Last Week Eddie, Chief and I Strapped On The Pads and Did 1 on 1 Football Drills Against Each Other and a Former Northwestern Offensive Lineman
So last week, Eddie, Chief and I strapped it on for the Northwestern Wildcats. Literally. I said it in my teaser last week that Chief and I have had the argument for years on who would win in real life tackling drills with full equipment on. Well now we know that he stinks and New England Prep League football doesn’t hold a candle to true HS football like the DuPage Valley Conference.
Huge shout out to Coach Fitz, JB Butler and the Northwestern Athletic Department for letting us tour the facility. I know there aren’t many of us but it’s a turned into a very good program. They win and they win the “right” way. Fitz is the perfect embodiment of that, and that will be expounded upon when we release his interview on Red Line Radio.
That said, part of the deal to letting us interview Fitz and tour their incredible facilities was to give a little recruiting pitch for them. My honor. They recruit the New England Prep league very hard every year and Barstool is obviously massive in that part of the country, so here goes:
1. Northwestern Graduates 99% of it’s players
They have the best APR rate in college football, and that’s a perennial feat.
You want a world class degree while playing in the Big Ten? Go to Northwestern. Maybe you get drafted and go on to play in the NFL for a decade. But probably not. Instead you get a $250,000 education for free and are set up by former RB Jacob Schmidt, their director of player development with internships at fortune 100 companies like Aon. Oh, and that free ride is guaranteed, so long as you keep your nose clean. Doesn’t matter if you tear apart your knee or just flat out stink, your scholarship is guaranteed.
2. They Win
Three 10 win seasons in their last 6 seasons. Back to back to back bowl wins. West Division championship in 2018. Ended season in the top 25 three of the last 4 years. QBs Trevor Siemien and Mike Kafka were recent draft picks, and Clayton Thorson and Hunter Johnson will be in the coming years. It’s QB U in the B1G right now.
3. The Facilities are The Best in the Country
Take a look at this video:
My HS baseball coach now coaches football at Glenbard West and when he originally toured NU’s facility, he told me that he’s been to OSU, Tennessee, Oregon and other football blue bloods practice facilities and none of them hold a candle to Northwestern’s. It has everything, full length field, football only weight room, pools, a virtual reality room, and world class athletic training staff members. Not to mention an incredible view of Lake Michigan. Best in the country.
I’ve followed Northwestern football since the mid 90s and have told people that it’s only a matter of time before they’re a top program in the conference. Well with the new facilities that time is now. Their stadium is still outdated, but they use it 7-8 times a year. Players care more about the day-to-day facilities than a field they use for a few hours on Saturdays. On that realm, NU can’t be beat. And because of that it’s off to the races for them in the recruiting world. When they win the B1G and go to the Rose Bowl in the next year or two, just know that I told ya so.