A defensive lineman from the East Coast is heading to Northwestern.

The Wildcats received a verbal commitment from 6-foot-4, 240-pound defensive end Denis Jaquez on Wednesday, making his announcement with a post on Twitter. He picked Northwestern over offers from 24 other programs during the recruiting process.

Jaquez becomes the seventh player of the 2022 class to verbally commit to Northwestern. He’s also the first East Coast prospect to join the class.

Jaquez, a native of Richland, New Jersey, is ranked as the No. 30 player from his home state and is listed as the No. 43 player at the edge position for the cycle, according to 247Sports. He made his commitment decision less than a week after an official visit to Evanston.

During the 2019 season, Jaquez piled up 31 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 5 pass break-ups, a sack and a fumble recovery at the high school level. There were 24 other schools to offer the defensive lineman, but Northwestern ultimately beat out Power 5 programs like Boston College, Maryland, Rutgers, Syracuse, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest for his pledge.

Northwestern’s 2022 class now ranks inside the Top 40 nationally, coming in at No. 37. The Wildcats still rank in the bottom half of the B1G at No. 9.