Watkins, Trumpy help fill two of NU's biggest needs
To kick off the start of their shared Northwestern adventure, Mike Trumpy's family invited Evan Watkins' family over for dinner Wednesday.
Their celebration capped a long, lucrative day that began with Trumpy, a Wheaton North running back, and Watkins, a Glenbard North quarterback, faxing in their signed letters of intent shortly after 7 a.m.
NU coach Pat Fitzgerald received 18 such faxes - exactly what he expected - for a group ranked eighth in the Big Ten by Rivals.com.
The official paperwork haul wrapped up a process that started to take shape in April when the 6-foot-6 Watkins became the first to commit to the Wildcats.
"After going to all the other schools, I just had a gut feeling about Northwestern from the first day I was there," said Watkins, who turned down Iowa and NIU, his father's alma mater. "They're on the rise and there's really good things happening."
"I'm very excited," said Trumpy, who committed three weeks after Watkins. "I knew I wanted to go to Northwestern all along. I'm up there all the time. The more I'm up there, the more I love it."
Watkins and Trumpy fulfilled two of the Wildcats' bigger needs this off-season.
Northwestern didn't recruit a quarterback last year, so Watkins figures to redshirt and learn so he can compete with sophomore-to-be Dan Persa to replace Mike Kafka in 2010.
Trumpy and California's Arby Fields, meanwhile, have the chance to compete for immediate playing time.
Junior-to-be Stephen Simmons, who started the last three games of the regular season, is the only runner on the roster with more than token experience.
"Their No. 1 job between now and when they report is to get in the best shape of their life," Fitzgerald said. "They've never put the ball underneath their arms in Big Ten football yet, so I'm not going to put those expectations on our guys.
"I'd rather see them come in in great shape ready to compete and then it'll all play itself out."
The 6-foot, 205-pound Trumpy, whose senior year was hampered by hamstring problems that have since healed, was ranked by Rivals.com as Illinois' top running back and the state's 14th-best player.
Fields, a 5-10, 190-pounder from Alta Loma, Calif., piled up 2,959 rushing yards, 1,534 receiving yards and 50 TDs during his career. He hopes to play center field for NU's baseball team, too.
"Mike and Arby have a little bit different skill sets and strengths," Fitzgerald said, "but at the end of the day both young men are very tough, they've got great vision and, if a few people fit wrong and miss tackles, an uncanny ability to run fast and take the ball the distance for touchdowns."
Northwestern also mined the Chicago area for Oswego outside linebacker Tim Riley, Mt. Carmel defensive end Anthony Battle and four-star left tackle Patrick Ward.
The Wildcats hit Ohio hard, too, to find four players, including fierce offensive tackle Brian Smith and linebacker Will Studlien.
"Will is ALL linebacker," Fitzgerald said in a tone of voice that suggested he found a 15-years-younger version of himself.
"Will is a true linebacker in the sense that he loves football, loves everything about it," said NU recruiting coordinator Adam Cushing. "He's a guy's guy. We're looking to great things from him."