NU coach, if not critics, likes recruiting class

Pat Fitzgerald didn't study genetics at Northwestern, so he must have picked up his affinity for heredity somewhere on his single-helixed climb up the coaching ladder.

When Fitzgerald introduced his second recruiting class Wednesday afternoon in Evanston, four of his 20 incoming freshmen claim current and/or former NFL standouts as kin.

And with Texas wide receiver Martin Bayless and Florida safety Austin Bates in the fold - their fathers, Martin and Bill, respectively, enjoyed long pro careers as safeties - Northwestern's roster now boasts five young men whose fathers played for NFL pay.

"I think it helps," Fitzgerald said. "And I think it will also help them when they deal with the adversity of leaving home and going to college and everything that goes with being homesick and so on.

"It'll help because their fathers will say, 'Well, I've been there. You can make it.' They'll be there for them."

Truth be told, though, Fitzgerald didn't recruit with any designs on winning a Bloodlines Bowl.

After coming with 1 win of a postseason berth last year, Fitzgerald just wanted a class that puts the Wildcats into position to compete for Big Ten titles and big bowl bids for years to come.

"I believe our program is in as strong of a talent situation as it's ever been," Fitzgerald said. "I'm very optimistic about the future. I'm excited about the future … the competition that those 20 young men bring adds a lot to our program."

The Internet gurus don't believe Northwestern added as much as its Big Ten brethren.

Rivals.com's rankings showed the Wildcats, which lured six three-star prospects, ahead of only Indiana. Scout.com didn't think NU even outrecruited the Hoosiers.

"That doesn't mean much to us because we don't know who writes those pages," said Kevin Johns, NU's former recruiting coordinator who's handing his title to Adam Cushing after being named the team's pass-game coordinator.

"So we trust what we see on film and we trust what we see in person and we trust what high school coaches tell us. The whole thing is recruiting is not a perfect science."

But Northwestern tried to fill this year's class as logically as possible.

To replenish areas where it has several seniors-to-be, the Wildcats went big on offensive linemen, wide receivers and defensive backs.

Wheaton North guard Nick Adamle (nephew of former NU great Mike Adamle) and Neuqua Valley tackle Jeff Radek (cousin of Broncos safety John Lynch) are part of the five-lineman class.

Montini tackle Chuck Porcelli, York tackle Neal Deiters and Loyola Academy tackle Brian Mulroe round out the group.

The 6-foot-8 Dieters used to be the roundest of that group, but he has shed approximately 35 pounds since weighing in at 343 pounds at NU's camp last summer.

"We visited with him, his high school coach and his parents and said, 'We think your optimal weight is this. Let's start to work on it the right way,'Ȧ" Fitzgerald said. "He has. He's been diligent in that. He went down and played in an all-star game in Florida during January break and did just a great job down there road-grading people."

All four of NU's new wide receivers could see the field immediately. Bayless, who caught 35 TD passes in high school, turned down offers from lots of perennial bowl teams to go with Northwestern.

Converting quarterback Jeremy Ebert ran a 4.39 40 at NU's camp last summer while Dallas' Demetrius Fields and Pennsylvania native Jeravin Matthews boast above average speed.

Fitzgerald also felt especially good about landing Pittsburgh's Quentin Williams, a 6-foot-4, 235-pound three-star outside linebacker who's two years younger than current NU linebacker Nate Williams.

Fitzgerald postponed his news conference by 10 minutes to ensure Williams' signed letter of intent made it over the fax wires.