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College football signing day recap: Who’s headed to Notre Dame, Illinois, Northwestern and Northern Illinois?

joel boyd, chicago tribune
·9 min read

What began four years ago as college football’s “early signing period” is now the undisputed main event. More than 70% of FBS scholarship players sign their national letters of intent in December rather than the traditional signing day on the first Wednesday of February.

Wednesday marked the opening of the early period — and it saw one of the most shocking plot twists in recruiting history when cornerback Travis Hunter, the consensus No. 1 player in the country and a longtime Florida State commitment, signed to play for coach Deion Sanders at FCS Jackson State.

The early period runs through Friday; any players who don’t sign by then will have to wait until Feb. 2.

Here’s a look at the recruiting classes Notre Dame, Illinois, Northwestern and Northern Illinois have brought in so far, as well as key additions from the increasingly active transfer market. (Class and individual rankings are according to the 247Sports.com composite as of 7 p.m. Wednesday.)

Notre Dame

Signees: 21.

Class rank: Seventh nationally.

Top recruit: Five-star linebacker Jaylen Sneed committed to the Irish in July over Tennessee and Oregon. Then-defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman was the primary recruiter for the South Carolina native, so it certainly didn’t hurt in terms of keeping Sneed in the fold when Freeman was promoted to head coach to replace Brian Kelly. Notre Dame had only three decommitments after Kelly left for LSU. Sneed is the top-ranked player in South Carolina, the No. 3 linebacker in the country and the No. 35 recruit overall.

Local angle: The Irish have no players from Illinois in their 2022 class.

Transfer market: Notre Dame hasn’t added any transfers yet, but Freeman didn’t rule it out Wednesday when asked about potentially adding to the recruiting class before February. “I’m going to lean on our staff and look at, ‘Hey, what roster needs do we need to address right now?’ ” he told reporters, per 247Sports. “And this could be transfer portal. ... You know, is it another high school kid? Or is it somebody that we can go into the portal and address with a guy that has some college experience?”

Notable: The Irish loaded up at offensive line (five signees) and linebacker (four), with seven of their nine highest-rated recruits playing one of those positions: linebackers Sneed, Joshua Burnham and Niuafe Tuihalamaka and linemen Aamil Wagner, Ty Chan, Joey Tanona and Billy Scrauth. ... On the flip side, Notre Dame added only one wide receiver, Tobias Merriweather, after longtime commitment Amorion Walker flipped to Michigan. That could be a position where the Irish look to the transfer market.

Irish signees

  • Steve Angeli, QB, Westfield, N.J.

  • Jayden Bellamy, CB, North Haledon, N.J.

  • Joshua Burnham, LB, Traverse City, Mich.

  • Ty Chan, OL, Lowell, Mass.

  • Ashton Craig, OL, Lawrenceburg, Ind.

  • Tyson Ford, DL, St. Louis

  • Aiden Gobaira, DL, Fairfax, Va.

  • Donovan Hinish, DL, Pittsburgh

  • Bryce McFerson, P, Indian Trail, N.C.

  • Tobias Merriweather, WR, West Camas, Wash.

  • Jaden Mickey, CB, Eastvale, Calif.

  • Benjamin Morrison, CB, Phoenix

  • Jadarian Price, RB, Denison, Texas

  • Eli Raridon, TE, Des Moines, Iowa

  • Billy Schrauth, OL, Campbellsport, Wis.

  • Jaylen Sneed, LB, Hilton Head Island, S.C.

  • Holden Staes, TE, Atlanta

  • Joey Tanona, OL, Zionsville, Ind.

  • Niuafe Tuihalamaka, LB, Granada Hills, Calif.

  • Aamil Wagner, OL, Yellow Springs, Ohio

  • Nolan Ziegler, LB, Caledonia, Mich.

Illinois

Signees: 22.

Class rank: 45th nationally, 12th in Big Ten.

Top recruit: Oswego East edge rusher Jared Badie picked the Illini over Michigan State, Minnesota and Tennessee. The three-star prospect is the 12th-ranked player in the state. At 6-4 and 220 pounds, Badie projects to play outside linebacker in Illinois’ 3-4 base defense.

Local angle: Coach Bret Bielema hit the state much harder in his first full recruiting cycle at Illinois than predecessor Lovie Smith did. Badie was one of 10 in-state signees, including seven from the Chicago area. Also headed to Champaign are Fenwick wide receiver Eian Pugh, Joliet Catholic running back Jordan Anderson and linebacker Malachi Hood, Brother Rice tight end Henry Boyer, Stagg safety TJ Griffin and Loyola linebacker James Kreutz.

Transfer market: With Brandon Peters out of eligibility and Artur Sitkowski coming off two surgeries for a broken left arm and right shoulder injury, Illinois reached into the transfer portal for quarterback help in Syracuse’s Tommy DeVito. The former four-star recruit started 18 of his 27 games with the Orange over the last four seasons, completing 59% of his passes with 28 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, but he entered the portal after getting benched three games into the 2021 season. The Illini also added former Northwestern defensive lineman Te-Rah Edwards.

Notable: Bielema’s teams at Wisconsin and Arkansas were known for their massive offensive lines and bruising running backs, and he hasn’t changed his style in Champaign. The Illini signed six offensive linemen Wednesday — including the 6-9 Magnus Möller out of Denmark — while Anderson checks in at 6-3, 230. ... Kreutz is the second son of former Bears center Olin Kreutz to sign with Illinois. Josh Kreutz was a freshman center for the Illini this fall. ... Hood’s uncle, Marcus Hood, also played linebacker at Illinois. ... The Illini flipped Florida edge rusher Gabe Jacas from Tulane on signing day and added Georgia safety Tyson Rooks, who didn’t play high school football until this fall.

Illini signees

  • Isaiah Adams, OL, Garden City (Kan.) CC

  • Jordan Anderson, RB, Joliet Catholic

  • Owen Anderson, TE, Skillman, N.J.

  • Jared Badie, OLB, Oswego East

  • Hank Beatty, WR, Rochester, Ill.

  • Henry Boyer, TE, Brother Rice

  • Matt Fries, OL, Cranford, N.J.

  • TJ Griffin, DB, Stagg

  • Ashton Hollins, WR, Lucedale, Miss.

  • Malachi Hood, LB, Joliet Catholic

  • Gabe Jacas, OLB, Port St. Lucie, Fla.

  • James Kreutz, LB, Loyola

  • Aidan Laughery, RB, Gibson City, Ill.

  • Donovan Leary, QB, Sicklerville, N.J.

  • Clayton Leonard, OL, Danforth, Ill.

  • Elijah Mc-Cantos, DB, Miami

  • Shawn Miller, WR, Chandler, Ariz.

  • Magnus Möller, OL, Vejle, Denmark

  • Joey Okla, OL, Hartford, Wis.

  • Eian Pugh, WR, Fenwick

  • Tyson Rooks, DB, St. Simons Island, Ga.

  • Hunter Whitenack, OL, New Carlisle, Ind.

Northwestern

Signees: 15.

Class rank: 47th nationally, 13th in Big Ten.

Top recruit: Four-star Naperville Central wide receiver Reggie Fleurima was the first member of the Wildcats’ 2022 class, having committed in March. He’s the sixth-ranked player in Illinois and No. 226 in the country, and his offer list included seven other Big Ten schools, including Penn State, Michigan State and Iowa. The son of former Notre Dame defensive lineman Reggie Fleurima Sr., the younger Fleurima brings good size (6-2, 205) and speed to an NU passing game in dire need of playmakers.

Local angle: Fleurima was one of four Chicago-area recruits Northwestern signed Wednesday, joining Marist offensive lineman Danny “Deuce” McGuire, Maine South tight end Chris Petrucci and Brother Rice quarterback Jack Lausch. Lausch was the last of that group to jump on board, switching his commitment Monday from Notre Dame, where he would have been a preferred walk-on in baseball and football.

Transfer market: Linebacker Wendell Davis announced this week he’s transferring from Pittsburgh to Northwestern, potentially filling the void left by departing starters Chris Bergin and Peter McIntyre. The 6-2, 240-pound Davis played in 28 games over the last four seasons for the Panthers, totaling 45 tackles, five tackles for a loss and two sacks. He has two more years of eligibility after a redshirt season in 2018 plus the COVID-19 waiver for 2020. Davis is the son of a former NFL player named Wendell Davis Sr. — but it’s not the former Bears wide receiver. His father played tight end for the San Diego Chargers in the late 1990s.

Notable: Among the players committed to the Wildcats as a preferred walk-on is Lemont running back Albert Kunickis, who was born without a right hand and forearm. He told the Daily Southtown last month that playing in the Big Ten was “always a dream I had.” Said Kunickis: “I wanted to compete at the highest level I could. Putting in work daily got me there. I always believed in myself, even when others didn’t.” ... Maryland edge rusher Anto Saka gives the Wildcats two four-star prospects in this class. He picked Northwestern over USC and Penn State. ... Connecticut linebacker Kenny Soares was a signing-day flip from Colorado.

Wildcats signees

  • Braydon Brus, LB, Glendora, Calif.

  • Austin Firestone, DL, Niceville, Fla.

  • Robert Fitzgerald, DB, Dallas

  • Brendan Flakes, DL, Winter Garden, Fla.

  • Reggie Fleurima, WR, Naperville Central

  • Nick Herzog, OL, Olathe, Kan.

  • Joseph Himon II, RB, Little Rock, Ark.

  • Jack Lausch, QB, Brother Rice

  • Deuce McGuire, OL, Marist

  • Chris Petrucci, TE, Maine South

  • Anto Saka, DL, Phoenix, Md.

  • Evan Smith, DB, Birmingham, Ala.

  • Kenny Soares, LB, New Canaan, Conn.

  • Braden Turner, DB, Mobile, Ala.

  • Devin Turner, DB, Little Elm, Texas

Northern Illinois

Signees: 12.

Class rank: 87th nationally, fifth in MAC.

Top recruit: Three-star linebacker Jake Gassaway of Omaha, Neb., has the highest composite rating among the Huskies recruits. He committed to NIU in March after drawing interest from Army, Wyoming and North Dakota State. Nebraska has been fertile recruiting ground for the Huskies the last couple of cycles, with three freshmen on the MAC champions’ 2021 roster, including running back Jay Ducker, the conference’s Freshman of the Year.

Local angle: A third of the NIU class is from the Chicago area. Shepard defensive end Roy Williams is joined by a trio of wide receivers — Metea Valley’s Jalen Johnson, Minooka’s Malik Armstrong and Downers Grove South’s Eli Reed.

Transfer market: The Huskies announced four transfers Wednesday, three of them former area high school players. Outside linebacker Izayah Green-May was the No. 9 recruit in the state in 2017 coming out of Bolingbrook, but he spent an injury-plagued five seasons at Wisconsin, getting hurt in the 2019 and 2020 openers. He played in nine games this past season. Former Mount Carmel quarterback Justin Lynch — the younger brother of 2013 NIU Heisman Trophy finalist Jordan Lynch — played in 11 games with one start for Temple as a true freshman this fall, but Owls coach Rod Carey, the former NIU coach, got fired after the season. Also transferring to the Huskies are wide receivers Kacper Rutkiewicz (Hersey, Illinois State) and Shemar Thornton (Florida International).

Notable: Thirteen of NIU’s 16 additions, including transfers, play either wide receiver (six), defensive back (four) or linebacker (three). ... Eight states were represented among the Huskies’ 12 high school signees.

Huskies signees

  • Nick Alvarado, S, Bloomfield, N.J.

  • Malik Armstrong, WR, Minooka

  • Jacob Finley, CB, Hoover, Ala.

  • Jake Gassaway, LB, Omaha, Neb.

  • Jalen Johnson, WR, Metea Valley

  • Amariyun Knighten, CB, Hollywood, Fla.

  • Evan Malcore, OL, Sun Prairie, Wis.

  • Rashon Myles Jr., LB, Brownsburg, Ind.

  • Trey Porter, S, Ankeny, Iowa

  • Eli Reed, WR, Downers Grove South

  • Dawson Ripperda, WR, Larchwood, Iowa

  • Roy Williams, DE, Shepard