Northwestern football signing day profiles 2016: CB Brian Bullock

QUICK HITS

POSITION: Cornerback
HEIGHT: 6-0
WEIGHT: 175
HOMETOWN: Round Rock, Texas
HIGH SCHOOL: Round Rock
247 COMPOSITE RATING: ★★★ (.8119)
NATIONAL RANK: 1761
POSITION RANK: 168
STATE RANK: 206
OTHER OFFERS: Texas State
MORE: 247 Profile | Hudl | Twitter

BACKGROUND

Bullock was one of the recruits who got the ball rolling for Northwestern's 2016 recruiting class. The defensive back committed in early April during his official visit after receiving a scholarship offer in late February. At the time of his commitment, Bullock held one other offer from nearby Texas State. Bullock, though, was receiving attention from some high major schools when committed, according to 247 Sports. Oklahoma, Stanford, TCU, Texas Tech and West Virginia all were reportedly interested in Bullock. Baylor even visited Bullock in person a few weeks after he verbally pledged to Northwestern. Alas, Bullock is the second-lowest-rated member of this recruiting class, according to 247's composite ranking.

In high school, Bullock played a bunch of safety, which allowed him to freelance more and make big plays in the run game. Because of his size, corner looks like it will be a much better fit for him in college. His tape shows an impressive burst to the football and a physical style when it comes to defending the run. He also showed some nice playmaking ability in the return game and with his ball skills.

OUTLOOK

Northwestern is loaded at the cornerback spots in the near future as it's the position the Wildcats have recruited best in recent years. Next season, Northwestern projects to have at least seven scholarship players ahead of him at cornerback, and that's not even including fellow 2016 commit Roderick Campbell, Jr. — a highly-rated corner from St. Louis. So it's pretty clear that Bullock will redshirt. Looking into the future, Bullock will have to overtake players such as Alonzo Mayo and Trae Williams in the class above him, as well as Montre Hartage and Parrker Westphal, who will be juniors when he's a redshirt freshman. Although not has highly touted as some of Northwestern's previous defensive back commits, defensive backs coach Jerry Brown has proven he can develop talent regardless of the star rating.