Football: Maine South’s Matt Alviti chooses Northwestern

Updated: April 14, 2012 6:06PM

Matt Alviti took the ACT test Saturday morning and then made his way to Evanston to catch the last few minutes of Northwestern’s spring football game.

Following the intrasquad scrimmage, the Maine South junior quarterback gave his verbal commitment to coach Pat Fitzgerald and the Wildcats.

“I known for about a week I was going to make it today,” Alviti said. “This is the right place for me. It’s a great place with great coaches and great things to come.

“I’m glad to be a Wildcat.”

Maine South coach Dave Inserra couldn’t agree more with Alviti’s college choice.

“I think it’s a great fit for him,” said Inserra, who was with Alviti at Ryan Field. “It’s a similar makeup of offensive systems, and I don’t think you can beat the coaching staff there. The way they do things, watching them practice. I am more impressed every time I walk away.

“I am so excited for Matt. It makes me happy that he’s going there.”

Alviti led the Hawks to the Class 8A championship as a sophomore and is 22-3 in two seasons, although he shared time at the beginning of his first year with Jimmy Frankos.

As a junior, the 6-foot dual-threat quarterback completed 63 percent of his passes for 1,940 yards and 26 touchdowns. He ran 95 times for 512 yards and scored 12 TDs.

In two seasons, Alviti has 5,048 passing yards, 1,115 rushing yards and 76 total TDs.

Alviti said part of his pick involved his comfort level with Northwestern’s offense.

“Definitely,” he said. “Some of our plays at Maine South are exactly the same as Northwestern’s. I am so familiar with that kind of offense.”

Along with Northwestern, Notre Dame and Michigan State were in Alviti’s top three.

“It’s crazy how recruiting works now,” Inserra said. “He’s a junior, but he has to a make a decision now. Then the dominos start to fall, so to speak. For that reason, you have to make your decision earlier and earlier.

“He visited all three of his top choices, and he made an informed and well-educated decision.”

Alviti is happy to be heading into his senior season with the recruiting process all but completed. He will be able to sign his scholarship papers in February 2013.

“It’s been a long process, and I am grateful to have been part of it,” Alviti said. “I have great respect for the other teams that recruited me, but I am glad it’s over with. Now, I can focus on my senior year and getting Maine South another state championship.”

Inserra said Maine South junior lineman Pat Mahoney added his ninth school Saturday when Western Michigan extended an offer. Inserra said Mahoney now has five offers from MAC teams.

© 2013 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.