Northwestern landed its quarterback for the 2027 recruiting class this morning, securing a commitment from three-star signal caller RJ Day. Day is a three-star according to both 247Sports and Rivals, and he's also the son of Ohio State head coach Ryan Day. He announced his commitment via X this morning.
Day took an official visit to campus this weekend, accompanied by his father. It seems he was impressed by what he saw.
The 'Cats have plenty going for them right now in recruiting. Their new, state-of-the-art stadium is set to open this fall, and that's probably the biggest selling point. But new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who has ties to the elder Day and OSU, is likely also helping.
Day's decision to come to Northwestern isn't program altering. He's a solid prospect, but he needs to be developed at the next level. Whether the 'Cats can accomplish that while simultaneously keeping him from the transfer portal remains to be seen.
Northwestern hasn't had much success developing QBs in recent seasons, almost always relying on the portal to bring in its passers. That's what the program has done this offseason, bringing in Aidan Chiles from Michigan State to be the starter.
But David Braun would almost certainly love to be able to start the same player in consecutive seasons at some point soon. That kind of continuity on offense is something we haven't seen since he took over as head coach, and it could make a big difference.
According to 247, Day is the No. 92 quarterback in his class and the No. 50 player out of Ohio. Rivals is a bit higher on him, listing Day as the No. 86 QB.
Standing at 5-foot-11, 203 lbs, Day is just a little short for his position. If he has a successful college career, that will become a much bigger deal if he tries to jump to the pros. For now, though, it's just something to monitor.
Assuming he's mobile enough, you can get away with being a little bit shorter at the college level, even in the Big Ten. Day also has a pretty serious football background, so he's almost surely been taught how to go about seeing over the line at his size.
But the height it probably why Day isn't ranked a little higher on the recruiting websites. It's a real factor to consider when evaluating quarterbacks, which has been proven again and again at the NFL level.
Still, if the 'Cats can get the most out of Day, they might finally have a young quarterback capable of becoming the starter.