One of the top players from the state of Illinois will be playing his college football at Northwestern.

Friday, four-star inside linebacker Mac Uihlein announced his commitment to Northwestern, becoming the fourth player in the 2021 cycle to give a verbal pledge to the Wildcats. Currently, he’s the highest-ranked player to commit to Pat Fitzgerald’s squad and is the only four-star player of the bunch.

“The times we are going through as a country right now are not about me. We should all be giving the first responders our thanks and gratitude  because of the work they are doing to save others,” Uihlein wrote on Twitter. “However, with that being said, I’ve decided that there is no time like the present and I will be committing to the Northwestern Football Family to fulfill my academic, athletic and personal goals.”

Uihlein comes from Northwestern’s backyard, as a native of Lake Forest, Illinois. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound backer is ranked as one of the top 300 prospects in the 2021 recruiting cycle per 247Sports, coming in at No. 271. He’s also the No. 10 inside linebacker and the No. 5 player from his home state.

Along with Northwestern, five other B1G programs showed interest in Uihlein: Iowa, Minnesota, Purdue, Nebraska and Wisconsin. He also received offers from Louisville and Virginia.

Northwestern’s 2021 recruiting class now ranks ninth in the B1G and 34th nationally.