Northwestern Wildcats in Top Three for Massive 2026 Offensive Tackle

The 'Cats are the only team still standing outside of his home state.

Sep 18, 2021; Durham, North Carolina, USA; A Northwestern Wildcats helmet sits on an equipment chest during the fourth quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Howard-Imagn Images | William Howard-Imagn Images

Three-star 2026 offensive tackle Rhett Gray has narrowed down his college choice to three schools, according to a post from today on his X account. Northwestern is on the list in addition to TCU and Houston. A Texas native, Gray's only remaining school outside of his home state is Northwestern.

Where’s Home??? 🏠@JClarkHFB247 @FrogPreacher @BarstoolTCU @jackson_dip @RivalsHouston @MarcG14Line @BarstoolCoogs @WildcatReport @M_Shelton33 @Northwestool @ThomasGorski33@MikeRoach247 @samspiegs @adamgorney @TomLoy247 @817KB @CoachWhiteDB1 @ptgraphics0 @TFloss32 pic.twitter.com/6vAkpKk7VP

— Rhett Gray (@RhettGray07) June 23, 2025

Gray is a large human being, something that will serve him well as he transitions to the college level. Standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing 290 lbs, Gray has a more-than-projectable frame that should continue to grow. His height sets him up nicely to continue playing tackle and continue bulking up.

According to 247Sports, Gray is the No. 123 player out of Texas, a state with a lot of high school talent. He's also the No. 65 offensive tackle in the 2026 class. He visited Northwestern's campus on May 30.

There's nothing all that surprising about Gray's chosen top-three as they were the only power-conference programs to send offers his way. Schools like UNLV, Army and Tulsa theoretically stood a chance earlier in the process, but it seems Gray is shooting for higher-level competition.

It may be difficult to ultimately lure him away from Houston or TCU and out of his home state. But it means something that Northwestern is still on the list despite the distance. TCU and Houston are not the premier football programs in Texas, either, so this isn't an unwinnable battle.

If the 'Cats can land Gray, he'll represent another opportunity for the program to prove it can develop offensive line talent. It's done a good job in recent years and needs to continue that trend if it wants to compete in a Big Ten that is constantly getting more difficult.