Football coach Pat Fitzgerald is the centerpiece of Northwestern’s legacy of great linebackers.
It’s no coincidence that this year’s most highly-touted recruit is 6-foot-3, 235-pound linebacker Quentin Williams from Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh.
Williams will join the Wildcats as a freshman in the fall after a fierce battle among several college football programs to recruit him. Before visiting NU, Williams seemed set on Stanford.
But both Fitzgerald and recruiting coordinator Adam Cushing said exposing Williams to NU’s current players tipped the scale in their favor.
“Once we got him around our players is when I really think he decided that Northwestern was really attractive for the same reasons Stanford was,” Cushing said. “Our current players are what really sealed the deal there.”
Cushing said Williams initially wanted to get as far from home as possible. But he eventually saw two things at NU that Stanford could not offer: being closer to home, and the chance to play with his brother Nate, a rising junior linebacker for the Cats.
But Williams made it clear that he’s not simply following his brother’s footsteps to Evanston.
“It did have a little bit to do with it,” Williams said. “But at the same time, it was just kind of a bonus with Northwestern.”
Nate Williams will undoubtedly help his brother with the transition from high school to college, from both an athletic and academic standpoint.
But Quentin Williams’ biggest transition will be his return to the defensive side of the ball. He has not played there since his sophomore year of high school, and has not played linebacker since middle school.
Other schools looked at him at tight end, where he played at Central Catholic. But Williams said his love for defense played a part in determining the school he chose.
When he met with Fitzgerald on his official visit, they agreed that linebacker would be the best fit.
“He’s going to be one heck of a linebacker, which will really maximize his speed and athleticism,” said Fitzgerald. The coach said Williams would need to add a lot of strength and weight to be an effective end on either side of the ball.
Talented on either side of the line of scrimmage, Williams is also capable with a glove and a bat. He will also join the NU baseball team.
Playing both sports was a key criterion for schools recruiting him. When Cushing and the NU football program began taking a serious look at Williams, they let the baseball program in on the deal.
Cushing said the baseball coaches were quite familiar with Williams’ prowess on the diamond and jumped at the opportunity of securing his services without spending a scholarship on him.
Still it looks as if football will be Williams’ breadwinner, and he’s excited to learn from Fitzgerald.
“He was probably one of the best linebackers in college history,” Williams said of the Cats’ head coach, who was recently inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. “A guy who was undersized and played with a lot of heart. I definitely want to learn from a guy like that.”
As for Fitzgerald, the idea of having two linebackers from the Williams’ family pedigree is just what the program needs, he said.
“What a great story it’s going to be when both those guys are starting linebackers for us on a Rose Bowl team,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald’s bold prediction will remain just that until Williams steps on campus. It will be unclear until then whether the NU coach is clairvoyant or not.
