Who's That Wildcat: OL Caleb Tiernan

OL Caleb Tiernan

Height: 6'7" Weight: 280 lbs

Hometown: Franklin, MI

High school: Detroit Country Day

Why he chose Northwestern:

When Tiernan received offers from nearly 20 programs, he decided to narrow down his options to four top schools — Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and Northwestern. He ultimately decided to become a Wildcat, citing a list of reasons for his decision.

Energy and excitement:

“The thing that excites me most about the Wildcats is the energy,” Tiernan told 247Sports. “You can just watch one quarter of one of their games and it’s visible to everyone that they feed off each other and they never lose energy.”

Academics and athletics: 

“Northwestern was right for me because I felt like it was one of the best schools in the country where they care about academics as well as athletics,” he also shared with 247Sports. “Some of my favorite things are the [opportunities] there — you’re at pretty much a Top 10 university in the U.S., while being 20 minutes from Chicago, while also playing high-level football.”

Family feel: 

“Another one of my favorite things is the people there, and coaches,” Tiernan continued. “I’ve been to a couple of schools during this process, and Northwestern was one where it took me 10 minutes to know that this is a family and everyone cares for everyone who goes through that program and school.” This strong sense of community distinguished Northwestern from some of Tiernan’s other offers. “From what I've experienced, it seems like all the bigger schools are less connected with each other," he told Hometown Life, a local Michigan publication. “When I went to Northwestern, they actually had all the offensive linemen go out to dinner with me and my family. That in itself — that you can round up all the linemen for dinner — was sweet.”

Development opportunities: 

Tiernan truly began to see his potential as a Wildcat after meeting with offensive line coach Kurt Anderson during the winter of 2019, just a few months after Anderson assumed his coaching role. “It was like, ‘If (I) came to Northwestern, he would be able to make me an All-Big Ten tackle,’” Tiernan told The Daily Northwestern. And in just two seasons as offensive line coach, Anderson has proven that Tiernan’s confidence was well founded — former Cats offensive lineman Rashawn Slater worked with Anderson to become a 2021 first-round NFL draft pick, and freshman offensive tackle Peter Skoronski was selected as a 2020 All-Big Ten Second Team by the conference and the Associated Press after training under Anderson. “You can be a five-star, and you can come in and you can be great, but you’re not going to be that good without a great coach,” Tiernan added. “Just knowing that I’m going to a place that they turned a true freshman into a freshman All-American, it’s good to know.”

Tiernan’s selection made him the third commit in Northwestern’s 2021 class, following wide receiver Donnie Gray and fellow offensive lineman and Michigan native Josh Thompson.