SI All-American Watch List: 11 Northwestern commits and 1 key NU football target named

Top 10 position rankings start this week; preseason SI99 out in August

As a former Wildcat who received both the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award, Pat Fitzgerald has made his intention to maintain a reliable defense resoundingly clear with this recruiting class. Standouts include linebacker Mac Uihlein and defensive end Najee Story, while Caleb Tiernan offers profound pass/run blocking potential at offensive tackle. Finding a role for dual position athlete Donnie Gray should also prove to be an intriguing endeavor for Fitzgerald and his staff. 

11 of the current Wildcat verbal commitments in the class were named candidates for the 2020 Sports Illustrated All-America team of high school senior football players.

1 prep prospect uncommitted or committed to other programs with Northwestern still under consideration was also named an SIAA candidate. 

Listed below is the full breakdown of NU verbals and prime targets on the SI All-American watch list. 

VERBAL COMMITS 

Offense: 

ATH Donnie Gray/6-0, 190/Deerfield, Mass. 

QB Brendan Sullivan/6-3, 180/Davison, Mich.

WR Jacob Gill/6-0, 170/Raleigh, N.C.

RB Anthony Tyus III/6-1, 207/Portage, Mich.

OG Josh Thompson/6-4, 290/Fenton, Mich.

OT Caleb Tiernan/6-7, 280/Livonia, Mich.

Defense: 

CB Theran Johnson/6-0, 170/Indianapolis, Ind.

DE Barryn Sorrell/6-3, 250/New Orleans, La.

DE Najee Story/6-4, 235/Solon, Ohio

ILB Mac Uihlein/6-1, 215/Lake Forest, Ill.

OLB Aidan Hubbard/6-4, 218/Cleveland, Ohio

TOP TARGETS 

Offense: 

TE Jordan Dingle/6-4, 235/Bowling Green, Ky.

More than 1,000 student-athletes, representing every state in the country, are SI All-American candidates. Video highlights, scouting analyses and a list of each player’s college verbal commitment and/or top college contenders can be found on their bio pages, broken down by state, at SIAllAmerican.com.

Over the coming weeks, SI will unveil its preseason top 10 for each of 14 position groups (kicking off with quarterbacks this week). SI will unveil its initial top 99 ranking, the SI99, on August 24.

The evaluation process will continue throughout the season “until the list of 1,000 contenders coalesces around just 25 young men who can say proudly they are the best of the best -- they are Sports Illustrated All-Americans,” said SI Director of Football Recruiting John Garcia, Jr.

The candidates will be narrowed to 250 in October and 99 in November, and will culminate with 25 first-team Sports Illustrated All-Americans saluted at SI’s annual Sportsperson of the Year banquet in New York in December.