NWC Football Signs 31 On National Signing Day

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – Head Coach Matt McCarty announced the signing of 31 new Raider football athletes on National Signing Day, February 2, 2022.

“Together this is a very strong group that will join a talented and committed group of current players who are working hard and building something very special at Northwestern,” said McCarty. “We look forward to these young men joining our program and making a positive impact on our team and campus.”

The class includes 31 total recruits, including 18 athletes from the state of Iowa. The signees will join a talented squad that has achieved five straight National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Playoff berths and reached the Championship game and the Semifinals in the last two seasons.

“Our coaching staff and admissions personnel have done a tremendous job of building strong relationships with these young men and their families,” noted McCarty. “We have had outstanding retention within our roster over the past few years so we knew going into this recruiting cycle this would be a smaller class. We are excited about the positive impact these young men will have on our campus.”

The Raiders will be returning a number of starters from the previous season but McCarty noted that the offensive line and tight end positions are some to watch from this class. “We have a great group of offensive line recruits. It is important to build a strong core up front and we believe we have some players who can be tone setters for our team and offense in this group.”

McCarty went on to add, “Tight end is an important position in our offense. Peyton Carroll and Riley Penrose can be difference makers in our offense. They can impact our offense in both the run game and in the passing game.”