Disheartened by the fact that Northwestern’s season opener against Miami of Ohio is still more than 200 days away? Well, I have good news for you because last Wednesday was National Signing Day, the first day senior high school football players can sign a Letter of Intent committing themselves to play college football. So, while we are closer to the end of last year’s season than the beginning of next year’s, there’s still lots of purple and white to talk about. After all, the high school seniors who signed on with Northwestern on Wednesday will have a significant impact on the team’s future performances. Let’s take a look at which positions appear to have received the most benefit from this year’s recruiting class.

Spots we desperately needed to fill … and did

1. Running Back

After graduating Tyrell Sutton and Omar Conteh, the Wildcats badly needed to stock up at the running back position, and that’s just what they did. Back in April, the ‘Cats got an boost in their recruiting efforts when Wheaton North tailback Mike Trumpy made a verbal commitment to play for the ‘Cats in ’09. ESPN.com calls Trumpy a powerful, “shifty” runner. Trumpy was ranked 25th nationally among running backs by recruitment guru Tom Lemming (according to Northwestern). He also received offers from Stanford and Vanderbilt, which is a sign of our burgeoning reputation. Joining Trumpy will be running back Arby Fields, a California prospect. Fields chose to compete in the Big Ten despite invites from ACC and Pac-10 teams.

Below is a recruitment video of Trumpy:

2. Quarterback

Because they failed to give a scholarship to a signal caller last year, the Wildcats needed to land a highly touted QB prospect in the ‘09 class. So it’s a huge relief that NU secured Evan Watkins out of Glenbard North High School. Watkins is a physical specimen, standing at 6 ft. 6 in. and weighing 235 lbs. Watkins is a pro-style passer whose agility and size can make him a solid runner and a skilled out-of-pocket passer. Watkins also possesses a strikingly powerful arm. Ranked second in the state at the QB position by Rivals.com, Watkins chose Northwestern over Iowa, among others. Still, don’t count on seeing Watkins in action much next year, as it is highly unlikely for freshman quarterbacks to get substantial minutes.

Here’s video of Watkins in action:

3. Kicker

With kicker Amado Villarreal leaving, the Cats needed to shore up the kicking spot for next year. Hopefully they did so by offering place kicker Jeff Budzien a scholarship. ESPN.com writes that the Wisconsin native has made a 55 yard field goal.

Positions we solidified

1. Linebacker

Pat Fitzgerald’s reputation as one of the greatest linebackers ever to suit up at the college level has surely given the program a huge recruiting boost. This year’s class brought the ‘Cats four new stud linebacker prospects, hopefully providing vast depth at this position for years to come. Ohio native Will Studlien, who choose Northwestern over Kansas and Maryland, was ranked in the top 25 nationally amongst inside linebackers by ESPN.com, which describes Studlien as a quick, physical player with a large frame who can stuff the inside run. Nevada native Damien Proby, who declined several Pac-10 offers to play for Fitz, is smaller than Studlien, at 6 ft., but shows good quickness, having been timed at 4.62 in the 40-yard dash. Tom Lemming was high on Proby, ranking him 20th nationally at the outside linebacker position. Roderick Goodlow, a 6 ft. 2 in. linebacker from Dallas, also joins the mix. Ranked 38th nationally at the outside linebacker position by Rivals.com, Goodlow turned down offers from the likes of Wisconsin, Nebraska and Arkansas to wear purple. Another speedster, Goodlow has been timed at 4.5 in the 40. Rounding out the class is Oswego, Ill. native Tim Riley. NUsports.com notes that Riley was named to the first-team all-state team by both the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times.

2. Defensive Line

One of Fitz’s biggest recruiting coups this year came with the commitment of Davon Custis, a highly touted prep star from Columbus, Ohio. Custis committed to the ‘Cats in January, choosing Northwestern over Notre Dame, Stanford, and Boston College. After recruiting thinly on the defensive line last year, the Cats landed another local star in Anthony Battle, a defensive end from Chicagoland powerhouse Mt. Carmel. Battle made Rivals.com’s list of the top 30 players in Illinois, coming in as the 21st best player in the state. Rounding out the defensive line position is Ohio native Tyler Scott, a 6 ft. 4 in. former linebacker who is projected to play defensive end at Northwestern.

3. Offensive Line

After a monster offensive line class last year, the ‘Cats didn’t desperately need prospects at this position. But that didn’t stop Pat Fitzgerald from hauling in some exciting talent on Thursday. Leading the way is Patrick Ward, a bulky, 6 ft. 7 in. in-state tackle prospect who was rated as Northwestern’s best recruit by Rivals.com. Ranked the 17th best at his position in the nation and 5th best player in the state by Rivals.com, Ward was a huge get for the ‘Cats, and should be a good addition to this academically rigorous institution. Ward scored a 35 on his ACT and plans to major in engineering. He chose Northwestern over Notre Dame, Stanford and numerous Big Ten programs. Projected guard Taylor Paxton also appears to be a force to be reckoned with, ranked by Rivals.com as the 11th-best offensive lineman coming out of high school in the state of Colorado.

4. Defensive Back

NU stockpiled defensive backs in the last two classes and thus did not need to use too many scholarships at this position. However, they did pick up two solid safeties in California native Davion Fleming and Cooper Gerami out of Louisiana. ESPN.com writes that Fleming is a hard-hitting player with very solid fundamentals who will surely challenge for playing time in the Northwestern secondary in several years.

Wait-and-see

1. Wide Receiver/Superback

The ‘Cats picked up a potential sleeper recruit in Michigan’s Drew Moulton, who is a small, speedy type of wideout, according to ESPN.com. At superback, Northwestern added to an already deep field by getting Florida native John Plasencia. Plasencia, who was being considered for both defensive end and tight end out of high school, turned down several Big East offers for Northwestern. Nonetheless, both Moulton and Plasencia were not highly touted and are even more unproven than the usual recruit.