Northwestern Wildcats Secure 2026 DT After Accelerated Recruiting Process

Another player who visited a week ago is coming to Evanston.

Nov 30, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach David Braun looks on during the first half against Illinois Fighting Illini at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

According to Wildcat Report's Louie Vaccher, 2026 defensive tackle Calvin Lorek didn't take very long to commit to Northwestern. After receiving an offer just over a week ago on May 7 and visiting campus on May 9, Lorek officially committed to David Braun and co. yesterday.

100% Locked in‼️‼️ Thank you to everyone who made this possible! Only the beginning! ⚪️🟣@_JaredDTucker @bhernyscoutguy @LHS_TigerFB @NUFBFamily@DavidBraunFB @CoachSmith_9 @Coach_McGarigle @JeromeTgrey @CSarkisianNU pic.twitter.com/4y0gbD2C3E

— Calvin Lorek (@calvin_lorek) May 15, 2025

Lorek is not ranked on 247Sports, so he's not quite the prospect that some of Northwestern's other recent commits are. The Wildcats were the only power conference program to offer him, but solid football teams like Army and Air Force were showing interest.

Standing at 6-foot-4 with a listed weight of 240 lbs, the Ohio native does have intriguing size. To play DT in the Big Ten, you have to be a pretty massive human, and Lorek is well on his way to being the requisite size.

Lorek becomes the sixth member of Northwestern's 2026 class and the fourth defensive player. He joins Nick Zalewski in the Wildcats' group of 2026 defensive linemen, although Lorek is the first interior lineman in the class.

If Joshua Sims hadn't flipped his commitment to Tulane, five of seven players in the class would be on the defensive side of the ball. A pattern is certainly emerging as the class continues to grow.

And that pattern makes sense. The hope is that offensive coordinator Zach Lujan can transform this program's offense, but, at the end of the day, this is a defensive minded program. Braun is a defensive head coach, and he's playing to his strengths in the recruiting stage.