The 'Cats continue to heavily recruit at one of their best developmental positions.
The Wildcats will host a three-star offensive lineman on campus next weekend in 2027 recruit Andrew Davalla. Coming out of Cleveland, Davalla is listed as the No. 49 player in his state. He announced his impending visit via X yesterday, confirming that he'll head to Evanston from May 29-31.
Standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing 290 lbs, Davalla is already big enough to play at the next level. He's also an ascending recruit, as he's not yet ranked by 247Sports. If one of the websites is ahead, though, it's typically Rivals.
Davalla's offer list also suggests a player on the rise, as he's received offers from a bunch of power-four programs. Currently, Rivals gives Virginia Tech the best chance of landing him at 35%, but Duke and Wake Forest are also in the mix. So is Miami (OH), which isn't a power-four school but does tend to recruit pretty well.
Northwestern is right there in the mix, but getting him to visit campus is a big development. Davalla has already taken visits to all of those other schools, some of them multiple times.
The end of May is also a fantastic time to host recruits in Evanston. The sun is out; the trees are in bloom. The wind coming off the lake is comfortable, not freezing cold. This is the time where Northwestern makes its money in recruiting.
On top of the weather, Northwestern has a new stadium opening next season. It also has new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly entering the fold. There's a lot for head coach David Braun and his staff to leverage with potential recruits right now.
And Davalla makes perfect sense as a Northwestern target. The 'Cats do a great job identifying and bringing in offensive linemen who fit the bill of a B1G-level starter but might need a little help getting there.
The 'Cats have turned many three-star-level prospects into quality starters and, in some case, stars over the past few years. It's been a massive reason why they've been able to remain competitive in an expanded conference.
Last season, Northwestern made a bowl game because it had a great offensive line. There's no other way to look at it. They were able to sustain possessions and run the ball down teams' throats, and that was because they had the horses up front.
If it wants to continue to build its reputation as an "offensive-line-U," then it needs to continue restocking players in the recruiting process. Brining in players like Davalla is exactly how they do that.
