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After winning another MAC championship, Northern Illinois signed another recruiting class loaded with talent. Despite losing multiple recruits late in the process, the Huskies class remains strong. On Wednesday afternoon, it was officially announced that the Huskies signed 30 recruits in their 2015 class.
| Player | Hometown (School) | Pos | Rating | HT/WT | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeffrey Hill Jr. | Miramar, FL (Miramar) | DB | 2* | 5-8/ 165 | Yes |
| Daniel Crawford | Macomb, MI (Dakota) | TE/DE | 3* | 6-3/ 230 | Yes |
| Sutton Smith | Saint Charles, MO (Francis Howell) | ATH | 3* | 6-0/ 193 | Yes |
| Ryan Roberts | Northville, MI (Northville) | TE/DE | 2* | 6-6/ 240 | Yes |
| Daniel Santacaterina | Geneva, IL (Geneva) | QB | 2* | 6-2/ 200 | Yes |
| D.J. Brown | Little Rock, Arkansas (North Little Rock) | RB | 3* | 5-9/ 177 | Yes |
| Vincent Hughes | Franklin, WI (Franklin) | OT | 3* | 6-6/ 255 | Yes |
| Steven Lee | Champaign, IL (Centennial) | WR | 3* | 6-3/ 215 | Yes |
| Cassius Grady | Arlington, TX (Arlington) | DB | 2* | 5-10/ 175 | Yes |
| Max Morris | West Des Moines, Iowa (Dowling) | DE | 2* | 6-2/ 235 | Yes |
| Marcus Kelley | Waukesha, WI (West) | DE | 3* | 6-4/ 230 | Yes |
| Josh Corcoran | Lakeville, MN (Lakeville South) | LB | 3* | 6-3/ 219 | Yes |
| Marcus Jones | Oak Lawn, IL (Brother Rice) | RB/WR | 2* | 5-10/ 185 | Yes |
| Adam Buirge | Minneapolis, MN (Park Center) | WR | 2* | 6-0/ 180 | Yes |
| Nathan Veloz | Oak Creek, WI (Oak Creek) | OG | 3* | 6-4/ 310 | Yes |
| Jordan Steckler | Two River, WI (Two Rivers) | OT | 3* | 6-5/ 293 | Yes |
| Kyle Pugh | Chicago Heights, IL (Bloom) | LB | 3* | 6-1/ 215 | Yes |
| Quintin Wynne | St. Louis, MO (Christian Brothers) | DE | NR | 6-2/ 225 | Yes |
| Spencer Tears | Oak Lawn, IL (Richards) | WR | 3* | 6-2/ 175 | Yes |
| Jake Hlava | Batavia, IL (Batavia) | OLB | NR | 6-1/ 210 | Yes |
| Allen Letterer | DeKalb, IL (DeKalb) | LB | NR | 6-1/ 215 | Yes |
| Trayshon Foster | Tuscaloosa, AL (Tuscaloosa Academy | S | NR | 6-1/ 180 | Yes |
| Trequan Smith | Boynton Beach, FL (Boynton Beach) | S | NR | 5-11/ 164 | Yes |
| Mason Fleury | Elgin, IL (Hampshire) | LB | NR | 6-2 / 190 | Yes |
| Quintin Hoosman | Plainfield, IL (Plainfield) | RB | NR | 5-11/ 195 | Yes |
| Marquis Howard | Montgomery, AL (Lee) | DB | NR | 6-1/ 180 | Yes |
| Corey Kennedy | Oswego, IL (Oswego East) | DB | NR | 5-9/ 163 | Yes |
| Robert Kraklow | Mukwonaga, WI (Mukwonaga) | OL | NR | 6-4/ 295 | Yes |
| Alex Schlee | Germantown, WI (Germantown) | OL | NR | 6-5/ 285 | Yes |
| Scott Topole | Cary, IL (Cary-Grove) | OL | NR | 6-5/ 255 |
It was nice to see the Huskies continue their Wisconsin pipeline when recruiting offensive linemen. NIU was able to haul two 3-star linemen in Nathan Veloz and Vince Hughes as well as 2-star Jordan Steckler. The Huskies were able to hold off a late Wisconsin offer extended to the talented Hughes. Shortly after receiving the offer, Hughes reaffirmed his commitment to NIU.
NIU recruited the state of Illinois extremely well this year as two of their top recruits this year are from the Land of Lincoln. Spencer Tears, one-time Nebraska commit, chose the Huskies over reported offers from Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Indiana, Louisville, Ohio, Purdue, Syracuse, Toledo, and Western Michigan. At 6-foot-2, Tears has the height and talent to quickly become one of Drew Hare's new favorite targets. The other top recruit from Illinois is linebacker Kyle Pugh. Pugh is an all-around player on defense and could help replace some of Jamaal Bass's production immediately upon his arrival in DeKalb. Pugh and fellow signee Josh Corcoran look to have bright futures at linebacker with the Huskies.
One of my favorite players in this class is Marcus Jones. At 5-foot-10 185 pounds, he will need to bulk up a little but he is an explosive player who will open up the coaching staff's playbook immensely. Jones is capable of playing both running back and wide receiver at the next level and will probably do a little bit of both as a Huskie.
Despite the departure of Cam Stingily, NIU still has a group of running backs with significant game experience. Now Rod Carey adds 3-star running back D.J. Brown to the fold. Brown chose the Huskies over offers from Arkansas State, Illinois, Memphis, and Southern Miss. Arkansas State made a late surge for Brown as he was rumored to have been on campus last weekend, however Brown ultimately decided to stick with the Huskies in the end.
Overall, the Huskies have put together another solid recruiting class. Rod Carey was able to find a nice combination of highly touted recruits to go along with the under-the-radar recruits that NIU has had so much success with in the past.