Kyle Prater, Rivals 5 Star WR, #3 overall from 2010 leaning towards transfer to Northwestern
Title says it all. As jtmc pointed out, this is not OT, switched.
January 20th, 2012 at 4:19 PM ^
If he can figure out how to get healthy, that would be a mega pick-up for NW. He'll have a whole year to heal up, and then he'll have two years after that to do something. If the worst thing that happens is he leaves with a Northwestern degree, it was a good move.
January 20th, 2012 at 4:21 PM ^
Very true, he absolutely needs to get healthy first before he would pose any real threat. It would be nice for him to be near home at a great school if football is no longer in the cards physically.
January 20th, 2012 at 4:23 PM ^
The prospect of UM playing against a potential talent like this every year from 2013-2014 is not OT.
On that note, I remember UM recruited him but he left his home state of Illinois for USC. I'm pretty sure N'Western was not on his radar back then
January 20th, 2012 at 4:25 PM ^
Higher quality players only make the games more exciting, draw more national attention to Big Ten games, and helps battle the SEC is king argument.
NW is one of those programs I cannot wish any ill-will upon, and I like their coach, Fitzgerald. Hope NW can score the transfer.
January 20th, 2012 at 4:36 PM ^
Esp towards Northwestern. They're always a school that plays tough and scrappy and typically plays better than they should based upon the types of players they recruit. They're my second favorite team in the B1G.
These same reasons why I can cheer for Vandy being in SEC country, since they are like the Northwestern of the south.
January 20th, 2012 at 5:21 PM ^
The first heartbreaking moment of my Michigan life was A-Train's fumble... I saw that game on espn classic or btn a while ago and got all pissy again... Amazing how butthurt like that doesn't go away.
January 20th, 2012 at 7:41 PM ^
It really sucked sitting in the stands seeing it happen, although the sting was partially removed watching the Northwestern students spend 45 minutes trying -- and failing -- to tear down their own goalposts.
January 20th, 2012 at 10:34 PM ^
We shouldn't be comparing the BIG 10 to the SEC anymore. They are a completely different league playing by different rules.
January 20th, 2012 at 4:23 PM ^
wow got year for Northwestern recruiting Odenigbo and then this
January 20th, 2012 at 4:26 PM ^
I really hope this happens. Fitzgerald is a class act and NW is a great school. In my opinion, they deserve this to happen. I really hope Prater gets healthy and suits up for NW as soon as possible.
January 20th, 2012 at 4:33 PM ^
Northwestern is getting great players. Only helps to improve the B1G!
January 20th, 2012 at 4:56 PM ^
I love NW, thats all
January 20th, 2012 at 6:02 PM ^
Don't we all?
January 20th, 2012 at 5:00 PM ^
I decided to take a look at Northwestern's recruiting class here:
http://mgoblog.com/diaries/big-ten-recruiting-class-rankings-1-15-12
...what stood out to me the most was that Minnesota easily wins the Greatest Names: Recruiting Class Edition award. I won't list them all, but the took the cake by having a guy with 2 X's and another with 3 Z's in their names.
January 20th, 2012 at 6:22 PM ^
Have we tried to recruit this guy?
January 20th, 2012 at 6:49 PM ^
We did initially, but here's the thing: In two years, he couldn't hardly see the field at USC. Yes, he was hurt, and yes they have a lot of talent at WR, but they throw the ball a lot, and a lot of different guys caught balls for them. And considering the one game he played this past season was smack-dab in the middle of the schedule, that either tells me that even when he was healthy he wasn't getting PT, or her got hurt two different times.
Either way, he's probably not a guy Michigan wanted to bring in. He'd have to sit out a year, and then would only have two years to play, if he was healthy. Compare this with Arnett who not only did pretty well as a true frosh, but would also have three years of eligibility left.
For a school like NW, this is an easy gamble to make, since even if he comes back from his injury at 75%, it's still better than almost any WR they have. But for us, we could fill his spot with a healthy WR who is nearly as good as Prater anyway and who has full eligibility left.
January 21st, 2012 at 3:48 AM ^
Excellent risk / benefit analysis.