Over the past week, Northwestern has been getting more active in the 2027 high school recruiting cycle. Yesterday, it landed a commitment from tackle Cade Reikowski out of Wisconsin.
Reikowski is currently not ranked, according to both 247Sports and Rivals, but there are other reasons to be excited about this prospect.
For one, he's already a really big kid, standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing 290 lbs. That's certainly a projectable frame the Wildcats can work with in the coming years. Reikowski also has offers from other programs like Washington State and South Dakota State, so it's not like there was no interest in his recruitment around the country.
Of course, with other offers on the board and measurable like that, there's always a risk Reikowski will ultimately earn a ranking and get some interest from other programs. He could still choose to reopen his recruitment with time left in his cycle.
But that's probably not likely, and it's ultimately a good thing if Northwestern got to him early. His recent visit to campus this weekend likely helped secure the deal.
If there's one thing we can be confident about with the 'Cats, it's that they can develop offensive linemen. They've proved it numerous times in the last decade, churning out NFL talents like Peter Skoronski and, most recently, likely draft pick Caleb Tiernan.
Northwestern wants to win in the trenches, and it had a lot of success doing that this past year. Having a good front allows the 'Cats to put the ball in the hands of Caleb Komolafe, stay ahead of the sticks and methodically march down the field.
It will be interesting to see the impact new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has on the game plan. But when Kelly was hired, head coach David Braun lauded his ability to play to his players' strengths. The line will almost certainly be one of them.
By signing players like Reikowski, Braun and co. are looking out for the health of their established pipeline. Northwestern needs to continue molding blockers into NFL-level talents, and it hasn't done so by just getting the highest ranked guys. It's done so through teaching and practice.
Reikowski might pick up a ranking at some point, but just because he's unranked doesn't mean the 'Cats don't have a plan for his future. Braun has talked about using both the portal and high school recruiting to build teams.
Using that model, it's crucial that Northwestern doesn't need to spend a ton of its portal resources on offensive linemen. To do that, it needs to hit on players like Reikowski.