Lennear, Russell are the latest in stellar legacy of Northwestern wide receivers

Miami Herald

2 days ago

The legacy of star wide receivers at Northwestern is long. Right now, the Bulls might have two more - at least.
Calvin Russell is the No. 1 wide receiver in Florida for the Class of 2026 and yet, on any given Friday, he might not even be the best wideout on his own team. Right behind him is Nick Lennear, the No. 1 wide receiver in the state for the Class of 2027 and a five-star prospect with a host of national powers already lining up for his services.
'It's a lot of competition,' said Lennear, who's the No. 25 prospect in the 2027 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings. 'We've got a big brotherhood at the West. That's the key word: brotherhood.'
Northwestern has long produced elite wide receiver talent such as Amari Cooper, Snoop Minnis, Eli Rogers and even Tutu Atwell, who played mostly quarterback in high school, but became a wide receiver in college and now plays for the Los Angeles Rams.
No need to look further than the Class 3A state playoffs last year to understand what Lennear might be—and already is: In a rout of Melbourne Eau Gallie in the state semifinals, Lennear was the best receiver on the field, catching five passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns. He followed that with four catches for 121 yards and a touchdown in a 41-0 rout of Jacksonville Raines in the state championship game.
Even on a team with two upperclassman 600-yard receivers, Lennear managed to stand out, finishing the year with more catches and receiving yards than Russell, and tying for the team lead with 11 touchdown catches.
Now both upperclassmen, Lennear and Russell form perhaps the best wide receiver tandem in the country, let alone the state.
Last year, Darius Johnson—now at Syracuse—led the Bulls with 40 catches at 785 yards, but Russell, who orally committed to the Orange last month, and Lennear were close behind. Russell had 35 catches for 645 yards and 11 touchdowns, and Lennear had 38 catches for 657 yards and 11 touchdowns, too.
The competition that comes with playing in the same position group with other blue-chip prospects and future Division I talents has boosted Northwestern players for decades and now is doing the same for Lennear.
'It's a real brotherhood at the West,' said the junior, who has grown from 5-foot-11 and 150 pounds last year, to 6-1 and 175 pounds now. 'It's a straight brotherhood.'
The Bulls' brotherhood helps explain why Northwestern kept much of its roster intact even after the Bulls suspended former coach Teddy Bridgewater—who has since returned to the NFL with the Buccaneers—for providing impermissible benefits to players in the form Uber rides for players to get home from practice and pregame meals.
On Tuesday, Northwestern officially named Jaquatin Victrum as interim coach for the 2025 season.
Lennear still gives Bridgewater credit for his breakout sophomore season.
'He really holds me accountable. He's the reason I really matured,' Lennear said. 'He just worked us really hard.
As a junior, Lennear plans to be a full-time two-way player. He's also starting to really think about his recruitment.
Right now, Miami, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Nebraska are all involved in recruiting Lennear, with the Hurricanes, Orange and Cornhuskers among the early standouts.
Miami, of course, has the hometown ties—'it's a lot of coaches really trying to get at me,' Lennear said—and Syracuse has the benefit of recent success at recruiting Bulls, with Johnson already up in New York and Russell poised to follow him after committing to the Orange earlier this year.
'That relationship's really good,' Lennear said. 'I really mess with coach Fran [Brown, wide receivers coach Myles White] and how Calvin Russell just committed there, too. I really mess with a lot of guys that go there from my team.'
Lennear has plenty of time to worry about his next step, though. For now, he's worried about keeping the Bulls on top, even after a tumultuous offseason.
'I'm really excited,' Lennear said. 'We're going to play for [Bridgewater].'