Northwestern and David Braun appear to have a clear plan when it comes to high school recruiting in the modern era: target players at positions of developmental strength.
For the Wildcats, their clear and obvious strength lies in turning mid-level offensive line recruits into high-quality Big Ten starters with potential NFL futures. We saw it with Rashawn Slater. We saw it with Peter Skoronski. Now, we've seen it with Caleb Tiernan and, to an extent, Evan Beernsten (he transferred to Evanston, but the 'Cats still helped him get better). We're also already seeing early signs with Ezomo Oratokhai, who was fantastic last season at guard as a freshman.
In theory, if Braun and the Wildcats can take care of positions like offensive line through the college equivalent of "drafting and developing," then it can focus its efforts in the college equivalent of free agency, the transfer portal, on other positions.
For Northwestern, those positions include the skill position group. In recent seasons, NU's quarterback and its best wide outs tend to be transfers. It's had very limited success at signing high school recruits and developing them into quality starters at those spots.
Yesterday, Northwestern offered yet another three-star offensive lineman, this time in the 2028 recruiting class. His name is Sean Sherman, and the Texas native announced his NU offer himself via a post to X.
Sherman is an unranked prospect on 247Sports, but the other industry standard site, Rivals, lists him as a three-star. This isn't shocking, as 247 tends to be a bit behind Rivals when it comes to providing updated rankings. The updated ranking lists Sherman as the No. 18 interior lineman in his class, and the No. 41 player out of his football-crazed home state.
Offering Sherman is just the first step -- signing him will be the real challenge. As an emerging name in a recruiting class with plenty of time left, there are still a lot of hurdles.
For one, as Sherman's profile grows, more high-level programs are likely to enter the mix for his services. Additionally, serious competition to the Wildcats' offer already exists. According to 247, Arizona State, Baylor, Houston, Kansas State and North Carolina have already submitted offers.
The most difficult of those schools to beat out will be Baylor and Houston. It's often difficult to keep a player from choosing a school in his home state, especially in Texas, where the football culture is huge and often insular.
Standing at 6-foot-4 with a weight of 330 lbs, Sherman has more than a projectable frame. He's already big enough to compete at the next level, even in the Big Ten. Should the 'Cats find a way to get him in the building, he fits their mold perfectly for a player they can get the most out of.