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The Northern Illinois Huskies added another piece to their already solid 2015 recruiting class on Saturday when Vince Hughes out of Franklin High in Franklin, Wisconsin committed to the Huskies.
Vince Hughes
Franklin, WI
Status: Verbally committed to Northern Illinois
Commitment Date: 6/14/2014
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 251
Position(s): OT
High School: Franklin
Hughes, a 6-foot-5, 251 pound offensive tackle, chose the Huskies over multiple FBS offers from Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Miami, New Mexico, and Western Michigan. Hughes is a highly decorated offensive tackle who is considered a Top-10 recruit in the state of Wisconsin and a two star recruit according to Rivals (high 3 star according to 247Sports). As a Junior, Hughes earned many accolades such as 1st team All-Conference, WFCA All-Region, WFCA Honorable Mention All-State, CNI All-Suburban 1st Team, and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel All-Area 2nd Team.
"Overall, I really like NIU. I had a great time on my visit and I really like the coaching staff. I feel like it's a perfect fit for me. Getting on the field early in my career was big for me and something that I will have the opportunity to do at NIU," Hughes told Hustle Belt shortly after his commitment.
Hughes also mentioned that Levon Myers, a current NIU football player who graduated from Franklin in 2012, was a huge help during the recruiting process and a big reason he chose NIU.
Hughes received serious interest from Wisconsin and was scheduled to attend a camp there this past weekend. Many thought he was close to receiving an offer from the Badgers, however, Hughes decided not to attend the camp and instead he decided to become a Huskie. When asked about the decision, Hughes said, "It wasn't a very hard decision to make. Wisconsin wasn't paying as much attention to me as NIU was. At NIU I knew exactly where i stood and that made it easy."
Although Hughes will have to wait an entire school year before he steps foot on campus in Dekalb, he is very much looking forward to the first time he gets to suit up as a Huskie. "The atmosphere at NIU is awesome. I can't wait to get down there and win some MAC championships while receiving a good education," Hughes said.
Huskie fans will have to be patient for this gritty offensive tackle to get on campus, however, he should be well worth the wait. In the meantime, check out his Hudl highlights here: