Maine South tight end Chris Petrucci commits to Northwestern

Less than a month after making his varsity football debut, Maine South’s Chris Petrucci is a Power Five recruit.

The junior tight end and linebacker announced Wednesday on Twitter he has committed to Northwestern, which extended a scholarship offer the day before.

Petrucci, a three-star prospect ranked ninth among Illinois juniors by 247Sports.com, is the Wildcats’ second recruit in the class of 2022. He joins Naperville Central receiver Reggie Fleurima, who is ranked fifth among Illinois juniors.

“He checks all the boxes,” Maine South coach Dave Inserra said of Petrucci, a 6-5, 210-pounder. “Work ethic, family, grades — everything. He’s got the size, he’s got intangibles.”

What Petrucci didn’t have was varsity experience, until this pandemic-delayed season.

“That was maybe the question some had,” Inserra said. “‘That was at the sophomore level. What about at the varsity level?’”

But Petrucci clearly has erased any doubts during the Hawks’ 4-0 start. He has 15 offers, including Illinois. Iowa and Minnesota in the Big Ten; Kentucky in the SEC; and Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale in the Ivy League.

“He creates mismatches because of his size, and he runs well,” Inserra said.

And that size also had two SEC programs looking at Petrucci on defense.

“Kentucky and Tennessee were recruiting him that way because he’s so long,” Inserra said.

Petrucci will be the second Hawk on the Northwestern roster. He joins offensive lineman Peter Skoronski, who not only started as a true freshman last fall but also was named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America and second-team All-Big Ten.