are plenty family members of players who/post read here. In many cases, people don't realize they are family members. Yes, I don't think there is a single player that hasn't faced some kind of negative posting. I think its up to these family members how much they want to read/participate. I think you have the right approach of dealing with opinion that you may not agree with.

 

[DaCat]

This is a very solid class. It addresses almost all our needs, with the exception of a placekicker in my opinion. I'm very comfortable with our staffs ability to identify talent.

 

[SmellyCat]

Call me naïve, but if they got into NU and they were given a vote of approval by Pat Fitzgerald (i.e. no knuckleheads), then I am proud of this class. We'll see how they play on the field, but it sure looks solid to me so far.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Northwestern won ten games this year and was one half of a football game from winning the West. It was a great season made up of young players who are only going to get better.

It's actually amazing what we accomplished considering our offense was downright putrid.
Losing Lowry and Gibson and Van Hoose and Henry will hurt, but we have good talent waiting in the wings. I don't think our D will slip much if at all.

The O? Well, if we retained the coaches, then the best I can hope for is that certain members of the staff got a clear message that they better demonstrate some accountability and deliver on performance. Thorson is a year older, Justin Jackson returns, and there is no way but up for our WRs and OL, so I'm cautiously optimistic that the O is gonna get turned around. If it does, then look out, cuz CatsDad will be right. I think we win the West next year.

 

[Alaskawildkat]

I don't expect you to hold back ..... I would rather see any posts than no posts on this site, it show passiom for the program. ......

It often surprises me when schools with much larger fan bases have Rivals boards with much less participation and even more so how uninspiring many of the threads are compared to what I see here.

 

[Fitz51]

It often surprises me when schools with much larger fan bases have Rivals boards with much less participation and even more so how uninspiring many of the threads are compared to what I see here.

Perhaps they just post to different sites not affiliated with Rivals?

 

[della]

Seeing that Della is an intellectually oriented female, this is almost certainly a double-entendre.

You would think guys would be smarter than gals because they have the luxury of two heads in decision making. However, you would be wrong.

 

[FloridAlum]

You would think guys would be smarter than gals because they have the luxury of two heads in decision making. However, you would be wrong.

One head is quite small, and we only have enough blood to make one head at a time function properly. The other problem is that the two heads are frequently in disagreement.

 

[ricko6543211]

Lees doesn't have the arm strength to play QB. I have no idea how accurate he is except that he completed all of his passes in the highlight films. I like Adain Smith as a QB.

I've heard a lot of people automatically dismiss Lees at QB due to his lack of arm strength. I'm not saying that's inaccurate, but I hope our coaches aren't so quick to invalidate ways to get the ball in his hands if he ends up being as talented as he looks on tape.

As my counterpoint- did anyone watch Baylor in their final regular season game against Texas and then in the bowl game? Their top 2 QBs were out, they had one healthy QB (who wasn't very good) remaining. In particular against NC (prob after Briles had time to assess the UT disaster and plan new schemes), they actually moved the ball much better with a rotation of WRs and RBs at QB than with the one healthy QB. Granted that QB isn't very good, and our OL is not Baylor's, but it was an impressive illustration of his coaching ability. Given time, even without a functional QB he was able to devise ways to get the ball in the hands of his playmakers and use misdirection and deception to keep the defense off guard.

And for a second example that we may be more familiar with, I know this one guy who didn't have great arm strength that did okay as a B1G QB- Kain Colter.

So, not saying Lees should be our QB, but I hope we at least give some thought to using a sort of Wildcat set sometimes to get the ball in his hands. He and JJ running various option sets together could be challenging for a defense to defend. From his tape I think he may be better at selling fakes than one QB I know...

 

[SmellyCat]

He may have a "weak" arm (I can't say for sure - I'm going by what you guys say) to be an every-down QB, but surely his experience as a QB means he can throw the ball in a pinch, whether on a trick play or as an emergency QB, etc. I mean D'Wayne Bates never truly played QB for NU, but whenever he threw a pass the announcers would be quick to remind the audience that he played QB in high school.

 

[pawildcat_rivals209725]

I've heard a lot of people automatically dismiss Lees at QB due to his lack of arm strength. I'm not saying that's inaccurate, but I hope our coaches aren't so quick to invalidate ways to get the ball in his hands if he ends up being as talented as he looks on tape.

As my counterpoint- did anyone watch Baylor in their final regular season game against Texas and then in the bowl game? Their top 2 QBs were out, they had one healthy QB (who wasn't very good) remaining. In particular against NC (prob after Briles had time to assess the UT disaster and plan new schemes), they actually moved the ball much better with a rotation of WRs and RBs at QB than with the one healthy QB. Granted that QB isn't very good, and our OL is not Baylor's, but it was an impressive illustration of his coaching ability. Given time, even without a functional QB he was able to devise ways to get the ball in the hands of his playmakers and use misdirection and deception to keep the defense off guard.

And for a second example that we may be more familiar with, I know this one guy who didn't have great arm strength that did okay as a B1G QB- Kain Colter.

So, not saying Lees should be our QB, but I hope we at least give some thought to using a sort of Wildcat set sometimes to get the ball in his hands. He and JJ running various option sets together could be challenging for a defense to defend. From his tape I think he may be better at selling fakes than one QB I know...

I believe Fitz already dropped a hint yesterday that Lees could be used in "throwback" plays or something similar. I would imagine our coaches aren't completely ignorant of his potential.

 

[Fitz51]

He may have a "weak" arm (I can't say for sure - I'm going by what you guys say)

I arm wrestled him. He's below average.

 

[Hungry Jack]

You would think guys would be smarter than gals because they have the luxury of two heads in decision making. However, you would be wrong.

It is more like the devil whispering in one ear, and the other lesser devil whispering in the other.

 

[Anon1742341819]

CatsDad is a special breed IMO. As far as I can tell he is the only parent of a player that posts regularly (maybe they ask them not to when the kids enroll?). I think he gets that this is a venting, ranting medium of mostly amateurs. When I say amateurs, I mean it in the best sense. Amore, the root wood means love. We love the Cats but that doesn't mean we know what we are talking about. We love the Cats, but along with that comes frustration and concern that expresses itself as anxiety.
I think CatsDad is a tough dude who can handle our screwy out bursts but I agree with you it probably is not for everyone, thus the lack of other parents.

Wise parents recognize it's every fan base. That's why they are (fan)atics. From Stanford, Northwestern and Harvard to Bama, South Carolina and Texas, all fan bases have crazies that say mean things out of passion. They are also the first ones in for the back bumps, dabs, high fives and hugs if all goes well. It comes with the territory as a player and parent. You just have to accept it and enjoy the accolades when they come. Ignore the rest.