Northwestern announces Sam Miller, Trey Pugh as early enrollees

Northwestern recruits Sam Miller and Trey Pugh have enrolled early, per a school release. The two incoming freshmen will take classes and participate in team workouts throughout the winter and practices throughout the spring.

Miller—a Houston, TX native and the younger brother of current freshman defensive lineman Alex Miller—committed to Northwestern in January 2016 and is rated as the second best prospect in the Northwestern’s 2017 class and the 27th ranked defensive tackle in the nation per 247Sports.

He garnered a three-star rating from 247Sports and a four-star rating from Scout, and is part of a strong group of defensive lineman heading to Evanston next season. The top three recruits in the class—Miller, Earnest Brown and Trevor Kent—all play on the defensive line.

Pugh, a superback prospect out of Plain City, OH, received offers from, among others, Michigan, Arkansas and Nebraska before ultimately choosing the Wildcats. He’s pegged as the nation’s 28th ranked tight end by 247Sports, and has tremendous size for the position at 6-foot-5, 225 pounds.

Here is head coach Pat Fitzgerald’s statement from the release:

“We’re thrilled to officially welcome Sam and Trey to our family here in Evanston,” Fitzgerald said. “Both have already immersed themselves in Northwestern’s world-class academic environment, and are alongside their teammates in the weight room building the foundation for our 2017 season.”

Miller and Pugh’s decisions to enroll early continue an recent uptick in early-enrollees under Fitzgerald. The two will be the third and fourth players to do in the Fitz era, after Parker Westphal in 2014 and Tommy Carnifax last year.

Enrolling early allows players to get ahead academically, participate in spring practices and receive medical treatment from team trainers before their teammates arrive at the end of the summer.