Northwestern football recruiting: Complete list of targets and scholarship offers, May 26 update

It's been nearly a month since we published our first complete list of high schoolers in the Class of 2017 holding a Northwestern offer, and since then, a lot has changed. Pat Fitzgerald's class is up to No. 12 in 247's rankings, good for No. 4 in the Big Ten.

Northwestern added its 13^th commitment from Georgia safety J.R. Pace, who committed in fashion with an epic video earlier in May. Also, highly touted commit Earnest Brown earned an offer from Ohio State and is reportedly considering choosing the Buckeyes over Northwestern.

Without further ado, let's take a look at everyone who has an offer on the table from Pat Fitzgerald, and who are the most likely candidates to take that offer and head to Evanston after graduating next year.

(NOTE: All ratings are from 247 Sports. Offer lists are based on data from 247 Sports, Rivals and ESPN. If one or two of the three sites lists a player as holding an offer from Northwestern, but the other(s) doesn't, the player was included on the list.)

Quarterback (One commit: Andrew Marty)

Name	Hometown	High School	Stars	247 Composite	Other major offers
Jack Sears	San Clemente, CA	San Clemente	★★★	.8755	Arizona State, Arizona, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCLA, Utah

The Wildcats flipped Marty from Miami (Ohio) to Northwestern, so NU has its quarterback for the class. Jack Sears has picked up offers from North Carolina, UNC, and Cal, and appears to be well out of Northwestern's reach. It's been a tough turn of events for the Wildcats as they missed on a host of quarterbacks before prying Marty from the Mid-American Conference.

Running Back

Name	Hometown	High School	Stars	247 Composite	Other major offers
Kyric McGowan	Dalton, GA	Dalton	N/A	N/A	Duke, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt

As our own Zach Pereles wrote, Northwestern has a talented and close-knit group of running backs, but expect it to try to add at least another body in the 2017 class. The Wildcats missed out on top target Lamont Atkins, but McGowan is an intriguing prospect. He's flying under the radar on recruiting websites but Northwestern was his 16^th offer and he holds offers from a handful of power conference schools. Look for Fitz to make a hard push for the Georgia product.

Wide Receiver

Name	Hometown	High School	Stars	247 Composite	Other major offers
Osiris St. Brown	Anaheim, CA	Mater Dei	★★★★	.9592	California, Michigan, Michigan State, Stanford
Danny Davis	Springfield, OH	Springfield	★★★★	.9181	Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan State, Ohio State, West Virginia
Saiid Adebo	Mansfield, TX	Mansfield	★★★★	.8974	Baylor, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech
Jeremiah Holloman	Covington, GA	Newton	★★★★	.8955	Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee
Jamire Calvin	Los Angeles, CA	Cathedral	★★★	.8637	Boston College, California, Nebraska, Penn State, Tennessee, Utah
Cameron Sullivan-Brown	Laurel, MD	St. Vincent Pallotti	★★★	.8603	Duke, Maryland, Penn State, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin
Kolby Taylor	Chandler, Arizona	Chandler	★★★	.8570	Arizona State, Louisville, Memphis, Notre Dame
Jeremy Singleton	New Orleans, LA	Brother Martin	★★★	.8422	Arizona, Arkansas., Cincinnati, Kansas State, Vanderbilt, Virginia
Berkeley Holman	Bellflower, CA	St. John Bosco	★★★	.8355	Columbia, Nevada, Utah

Northwestern has clearly recognized its glaring weakness from last season, which was the inconsistency and lack of depth in the receiving corps. NU currently has nine offers out to uncommitted prospects. The 4-stars are stretches given their offer list, but Sullivan-Brown had NU in his "Top 10" and Singleton has NU in his "Final Eight". Given how the wide receivers have struggled, Fitz and his offensive staff is clearly scouring the market at this position. Sullivan-Brown, Singleton, and Holman all fit the quick and fast style of play that Northwestern demands from its receivers.

Tight End/Superback (one commit: Trey Pugh)

Name	Hometown	High School	Stars	247 Composite	Other major offers
Jimmy Jaggers	Roseville, CA	Roseville	★★★★	.9032	Michigan, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington

No changes here for Northwestern since we last checked in. Jaggers remains a reach for the Wildcats, who already have a good superback commit in Pugh. It is possible that they could try to add a second superback considering both Jayme Taylor and Garrett Dickerson will be out of eligibility in two years, but the position certainly isn't a pressing need.

Offensive Tackle

Name	Hometown	High School	Stars	247 Composite	Other major offers
Walker Little	Bellaire, TX	Episcopal	★★★★	.9351	Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, LSU, Michigan, Michigan State
Joel Honigford	Sugarcreek, OH	Garaway	★★★	.8570	Michigan State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Penn State, West Virginia
Ethan Wiederkehr	Shoreham, NY	Shoreham-Wading River	★★★	.8316	Louisville, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Purdue, UConn

A clear area of need in 2017, tackle is one position at which Northwestern can't afford to miss out on its top targets. Austin Deculus, who was never a serious target, committed to LSU, and Matt Sichterman, who had shown some interest in Northwestern, committed to Nebraska. Honigford has an impressive slew of offers while Wiederkehr, who is high on NU according to 247, could be close. Expect Northwestern to extend more offers to another few recruits within the next month or two.

Offensive Guard (one commit: Rashawn Slater)

Name	Hometown	High School	Stars	247 Composite	Other major offers
Will Farrar	Richmond, TX	Travis	★★★	.8838	California, LSU, Miami (FL), Michigan State, UCLA, West Virginia

Farrar had been committed to UCLA, but reopened his recruitment on April 11. He has a very strong offer list, though, and NU would have to beat out several SEC and Big Ten schools, among others, to get the Texan.

This position certainly isn't a dire one, though, with Slater having already committed and a solid amount of youth on the roster at interior lineman positions, including true freshmen Nik Urban and Cameron Kolwich. Tackle remains the biggest priority on the offensive line.

Center (one commit: Sam Gerak)

Name	Hometown	High School	Stars	247 Composite	Other major offers
Creed Humphrey	Shawnee, OK	Shawnee	★★★	.8765	Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Texas

Humphrey was offered in late April which came as a big surprise. Gerak is Northwestern's guy at center; 247 has him as the No. 6 center in the country. Humphrey is ranked No. 3 and holds plenty of powerhouse offers.

Defensive End (two commits: Earnest Brown and Trevor Kent)

Name	Hometown	High School	Stars	247 Composite	Other major offers
Drew Jordan	Suwanee, GA	North Gwinnett	★★★	.8726	Arkansas, California, Duke, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Nebraska, North Carolina
Dayo Odeyigbo	Carrollton, TX	Ranchview	★★★	.8388	Baylor, Houston, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt
Kam Jones	Suwanee, GA	Peachtree Ridge	★★★	.8329	Louisville, Mississippi State, UConn

Brown's newfound interest in Ohio State is a bit worrisome and Kent is attending a Michigan camp (SATELLITE CAMPS), but insists he remains committed to Northwestern. Expect Fitz and staff to continue to remain in contact with potential defensive end recruits, because Brown seems to be far from a certainty.

Defensive Tackle (one commit: Sam Miller)

Name	Hometown	High School	Stars	247 Composite	Other major offers
Dalyn Wade-Perry	Englewood, NJ	Pope John XXII	★★★	.8696	Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Stanford

The defensive line is undoubtedly the crown jewel of the 2017 class, but it's not even complete yet. Adding a fourth and even a fifth lineman isn't out of the question — Fitzgerald loves to stockpile in the trenches — but this position certainly isn't in dire need of another top commitment. Wade-Perry seems to be out of reach.

Middle Linebacker (one commit: Blake Gallagher)

Name	Hometown	High School	Stars	247 Composite	Other major offers
Paul Theobald	West Orange, NJ	Seton Hall Prep	N/A	N/A	Boston College, Rutgers, UCF

Theobald seems largely under-recruited but that plays into Fitz's hands: he knows his linebackers. On top of his offers, Theobald took a visit to Penn State -- "Linebacker U". This could be a steal for Northwestern as the Wildcats will likely add a third linebacker to the class.

Outside Linebacker (one commit: Peter McIntyre)

Name	Hometown	High School	Stars	247 Composite	Other major offers
Santino Marchiol	Englewood, CO	IMG Academy	★★★★	.9069	Florida State, LSU, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M
Josh Clarke	New Orleans, LA	Riverdale	★★★	.8625	Baylor, Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee
Terrel Bernard	La Porte, TX	La Porte	★★★	.8366	Baylor, Colorado, Houston, Texas Tech
Michael Scott	Tallahassee, FL	North Florida Christian	★★★	.8094	California, Illinois, Louisville, Maryland, USF, Utah

Marchiol is playing his senior year at IMG Academy, much like 2016 commit Jango Glackin. He has a list of impressive offers, but so did Glackin, who could be a helpful piece in swinging Marchiol toward Evanston. The rest of the offered outside linebackers have plenty of lucrative offers and are gaining interest, but Northwestern's linebackers were excellent last season and should be a major selling point to potential recruits.

Cornerback (one commit: Cameron Ruiz)

Lamont Wade	Clairton, PA	Clairton	★★★★	.9804	Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, West Virginia
Deommodore Lenoir	Los Angeles, CA	Bishop Mora Salesian	★★★★	.9636	Michigan, Nebraska, Oregon, Texas A&M, Washington
Tyriq Hardimon	Marietta, GA	Lassiter	★★★	.8577	Army, California, Rutgers, Southern Miss.
Elijah Hicks	La Mirada, CA	La Mirada	★★★	.8496	Arizona, BYU, California, Oregon, UCLA, Washington
Mahkai Lee	Wilmington, DE	Alexis I. Dupont	none	none	Missouri, Navy

As Zach wrote in the previous update, the Wildcats will start a senior (Matthew Harris) and a junior (Keith Watkins) this year, with Montre Hartage, Alonzo Mayo and Trae Williams (all Class of 2015 recruits) manning the inside positions. Northwestern has highly touted Roderick Campbell coming in the 2016 class, along with Brian Bullock, so at least two cornerbacks in 2017 would be optimal.

The local product, Ruiz, was a nice get for Northwestern as his recent jump in recruiting ratings makes him out to be a steal. The Wildcats remain Lee's best offer, and if he doesn't get the Clemson offer he reportedly covets, he would be a good pickup. The newly offered Hicks and Hardimon both have great size and would be terrific additions to an already deep secondary.

Safety (three commits: Austin Hiller, Bryce Jackson and J.R. Pace)

Name	Hometown	High School	Stars	247 Composite	Other major offers
Jaylen Kelly-Powell	Detroit, MI	Cass Technical	★★★★	.9063	Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Stanford
Scott Nelson	Detroit, MI	University of Detroit Jesuit	★★★	.8563	Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State
Garret Wallow	New Orleans, LA	John Curtis	★★★	.8466	Arizona, Duke, Kansas State, Michigan, Vanderbilt

Pace committed to Northwestern in style and it's hard to imagine that all three commits remain at safety when they get on campus. Pace seems to be the most versatile, but don't count out Jackson switching to corner, or even Hiller to linebacker. With Godwin Igwebuike and Kyle Quiero, safety remains a position of strength for the Wildcats, despite losing four-year contributor Traveon Henry.

However, an early departure from Northwestern in favor of the NFL draft is becoming more and more of a possibility for Igwebuike, so any of these commits could be seeing valuable playing time as freshmen. It seems early to rule out Wallow, who is warm on Northwestern per 247, but don't expect another safety in this class.

Athlete

Name	Hometown	High School	Stars	247 Composite	Other major offers
Malcolm Askew	McCalla, AL	McAdory	★★★★	.9200	Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Stanford, TCU
Jordan Genmark-Heath	San Diego, CA	Cathedral Catholic	★★★	.8422	Boston College, California, Oregon State, Vanderbilt, Washington State
Joshua Blackwell	Buford, GA	Buford	★★★	.8333	Duke, Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina, West Virginia

Askew is out of reach, and Genmark-Heath is being recruited as a quarterback by other schools. He plays running back and safety, however, so don't rule him out as the running back of the 2017 class. Blackwell is a promising safety that can both cover and defend the run, but his recruiting train is gaining steam. On top of earning a Northwestern offer, he picked up offers from UNC, Penn State, West Virginia and others in May.

Kicker

Name	Hometown	High School	Stars	247 Composite	Other major offers
Grant Ryerse	Saint Paul, MN	East Ridge	★★★	.8115	Minnesota

It's nice to see Northwestern offer a kicker a scholarship again. Ryerse is a good one, and is ranked the No. 3 kicker in the nation. He holds an offer from in-state Minnesota as well as interest from Alabama, Stanford and other big schools. Kickers are becoming increasingly valuable in football (see the Buccaneers taking Florida State's Roberto Aguayo, who left school early, in the second round) and Jack Mitchell has never been the epitome of consistency.