Northwestern LB Chee Anyanwu retires from football

According to Louie Vaccher of Wildcat Report, Northwestern linebacker Chee Anyanwu announced his medical retirement from football to the team on Tuesday.

At this time, the university told Vaccher that they cannot disclose any other information about his injury, due to privacy regulations.

In his two seasons on the team, Anyanwu did not record any game appearances for the Wildcats, and would have entered the 2019 season as a redshirt sophomore. The 6-foot-1, 211-pound outside linebacker was a late addition to Northwestern’s 2017 recruiting class.

Anyanwu, a Georgia native, originally committed to the University of Richmond in January 2017, but Anthony Walker Jr.’s decision to leave Northwestern early for the NFL draft opened up a scholarship for Anyanwu. Just two weeks before national signing day, he decommitted from Richmond and joined Northwestern on January 21.

Northwestern has now seen four players retire due to health reasons in the past calendar year: running back Jeremy Larkin in September, superback Cam Green in February, defensive back Austin Hiller in April and now Anyanwu.

Anyanwu was an Academic All-Big Ten honoree in 2018. He is still enrolled at Northwestern on full scholarship, according to the team spokesperson.

His retirement has opened up another scholarship for a potential member of the Wildcats’ 2020 class.