Northwestern added quarterback Gavin Frakes Wednesday after the Oklahoma native decommitted from his home state school in favor of the Wildcats.
The University of Virginia transfer gives Northwestern crucial depth behind Preston Stone, who committed to the program in December.
Frakes becomes the fourth player to join Northwestern since Sunday as coach David Braun builds the roster for what promises to be a challenging 2025 schedule.
The Wildcats will face road games against Tulane, Penn State and Illinois. They’ll host defending Big Ten champion Oregon and Michigan at home.
Frakes originally committed to Oklahoma on May 22 after entering the transfer portal April 21. The Sooners went 6-7 overall and 2-6 in SEC play last season, finishing in the bottom four of the conference.
Oklahoma did beat Alabama 24-3 on Nov. 23.
Northwestern struggled even more in Big Ten play, going 4-8 overall and 2-7 in conference games. The Wildcats beat only Maryland (37-10) on Oct. 11 and Purdue (26-20 in overtime) Nov. 2.
The rising senior spent his first two college seasons at New Mexico State after initially committing to Princeton. He transferred to Virginia last year but didn’t see playing time.
Frakes also didn’t play as a sophomore at New Mexico State.
As a true freshman, Frakes made five starts and appeared in 11 games for the Aggies.
He was rated as a top-100 prospect in Oklahoma coming out of high school in 2022. Frakes showed dual-threat ability as a senior starter, rushing for 785 yards and eight touchdowns while accumulating 2,992 all-purpose yards and 32 total touchdowns.
Stone appears likely to start based on his experience level.
The addition addresses a critical need for Northwestern’s offense, which ranked last in the Big Ten last season.
Beyond Stone and dual-sport athlete Jack Lausch, the Wildcats’ quarterback room consists of largely young and untested players. Frakes provides veteran insurance at the position.
