MORE ON FLEURIMA: Northwestern's first commit is a big one l Fleurima a top priority for Northwestern l Sophomore year HUDL tape
Wednesday was a big day for Northwestern: they landed their first commit of the 2022 class, four-star, Rivals250 wide receiver Reggie Fleurima.
The Wildcats were the last Big Ten program to get on the board with a 2022 pledge, but they made a big splash. We called Fleurima the ideal first recruit of the class. Here are five reasons why:
He’s a big-time player: Fleurima has everything you’re looking for in a wide receiver. He’s big (6-foot-2 and 205 pounds), he’s fast (4.5 40) and he’s physical.
He’s ranked as the No. 203 player in the nation by Rivals. To put that number in perspective, only one Northwestern recruit was rated higher than that over the last five classes – LB Mac Uihlein in 2021.
His 14 offers included eight from the Big Ten, and he most certainly would have attracted more once he put out some junior film (Naperville Central opens its season on Saturday).
He fills a need for Northwestern: The Wildcats have had a lot of very good possession and slot receivers over the years, but very few true No. 1s.
Fleurima can be that kind of a player for Northwestern, a guy who can stretch the field and strike some fear into the opposing secondary. He’s got the ability to get separation and the ball skills to make plays downfield.
He’s from Chicago: Northwestern calls itself Chicago’s Big Ten team, and head coach Pat Fitzgerald is fond of saying that Wildcat recruiting begins and ends in Chicagoland.
Well, this year, it certainly started there.
Northwestern has had pretty good luck with four-star signees from the Chicago suburbs in the past, including program greats such as Justin Jackson, Clayton Thorson and Pat Ward.
He’s another playmaker: The Wildcats’ offense has added six players since the Citrus Bowl win over Auburn on Jan. 1: a rocket-armed QB in South Carolina transfer Ryan Hilinski, a talented running back in Bowling Green transfer Andrew Clair, and four wide receivers – Kansas grad transfer Stephon Robinson Jr., 2021 signees CJ Johnson and Jordan Mosley, and now, Fleurima.
The Wildcat offense, which finished 93rd in the nation in scoring in 2020, should be a much more potent attack in the very near future.
He will recruit other prospects: Fleurima told WildcatReport that the biggest reason he committed early was to help get other players to Northwestern.
“I want to be the first one so I can get more to join me,” he said.
Fleurima has seen Northwestern on the short lists of several big-time 2022 prospects and he wants to start working on recruiting them. If his recent Twitter follows are an indication, he’s already living up to his promise.
