Northwestern Wildcats Land Intriguing 2026 Wide Receiver

Another recruit from the mass May 9 weekend visit has landed on Northwestern.

Aug 31, 2024; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach David Braun gestures to his team against the Miami (Oh) Redhawks during the second half at Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

Two weekends ago, Northwestern hosted more than 10 potential 2026 recruits on campus. Today, a sixth member of that group officially committed to the 'Cats. Three-star wide receiver Jaden McDuffie announced his decision on X.

Dreams to Reality ⭐️ #AGTG@FTRreport @ArmonBinns @NUFBRecruiting @Coach_J_Lundy @mfarrellsports @CoachErxleben @CoachClark16x @SRHSFootball @RivalsFriedman @247recruiting @EdOBrienCFB pic.twitter.com/8B7kEwrmuv

— 🏈🌟Jaden McDuffie 🌟🏀 (@jadenduffie2026) May 22, 2025

McDuffie is the No. 14 recruit out of Maryland and the No. 87 wide receiver in his class, according to 247Sports. Northwestern was probably the best program to send him an offer, but Navy, Princeton and Toledo were all in the mix among other smaller schools.

Standing at 6-foot-3, McDuffie has the height to play outside and the long-term potential to be an X receiver. But at the moment, he weighs just 165 lbs. He's probably a slot guy for now at the college level if you plug-and-played him tomorrow, but he has time to put on more weight before his career at the next level begins in earnest.

Last season at South River High School, McDuffie put up fantastic numbers, setting a school record with 1,251 receiving yards and 17 TDs, according to Wildcat Report's Louie Vaccher.

If those numbers jump off the page, they should. High school football can often involve quite a bit of running the football but evidently not when McDuffie is on the team.

McDuffie is Northwestern's eighth member of the 2026 class overall and one of just a few offensive players on the list. But receiver is definitely a position of need for the 'Cats down the line. Now that Bryce Kirtz and A.J. Henning are both gone, it's a very thin position group heading into 2025.

Transfer additions like Griffin Wilde will help sustain the 'Cats in the meantime, but long term, they need more horses. Northwestern will hope McDuffie can be a strong contributor in a couple short years.