Libertyville’s Riley Lees switches to Northwestern

For Libertyville rising senior quarterback Riley Lees, athleticism is a huge part of his game.Lees holds offers from Western Michigan, Ball State and Miami (Ohio) as an athlete and Army and Wofford as a quarterback. Plus, he was getting looks from many other schools to play in several different areas on the field.In March, Lees made the decision to orally commit to the RedHawks. That changed Monday, on a visit to Northwestern that changed the game for the 6-1, 185-pound prospect.“I went there this morning for a visit. I sat down with Coach Pat Fitzgerald and Coach Mick McCall and they told me the offer is on the table. I wasn’t expecting it, it just happened really fast,” Lees said.After going home and thinking about his latest offer from the Wildcats, Lees knew his heart belonged in Evanston.“It was hard decommitting from Miami because I love the coaching staff. But I feel like they understood that it was a dream and 45-minutes from home. It’s a dream,” Lees said. “I was extremely excited though because Northwestern has been a dream school of mine growing up and watching them play. I was excited and came home and talked to my parents about it.”Lees will play receiver for Northwestern, even though he will focus on quarterback during his senior season at Libertyville.“It’s so close to home, its the team I grew up watching. The academics are awesome. It’s big ten football. It’s been a dream of mine to play Big Ten football,” Lees said.