They won’t have Northwestern to push around anymore. The Wildcats’ recruiting staff made sure of that.

With six offensive linemen graduating over the next two years, NU went out and got itself a quintet of big, physical road graders from the suburbs of Chicago, all of whom appear to take a certain glee in putting defensive linemen on their butts.

Nick Adamle: 6-foot-4, 295 pounds.

Neil Deiters: 6-foot-8, 310 pounds.

Brian Mulroe: 6-foot-4, 265 pounds.

Chuck Porcelli: 6-foot-7, 295 pounds.

Jeff Radek: 6-foot-6, 300 pounds.

And they’re all growing boys. Well, except for Deiters, who is down from 343 pounds.

“Our offensive line is solidified with tough Chicago kids,” said NU coach Pat Fitzgerald, himself a tough Chicago kid. “It’s very exciting to see.”

A line of Adamle, Deiters, Mulroe, Porcelli and Radek (which is an entirely realistic prospect in the near future) would average 6-foot-6, 293 pounds. And that’s without the weight gain that’s going to come when these guys taste the nutrition and weight training of the collegiate level. NU could be seeing 15 more pounds on each one of them. And it will be all muscle.

So the Cats addressed a need. They also went out and picked up three linebackers to replace the graduated Adam Kadela and Eddie Simpson.

The most impressive of the bunch is Quentin Williams, a tight end/linebacker from Pittsburgh powerhouse Central Catholic, the high school that produced Dan Marino and Williams’ brother Nate, who will be a redshirt sophomore inside linebacker for the Cats next season.

Beyond this, the Cats really didn’t get much.

NU landed a couple of defensive backs, another position in need of fortifying, who look like they know how to hit. It got a big, rangy wideout in Martin Bayless, whom the Cats somehow snatched away from Ohio State, Florida, Washington and UCLA.

But on the national, and even the Big Ten, level, the Cats’ class isn’t that awe-inspiring.

Rivals.com ranked the Cats’ class 73rd in the nation and 10th in the Big Ten, behind such powerhouses as Middle Tennessee and Duke (beaten again?). Scout.com puts NU above Duke, but still 69th in the nation and last in the Big Ten.

The folks at ESPN are the most optimistic, placing the Cats’ class ninth in the conference … with a “C” grade.

And, with its irrational love of the superback, the NU staff could be putting one of its most talented recruits to waste.

Brett Nagel, from Lemont, Ill., played strong safety, linebacker, quarterback and tight end in high school: two positions the Cats need help in, one they don’t and one that doesn’t exist at NU.

As a quarterback during his senior season, the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Nagel accounted for more than 2,200 yards of offense and 30 touchdowns, mostly rushing.

So what is his anticipated position at NU? Superback: the fullback/tight end hybrid that makes for an odd abbreviation on the depth chart.

“We call it a superback because he needs to be able to do super things,” Fitzgerald said.

You mean like touching the ball a combined 20 times on offense last year?

There is reason to be optimistic. The Cats are losing only nine starters from last year’s squad and have plenty of experienced backups to throw in there. So this year’s class will have a lot of time to develop before it is thrust into the fire.

Also, NU has a history in making studs out of little-recruited prospects. Ross Lane and Sherrick McManis were two-star recruits coming out of high school, according to rivals.com. They turned out fine.

Eric Peterman and Tyrell Sutton were three-star recruits. They turned out better than fine.

So there’s no need to fret at the paucity of marquee recruits for the Cats, even though a conference team like Minnesota (1-11 last year) was able to draw a half dozen of them.

It’ll all come down to how they develop, and Fitzgerald thinks he has a lot to work with.

“Our program is in as strong of a talent situation as it’s ever been,” he said.

Assistant sports editor David Morrison is a Medill senior. Reach him at [email protected].