Northwestern Wildcats Set to Host Massive 2027 Interior Offensive Lineman

The 'Cats are adding another visit to a busy 2025.

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

The Northwestern Wildcats are adding on to what is already a fairly busy visit schedule during the 2025 season.

Cade Reikowski, an unranked 2027 interior lineman, is coming to campus to watch the 'Cats take on the Oregon Ducks on September 13. Reikowski announced the news himself via his X account today.

Super excited to be in Evanston on September 13th for the Northwestern Game. Thank you @NUFBFamily and @PetersNUFB for the invite. @CoachRyanOlson @OB_Cats @DavidBraunFB @CoachLujan @PHSPirateFB pic.twitter.com/ZEmJn0Z9Uq

— Cade Reikowski 2027 (@CadeReikowski) August 26, 2025

The matchup will take place on the lakefront at Northwestern's temporary stadium at 11 a.m. CST. It is Fox's "Big Noon Kickoff" event that week.

The good news for Northwestern is that it will get to host Reikowski and others at a unique college football site before the weather turns. The bad news is that Oregon has a solid chance to dispose of NU by a rather large margin.

While unranked, Reikowski is a young recruit, and there's still plenty of time for him to pick one up as his high school career continues. The 'Cats have already offered the Wisconsin native -- so have Sacramento State and South Dakota State thus far. Again, there is still lots of time for more offers to roll in.

Northwestern head coach David Braun has to accomplish two distinct things in recruiting over these next couple of years.

The more exciting goal is to attract higher level talent. Braun has repeatedly stated since the end of last year his ultimate desire to compete for Big Ten Championships. That's a high bar -- perhaps an unreasonable one -- but certainly a good "North Star" to have.

Regardless of its feasibility, though, it unequivocally will not happen without bringing in a stable of some four-star and five-star recruits. Entire classes of just three-stars resembling classes of Northwestern past will not suffice.

But, keeping in touch with reality, Braun cannot let Northwestern lose its reputation as a developmental program. The 'Cats aren't going to acquire enough high-level talent to build it solely that way. They still need to hit on smaller names and develop lower-ranked players into solid Big Ten starters.

That's where guys like Reikowski come in. Standing at 6-foot-7 with a weight of 285 lbs, he's a monster already as a high school kid. That's clay for Northwestern to mold, and, if done right, a real piece in a few year's time.