Northwestern’s first football recruit in the Class of 2022 came from the Wildcats’ backyard.
He’s Naperville Central’s Reggie Fleurima, a four-star wide receiver who announced his commitment Wednesday on Twitter.
“Wildcat Nation is a great supportive fanbase and I’m looking forward to playing in front of them,” Fleurima wrote. “Northwestern is made up of great coaches and players and I can’t wait to help the Purple and White compete for championships for the next 3-4 years!!”
Rivals recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt plans to be on hand Saturday when Naperville Central opens its season at home against Waubonsie Valley. He is looking forward to seeing Fleurima’s progression from the last time he played a high school game almost 17 months ago.
“I expect to be impressed with what I see,” Helmholdt said. “We started him off as a four-star. That’s a guy we expect to play on Sundays one day.”
In the 247Sports composite recruiting rankings, Fleurima is the No. 4 junior in Illinois. He’s also ranked 32nd among wide receivers and 234th overall nationally in his class.
Excited for what the future holds!! #GOCATS @coachfitz51 pic.twitter.com/u7inAxIec3
— Reg_Fleurima (@RegFleu) March 17, 2021
He has eight Big Ten offers, as well as one each from the SEC (Missouri) and Pac-12 (Oregon State).
“He started out so early as a prospect because he was a kid who was a playmaker when he (first) stepped on the field,” Helmholdt said.
Helmholdt likes the versatility the 6-2, 207-pounder displays. Besides having exceptional speed, “he can take a screen pass and make things happen,” the analyst said.
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