This isn’t a recruiting column.
Let’s just get that out of the way right now.
This is more of a…hmmm…reality column.
Yes, let’s go with that.
Northrop’s first 3-0 start in 42 years has been the talk of the city so far this season, and for good reason. This is a program that has long struggled. It hasn’t beaten Snider since 1999, also the last year the Bruins won a sectional. An SAC crown? Yep, also 1999.
Since that magical 1999 campaign fueled by the likes of Ben Rogers, Ryan Hahaj and Ronson Underwood led by Mr. Blue Collar Coach Matt Stinson, it has been a quarter century of futility, including going on 22 years without a winning record (2003).
Coach Quintin Bowen’s squad is looking to end the skid with the aforementioned undefeated start, with a visit to Homestead on tap for this Friday.
When you look at the leaders of the Bruins surge – Jerquaden Guilford, David Callison, Dee Hogue, Daveon Surry – it is littered with high-level talent.
It also – in the case of Callison, Hogue and Surry – includes transfers.
Callison came over to Northrop from Carroll a few years ago, while Hogue and Surry were Bishop Luers Knights prior to this season.
Folks can argue the how and why of transfers somewhere else. But reality is that with the new penalty-free transfer rules adopted by the IHSAA, moving high schools has never been easier. That, coupled with Fort Wayne Community Schools’ open enrollment rules where you can choose any of the district’s five high schools to go to between a child’s 8th grade and freshman years, it is basically open season to go wherever you want.
The above is not up for debate. It is the rules. Look, kids transfer for a variety of non-academic reasons. Marching band, show choir, performing arts like plays and musicals, perceived safety issues, bullying, etc. But the outcry is always over athletics.
When Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) became a thing in college athletics, athletes who have long been taken advantage of to make their schools millions (don’t come back with free scholarships, although Blitz is indeed jealous of that as he makes another school loan payment) now got a piece of the pie. It also opened the door for programs to invest through NIL to better their chances at sucess. Texas Tech, which has never in its history been ranked No. 1, let alone won a national championship, has invested an estimated $29 million in its roster for the 2025 season.
Of course, high schools don’t have NIL money, but they do have cache and hype from which to sell prospective players. Despite having the biggest enrollment within FWCS, Northrop has long struggled to land impact football players or even to get a sizable amount of kids within its own halls to come out and play. But after an off-season of hype and just a few weeks of games, Northrop has become a destination spot. Last Friday against North Side, the home stands of Spuller Stadium were filled so much that it looked more like a Snider game. Success breeds hype. And hype can quickly build a program.
Fort Wayne high school athletics is extremely fickle. You can be on top of the world one day, but the exit of a coach or key player can mean that you can find yourself at the bottom real quick.
Programs get labeled. You want to compete for titles? Go to Team A and B. You want to play early but perhaps not have much success? Go to Team C. Avoid this team because it doesn’t win. Avoid that team because the culture is toxic.
These conversations happen every day between people – in person, via text chains and on social media.
Northrop? For decades, it has had a negative connotation when it came to football.
So how does this all tie in with the new transfer rules?
Well, if you’ve been around this area for any amount of time, you know how quick talent gravitates towards a particular program. Whether it be basketball or football, winning lures talent. Hype lures talent. Playing with an elite athlete lures talent. With the new lax transfer rules in place, it makes it even easier for talent to move from school to another.
There are always going to be programs that have to work a little (or lot) harder to gain and hold on to talent in Fort Wayne. You’re battling against years and sometimes decades of preconceived notions. But once you challenge those beliefs with on-field or on-court success, the pendulum can swing and swing fast.
We all know which teams in this city could use a boost in talent. What Northrop has been able to accomplish shows that anyone can open that door within the confines of the rules. “Homegrown” talent like Guilford, Robert Rembert IV and others, coupled with a youthful and energetic coaching staff, began that push for the Bruins. It has been facilitated by transfers. The momentum could continue with a mix of Northrop’s feeder talent AND transfers.
Whether you like the new processes or not is immaterial, they are here to stay.
And perhaps your program will benefit at some point. Much like Northrop football is now.
These opinions represent those of Blitz and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Blitz on Twitter at Blitz_OTH
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