Big Ten 2010 Recruiting Class Rankings Comment Count

Tim

Now that the 2010 classes are wrapped up in the Big Ten (pending final decisions from OH S Latwan Anderson and MN OL Seantrel Henderson), it's time to take the next natural step and decide who acquitted themselves well in college football's second season.

Big Ten Recruiting Class Rankings
Rank School # of Commits Rivals Average* Scout Average ESPN Average
1 Penn State 20 5.76 3.85 78.45
2 Michigan 27 5.65 3.33 77.48
3 Ohio State 18 5.70 3.61 77.88
4 Notre Dame 23 5.70 3.17 76.09
5 Michigan State 21 5.62 3.10 73.10
6 Iowa 21 5.62 2.76 72.71
7 Wisconsin 24 5.54 2.79 71.38
8 Northwestern 17 5.57 2.65 73.65
9 Purdue 24 5.49 2.54 68.04
10 Illinois 20 5.48 2.45 67.20
11 Minnesota 25 5.51 2.28 65.56
12 Indiana 25 5.44 2.40 64.52

Yes, I'm well aware that Notre Dame isn't in the Big Ten, but there's enough interest in them as a regional rival that Michigan pays every year, that it's worthwhile to include them.

*(Rivals uses a five star system but also grades players on a finer scale that ranges from 6.1 to 5.2.)

The full data after the jump.

#1 Penn State - 20 Commits
Name Position Rivals Scout ESPN
Silas Redd RB 6 5 79
Khairi Fortt LB 6 4 81
MIke Hull LB 5.9 5 78
Paul Jones QB 5.9 5 78
Robert Bolden QB 5.9 4 81
Miles Dieffenbach OL 5.8 4 81
Dakota Royer DE 5.8 4 81
CJ Olaniyan DE 5.8 4 80
Alex Kenney ATH 5.8 4 80
Kyle Baublitz TE 5.8 4 79
Thomas Ricketts OL 5.8 4 77
Zach Zwinak RB 5.8 4 77
Evan Hailes DT 5.7 4 81
Kevin Haplea TE 5.7 4 78
Daquan Jones OL 5.7 4 77
Luke Graham OL 5.7 3 76
Shyquawn Pullium Ath 5.6 3 74
Khamrone Kolb OL 5.5 3 77
Levi Norwood WR 5.5 3 77
Brad Bars LB 5.4 2 77

Though they lost a big name or two (MD WR Adrian Coxson and NY DE Dominque Easely decommitted from PSU and ended up signing with Florida), the Nittany Lions still landed a nice-sized class with some top talent.

#2 Michigan - 27 Commits
Name Position Rivals Scout ESPN
Devin Gardner QB 5.9 5 81
Cullen Christian CB 5.9 4 79
Demar Dorsey S 5.8 4 85
Marvin Robinson S 5.8 4 79
Richard Ash DT 5.8 3 77
Kenny Wilkins DE 5.8 3 77
Ricardo Miller WR 5.7 4 80
Josh Furman LB 5.7 4 78
Jibreel Black DT 5.7 4 78
Jerald Robinson WR 5.7 4 77
Austin White RB 5.7 4 77
Christian Pace OL 5.7 3 79
Davion Rogers DE 5.7 3 78
Carvin Johnson S 5.7 3 76
Terry Talbott DT 5.7 3 75
Jordan Paskorz DE 5.6 3 78
Conelius Jones QB 5.6 3 77
Jake Ryan LB 5.6 3 77
Drew Dileo WR 5.6 3 75
Jeremy Jackson WR 5.5 3 79
Will Hagerup P 5.5 3 79
Terrence Talbott CB 5.5 3 78
Stephen Hopkins RB 5.5 3 77
Antonio Kinard LB 5.5 3 77
Courtney Avery CB 5.5 3 73
DJ Williamson WR 5.5 2 78
Ray Vinopal S 5.4 3 68

Michigan's ranking is inflated by its size, but Devin Gardner, Cullen Christian, and Demar Dorsey are the highly-ranked headliners for a class that fills a lot of needs in ann Arbor.

#3 Ohio State - 18 Commits
Name Position Rivals Scout ESPN
Andrew Norwell OL 5.9 5 80
Roderick Smith RB 5.9 4 82
Corey Brown RB 5.9 4 81
Christian Bryant DB 5.9 4 78
James Louis WR 5.8 4 81
Carlos Hyde RB 5.8 4 79
Jamel Turner DE 5.8 4 79
Taylor Graham QB 5.8 3 74
Tyrone Williams WR 5.7 4 79
Darryl Baldwin DE 5.7 3 81
JT Moore DE 5.6 4 78
Scott McVey LB 5.6 4 77
David Durham DE 5.6 3 79
Bradley Roby WR 5.6 3 78
Verlon Reed QB 5.6 3 68
Johnathon Hankins DT 5.5 3 77
Chad Hagan LB 5.5 3 75
Drew Basil K 5.4 3 76

The Buckeyes struck out on a number of guys late (OH OL Matt James, OH LB Jordan Hicks, MN OL Seantrel Henderson - who may choose the Buckeyes yet), and they have a small class. However, with Tressel, quality can trump quantity.

#4 Notre Dame - 23 Commits
Name Position Rivals Scout ESPN
Louis Nix DT 5.9 4 81
Matt James OL 5.9 4 80
Tailer Jones WR 5.8 4 81
Christian Lombard OL 5.8 4 79
Alex Welch TE 5.8 4 79
Andrew Hendrix QB 5.8 3 80
Prince Shembo LB 5.8 3 78
Danny Spond Ath 5.8 3 78
Kendall Moore LB 5.8 3 77
Cameron Roberson RB 5.8 3 77
Kona Schwenke DE 5.7 4 78
Chris Badger DB 5.7 3 79
Spencer Boyd DB 5.7 3 79
Tommy Rees QB 5.7 3 79
Lo Wood DB 5.7 3 78
Bennett Jackson WR 5.7 3 77
Justin Utupo DT 5.7 3 77
Luke Massa QB 5.7 3 72
Daniel Smith WR 5.6 3 78
Tate Nichols OL 5.6 3 75
Austin Collinsworth DB 5.5 3 74
Derek Roback Ath 5.5 2 74
Bruce Heggie TE 5.2 2 40

Brian Kelly had a pretty good February in his first year at Notre Dame, but a few recruits at the back end of the list really drag down average rating. It's still good enough to be one of the top classes.

#5 Michigan State - 21 Commits
Name Position Rivals Scout ESPN
William Gholston DE 6.1 5 83
Max Bullough LB 5.8 4 79
Mike Sadler K 5.5 3 79
Skyler Schofner OL 5.8 4 78
Mylan Hicks DB 5.7 4 78
Keith Mumphery ATH 5.7 3 78
Marcus Rush DE 5.6 3 78
Tony Lippett ATH 5.5 3 78
Joe Boisture QB 5.8 3 77
Isaiah Lewis DB 5.8 4 77
Travis Jackson OL 5.7 3 77
Kurtis Drummond ATH 5.6 3 77
Taylor Calero DE 5.5 3 76
Justin Wilson LB 5.5 3 76
Michael Dennis OL 5.4 3 76
Nick Hill RB 5.7 3 75
Jeremy Langford ATH 5.6 3 71
Leveon Bell RB 5.4 2 68
Anthony White DT 5.6 2 40
Darqueze Dennard DB 5.4 2 74
Niko Palazeti FB 5.3 2 40

Outside of Gholston, this is a solid-not-great class for the Spartans. A couple of their guys might be slightly overrated (see: Boisture, Joe), but with continued on-field improvement, MSU has a chance to move up in the pecking order.

#6 Iowa - 21 Commits
Name Position Rivals Scout ESPN
CJ Fiedorowicz TE 5.9 4 81
AJ Derby ATH 5.8 3 80
Andrew Donnal OL 5.8 4 79
Marcus Coker RB 5.8 3 78
Don Shumpert ATH 5.7 2 78
Anthony Ferguson DT 5.7 3 77
Austin Gray LB 5.7 3 77
Donavan Johnson DT 5.7 3 76
Brandon Scherff OL 5.7 3 76
Mike Hardy DE 5.6 3 76
BJ Lowery DB 5.6 3 76
Louis Trinca-Pasat DE 5.6 3 76
Jim Poggi LB 5.7 3 75
Carl Davis DT 5.6 3 75
Kevonte Martin-Manley WR 5.4 2 75
James Morris LB 5.7 3 74
Austin Vier ATH 5.4 2 74
DeAndre Johnson RB 5.5 2 70
Christian Kirksey ATH 5.6 2 40
Anthony Hitchens RB 5.4 2 74
Tanner Miller ATH 5.1 2 40

Fiedorowicz is a stud tight end, but the Hawkeyes will develop most of the guys they recruit, like usual.

#7 Wisconsin - 24 Commits
Name Position Rivals Scout ESPN
James C. White RB 5.7 3 77
Michael Trotter DB 5.7 3 74
Peniel Jean DB 5.7 2 74
Beau Allen DT 5.6 4 79
Frank Tamakloe DB 5.6 3 79
Robby Havenstein OL 5.6 3 78
Jeff Lewis RB 5.6 3 77
Marquis Mason TE 5.6 3 77
Konrad Zagzebski DE 5.6 3 76
Bryce Gilbert DT 5.6 3 74
Dallas Lewallen OL 5.6 2 40
Joseph Brennan QB 5.5 3 78
Manasseh Garner ATH 5.5 3 78
Sherard Cadogan TE 5.5 3 76
Josh Harrison LB 5.5 3 76
Cody Byers LB 5.5 3 75
Warren Herring DE 5.5 3 75
Chase Hammond WR 5.5 3 74
Jake Irwin DE 5.5 3 40
Jameson Wright DB 5.5 2 77
Isaiah Williams ATH 5.5 2 75
Joe McNamara OL 5.4 3 76
Cameron Ontko LB 5.4 2 68
Kyle Costigan OL 5.3 2 40

Middling class for the Badgers, heavy on linemen.

#8 Northwestern - 17 Commits
Name Position Rivals Scout ESPN
Kain Colter ATH 5.7 3 77
Rashad Lawrence WR 5.7 3 73
Brandon Vitabile OL 5.7 3 40
Paul Jorgenson OL 5.6 3 79
Trevor Siemian QB 5.6 3 79
Chance Carter DE 5.6 3 78
Ibraheim Campbell DB 5.6 3 75
Chichi Ariguzo LB 5.6 3 74
Jimmy Hall WR 5.6 2 75
Venric Mark ATH 5.6 2 73
Will Hampton DT 5.5 3 77
Tony Jones WR 5.5 3 77
Adonis Smith RB 5.5 3 74
Sean McEvilly OL 5.5 2 78
Collin Ellis LB 5.5 2 77
CJ Bryant DB 5.5 2 73
Daniel Jones DB 5.4 2 73

Small class for Northwestern, and they lost a commit in the final weeks of the recruiting season, too.

#9 Purdue - 24 Commits
Name Position Rivals Scout ESPN
OJ Ross WR 5.8 3 80
Sean Robinson QB 5.7 3 78
Ricardo Allen DB 5.7 3 76
Bruce Gaston DT 5.7 3 76
Jack DeBoef OL 5.6 3 78
Joe Gilliam LB 5.6 3 77
Ryan Isaac DE 5.6 3 76
EJ Johnson DB 5.6 3 73
Rashad Frazier DE 5.6 3 40
Charles Torwudzo WR 5.6 2 74
Michael Eargle DB 5.6 2 40
Antoine Lewis DB 5.5 3 76
Will Lucas LB 5.5 3 75
Chevin Davis WR 5.5 2 76
Josh Davis DT 5.4 3 75
DeRon Flood TE 5.4 3 74
Mike Lee LB 5.4 2 78
Reggie Pegram RB 5.4 2 73
Ryan Russell ATH 5.4 2 40
Justin Sinz ATH 5.3 2 76
Cody Webster K 5.3 2 73
Normando Harris DB 5.3 2 40
Jesse Schmitt OL 5.2 2 69
Jonathan Linkenheimer K 5.1 2 40

OJ Ross is a coup for the Boilermakers, but they need more than one.

#10 Illinois - 20 Commits
Name Position Rivals Scout ESPN
Chandler Whitmer QB 5.8 4 78
Darius Millines WR 5.7 3 80
Earnest Thomas DB 5.7 3 74
Jonathan Brown LB 5.6 3 78
Shawn Afryl OL 5.6 3 70
Mark Wilson LB 5.5 3 76
Michael Heitz OL 5.5 3 74
Alex Hill OL 5.5 3 74
Ryan Lankford WR 5.5 2 78
Miles Osei QB 5.5 2 76
Evan Wilson TE 5.5 2 70
Brandon Denmark DE 5.5 2 40
Spencer Harris WR 5.4 2 70
AJ Williams WR 5.4 2 70
Austin Teitsma DE 5.4 2 69
Trulon Henry DB 5.4 2 40
Ean Days DB 5.3 2 74
Simon Cvijanovic OL 5.3 2 73
Jake Howe RB 5.3 2 40
Jay Prosch RB 5.2 2 40

I would say "wow, this class is terrible (especially for Zook)," but that honor is reserved for his fellow "outstanding recruiter" below.

#11 Minnesota - 25 Commits
Name Position Rivals Scout ESPN
Jimmy Gjere OL 5.8 4 78
Lamonte Edwards ATH 5.8 3 76
Tom Parish QB 5.7 3 73
James Manuel DB 5.6 3 78
Marquise Hill ATH 5.6 3 76
Marek Lenkiewicz OL 5.6 3 75
Donnell Kirkwood RB 5.6 2 77
Brock Vereen DB 5.6 2 76
Johnathan Ragoo OL 5.6 2 75
Josh Tauaefa DT 5.6 2 72
Herschel Thornton DB 5.6 2 40
Christyn Lewis DB 5.6 2 40
Devon Wright RB 5.5 2 79
Tyrone Bouie DB 5.5 2 77
Matt Eggen OL 5.5 2 76
Willie Tatum LB 5.5 2 76
Harold Legania DT 5.5 2 75
Zac Epping OL 5.5 2 73
Tiree Eure TE 5.5 2 40
Sean Ferguson DT 5.5 2 40
Dwayne Mitchell LB 5.4 2 76
Ben Perry DE 5.3 2 40
Logan Hutton WR 5.2 2 40
Dwight Tillman DB 5.2 2 40
JD Pride QB 5.1 2 71

Wow, this class is terrible. Brewster is supposed to be an outstanding recruiter... and this is what he comes up with? Minnesota suffered through approximately 7,000 decommitments this year, and this class is a huge disappointment.

#12 Indiana - 25 Commits
Name Position Rivals Scout ESPN
Andre Kates DB 5.7 2 40
Ishmael Thomas LB 5.6 3 77
Tim O'Conner WR 5.6 2 72
Jeff Thomas LB 5.6 2 40
Chase Hoobler LB 5.5 3 74
Matt Perez RB 5.5 3 74
Marlandez Harris OL 5.5 3 72
Logan Young WR 5.5 2 76
Cameron Cole DB 5.5 2 75
Paul Phillips TE 5.5 2 75
Pete Bachman DE 5.5 2 74
Jack Denton LB 5.4 3 76
Kofi Hughes ATH 5.4 3 76
Matt Zakrzewski LB 5.4 3 76
Harrison Scott DE 5.4 3 69
Ryan Phillis DE 5.4 2 75
Shaquille Jefferson DB 5.4 2 40
Brian Williams DB 5.4 2 40
Lenyatta Kiles DB 5.4 2 40
Leneil Himes TE 5.3 3 74
Xavier Whitaker RB 5.3 3 72
Antonio Banks RB 5.3 2 73
Bill Ivan OL 5.3 2 73
Cody Evers OL 5.3 2 40
Drew Hardin DB 5.2 2 40

As per usual, the Hoosiers bring up the rear.

Comments

TrppWlbrnID

February 10th, 2010 at 12:44 PM ^

can you clarify why michigan is ranked 2nd in this chart?

if i average michigan's position in each of these systems (1 pt for best rating, 2 for second, etc.) michigan ends up tied with ND for 3rd.

PeterKlima

February 10th, 2010 at 1:26 PM ^

A lot of people seem to see Michigan's class as "overrated" because it is quantity or quality (i.e., UM's class is bigger, but OSU has a higher avg. star).

That type of overrated comment is filled with ignorance. If OSU's class had 10 more players, their star ranking would drop. There are only a small number of 4 and 5 star recruits, so it would HAVE to drop barring something crazy. The same is true for everyone.

That is one of the reasons sites take size into account. It is imporant because the higher the class size, the more likely the avg star rating will be forced down.

Michigan did a great job recruiting after two losing seasons. Plus, this class is so fast that once they add some girth (easy to do) they could be scary good.

MH20

February 10th, 2010 at 12:46 PM ^

I assume that's Jordan Norwood's little brother? Interesting that PSU said, "Sorry, you have to go somewhere else now" to the universally-praised Adrian Coxson, but took a kid with lesser guru ratings across the board.

I guess they are banking on Levi being as good as his brother.

Kilgore Trout

February 10th, 2010 at 12:47 PM ^

1 - You know it's bad for Illinois if their third rated recruit in the whole class apparently couldn't get an offer from UM or MSU.

2 - Let's keep an eye on Andre Kates from Indiana. Rivals gives him the same rating as Ricardo Miller, Jibreel Black, and Josh Furman, Scout gives him 2 stars and ESPN gives him a 40. Something has to give.

Wolv54

February 10th, 2010 at 12:50 PM ^

We're 4th in the Rivals rankings, 3rd in the Scout rankings, and 3rd in the ESPN ratings, but somehow, we move ourselves into 2nd on the rankings because of class size? I fail to see the logic in taking quantity over quality if we're using the rankings of the recruiting sites to establish some sort of pecking order than ignoring it to put us into second place.

Someone explain this to me. I'm not down on the class or any of the recruits, but are we saying we're second based on the evidence given in the chart or because we know we've addressed needs on the team that will bolster our team going forward?

MI Expat NY

February 10th, 2010 at 1:31 PM ^

Here's the logic. Yes, 20 4 and 5 star guys is likely to give you more All Big-10 caliber players than 30 3 star guys. However, 30 guys ranging between 3 and 5 stars is likely to give you more All Big-10 caliber players than 20 players between 3 and 5 stars, even if on average, the class of 20 is slightly higher rated.

Edit: I'm not saying that Michigan is or is not ranked appropriately. I am only pointing out that using average recruit ranking as the ONLY measure is as foolish as ignoring average recruit ranking all together. As we all know, Mike Hart was a 3-star recruit and he far exceeded expectations. If you have 10 3 star guys compared to 5 3-star guys, it stands to reason that the larger class is more likely to find that diamond in the rough.