NU commits build bonds during official visit weekend

It’s clear from the comments of some of Northwestern’s Class of 2016 commits that their official visit over the weekend was a rousing success.

“It was a blast,” said offensive lineman Gunnar Vogel.

“The visit was great,” said wide receiver Ben Skowronek.

“It was a lot of fun,” said offensive lineman Cameron Kolwich.

Eighteen of the 20 class members and their families were in Evanston from Friday through Sunday for their officials. The only two who didn’t make the trip were cornerback Roderick Campbell and running back Jeremy Larkin, who were busy playing basketball and will come in for their officials this weekend.

The idea behind having virtually all of the commits visit together is to allow them to meet face-to-face and begin establishing the bonds that will last over their upcoming careers at Northwestern. One of the things the Wildcats did to accelerate that process was to have commits room together at the hotel, while their families stayed together in separate rooms.

For example, Kolwich roomed with fellow offensive lineman Jesse Meyler, Vogel with offensive lineman Nik Urban, Skowronek with superback Eric Eshoo, and wide receiver Riley Lees with quarterback Aidan Smith.

Everyone that WildcatReport contacted agreed that the most important aspect of the visit was meeting and betting getting to know their classmates. The commits have had a group chat going for several months, and they stay in touch through social media, but meeting each other face-to-face was a very rewarding experience.

“It was very cool being able to meet most of the guys in the 2016 class, and start to develop that bond we will have over the next 4-5 years,” said Skowronek via Twitter direct message.

Vogel noticed that most of his fellow classmates are “wired” the same way he is.

“Being able to get together with all of the guys was super special,” said Vogel via phone. “Northwestern recruits a certain kind of player, and we all get together real well.”

Vogel then expanded on what Northwestern’s commits have in common.

“Everyone is pretty intelligent. To pick Northwestern, you have to have a certain set of goals in front of you. Everyone knows that academics are very important, but they’re also really tough football players.”

The recruits arrived on Friday afternoon and had lunch together at Smylie Brothers in Evanston. They then took video headshots in front of a green screen back on campus; that’s the footage that will be used to create the signing day videos. Then, they had dinner at Pete Miller’s in Evanston that night.

On Saturday, the group had breakfast at the hotel, the Hilton Orrington. They then headed to the Nicolet Center for meetings -- an academic overview presentation, and then speeches from Northwestern president Morty Schapiro and athletic director Jim Phillips that really made an impression on Vogel.

“They were super-impressive, great guys,” said Vogel. “That was a huge selling point, honestly. You can tell that (Schapiro) bleeds purple. That’s huge for the football team.”

After position meetings and Troutwine Athletic Profile (TAP) testing, the group ate lunch at Bat 17. Then, following some down time back at the hotel, it was dinner at head coach Pat Fitzgerald’s home, followed by a trip to Welsh-Ryan Arena to cheer for the Wildcats as they played (and eventually lost to) Penn State.

Lees said that dinner at Fitzgerald’s house was the highlight for him. With players, families and coaches, he estimated that there were 80 people there, altogether.

Vogel enjoyed the basketball game, the first college contest he has attended, and “getting goofy and loud in the student section.” The 6-foot-6, 290-pounder also noted that the group “ate like kings,” reckoning that he “probably gained 10 pounds” over the weekend.

Kolwich said, “I didn’t really have one highlight, everything was a lot of fun. Just hanging out with the guys was a great time.”

Maybe it was Skowronek who summed it up best.

“It was very cool being able to meet most of the guys in the 2016 class, and start to develop that bond we will have over the next 4-5 years,” he stated. “I was also able to create some bonds with the guys already on the team and ask a lot of questions about what to expect and what to do during my senior year to prepare for next year. All the other aspects of the visit were fantastic as well, and I can't wait to sign my NLI next month and officially be a Wildcat.”

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