Northwestern Football Offers Highly Ranked Defensive End Early in 2027 Cycle
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Northwestern's 2026 recruiting class is now up to 17 total members, and the process is theoretically getting close to being over. But football recruiting roars on in Evanston as the 'Cats now begin to work on their 2027 class.
This afternoon, NU officially sent an offer to Texas defensive end Kaden McCarty after he spoke with head coach David Braun. McCarty is a four-star recruit, according to 247Sports, so he would be a big get for a Northwestern program that usually makes its money in the three-star range.
McCarty announced his offer via X.
After a great conversation with @CoachSmith_9 I am beyond blessed to have received an offer from @NUFBFamily!!! #agtg @DavidBraunFB @Coach_McGarigle @dctf @TFloss32 @GPowersScout @Rivals @247Sports @On3Recruits @On3sports pic.twitter.com/7anWCMJI6q
— Kaden B. McCarty 🇳🇬 (@5star_kaden) June 26, 2025
According to 247Sports' Composite Rankings, McCarty is the No. 157 overall player in the country, the No. 25 player from Texas and the No. 20 EDGE in the class. Keep in mind, his ranking in Texas is skewed due to the perenially tremendous high school talent coming out of the state.
It's early in the 2027 process, and Northwestern is certainly shooting high. McCarty will be a difficult player to land as other big-name programs have already offered him as well.
Texas, Baylor and Houston have all extended offers, representing McCarty's in-state options. To convince a Texan to leave the state when an offer from the Longhorns is on the table may be an impossible task, but Braun will do his best.
McCarty also has offers from Big Ten rivals Nebraska and Iowa, as well as other solid programs in UNC, Miami and Missouri. Suffice to say, it's a crowded group of potential schools, and Northwestern is far from the most accomplished program on the list.
But Northwestern will see what it can do to convince McCarty to come to Evanston. The 6-foot-1 215 lbs EDGE would be a massive get for the 'Cats.
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Ryan Cole is a writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI covering every team on campus. He’s currently a junior at NU where he’s studying journalism and previously wrote and edited for Inside NU. He also studies business with an eye towards eventually helping develop business models to revive local news. In his free time, Cole enjoys watching sports, playing sports, reading the news and singing.