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2016 Northwestern Football Recruiting Class: Pat Fitzgerald and Northwestern are coming off a tremendous year on the field, and it translated into one of his better recruiting classes.

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Northwestern Football Recruiting Class Overview

It’s a nice class for Pat Fitzgerald getting a lot of bang for the buck. Usually when Northwestern has a good haul, it’s because it brings in a ton of prospects and gets a few of them to pan out. This class has the quality more than the quantity, getting enough three-start prospects to keep competitive. This isn’t just a class full of smart try-hards – Fitzgerald did a great job.

The Class Is Heavy On …

Offensive linemen. The Wildcats spread out their class to several areas with a little something for everything, but the key parts coming in were at guard, getting three decently-ranked players in Nik Urban, Jesse Meyler, and Cameron Kolwich. 6-6, 275-pound Gunnar Vogel is a good-looking tackle prospect who could kick inside, too. It’s going to take a while to beef this group up, but the talent is there.

The Star of the Class Is …

RB Jeremy Larkin, 5-10, 178 – QB Aidan Smith was a good get for what the NU offense likes to do, and Eric Eshoo is a good-looking tight end who could be a new type of target for the attack at some point, but it’s Larkin who fits the type. He’s a smallish, quick back who can slash, zip, and fly. He’s a gamebreaker who can be used in a variety of ways. Boston College, Wake Forest and Cincinnati were the main schools who were after him, but he also made it known that Northwestern was his choice early on.

The Team’s Biggest 2016 Depth Chart Hole Is …

The defensive line. The offense needs to find some more receivers, and the secondary loses CB Nick VanHoose and S Traveon Hall, but the line takes the huge hit losing three starters including ends Dean Lowry and Deonte Gibson. There’s decent depth and a few options to work around tackle Tyler Lancaster, but it might take a little while to come together.

2016 Northwestern Football Recruiting Class

Jesse BROWN RB 5-11 190 Lilburn, Ga. Brookwood
Brian BULLOCK DB 5-11 175 Round Rock, Texas Round Rock
Roderick CAMPBELL JR. DB 6-0 180 St. Louis, Mo. Chaminade College Prep
Tommy CARNIFAX DE 6-4 250 Warren, Ohio Howland
Ramaud CHIAOKHIAO WR 6-2 190 Minneapolis, Minn. Breck
Eric ESHOO SB 6-4 225 Chicago, Ill. Loyola Academy
Paddy FISHER LB 6-3 220 Katy, Texas Katy
Tyler GILLIKIN^ LS 6-3 215 Atlanta, Ga. The Westminster Schools
Jango GLACKIN LB 6-2 205 Lebanon, Ohio IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Mark GOODEN LB 6-2 225 Reynoldsburg, Ohio Reynoldsburg
Cam KOLWICH OL 6-4 265 Beverly Hills, Mich. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep
Jeremy LARKIN RB 5-10 175 Cincinnati, Ohio LaSalle
Riley LEES WR 6-0 185 Libertyville, Ill. Libertyville
Jesse MEYLER OL 6-5 285 Toronto, Ont. Episcopal (Arlington. Va.)
Alex MILLER DL 6-3 260 Houston, Texas Stratford
Parker OLIVER WR 5-11 180 Dallas, Texas Trinity Christian Academy
Jake SAUNDERS DT 6-3 275 Loveland, Ohio Loveland
Bennett SKOWRONEK WR 6-4 205 Fort Wayne, Ind. Homestead
Aidan SMITH QB 6-2 200 Fort Wayne, Ind. Carroll
Travis WHILLOCK DB 6-0 180 Katy, Texas Katy
Nik URBAN OL 6-3 270 Willoughby, Ohio Willoughby South
Gunnar VOGEL OL 6-6 265 Columbus, Ohio Westerville South

MORE: Ranking No. 1 Recruiting Classes Since 2002