Big Ten Recruiting Class Rankings 1-15-12

Submitted by Ace on

No team movement this week as there was very little in the way of commitments across the board. That will obviously change in the couple weeks leading up to signing day, but for now the standings remain the same. Action since last rankings:

1-9-12: Indiana picks up Tevin Coleman.

1-12-12: Iowa picks up Eric Simmons. Indiana picks up Cameron Coffman.

1-14-12: Darrius Stroud decommits from Indiana.

1-15-12: Cody Quinn switches commitment from Illinois to Kentucky. Minnesota picks up Duke Anyanwu.

Chart? Chart:

Big Ten+ Recruiting Class Rankings
Rank School # Commits Rivals Avg Scout Avg ESPN Avg 24/7 Avg Avg Avg^
1 Michigan 24 3.50 3.63 3.33 3.54 3.50
2 Ohio State 19 3.52 3.74 3.42 3.63 3.58
3 Notre Dame 17 3.47 3.71 3.47 3.53 3.54
4 Wisconsin 12 3.42 3.33 3.17 3.50 3.35
5 Penn State 14 3.14 3.21 3.14 3.29 3.20
6 Michigan State 14 3.14 3.14 2.86 3.07 3.05
7 Iowa 18 3.00 2.78 2.83* 2.83 2.86
8 Nebraska 11 3.45 3.09 3.10* 3.55 3.30
9 Purdue 25 2.92 2.48 2.72* 2.76 2.72
10 Northwestern 20 2.75 2.65 2.55 2.65 2.65
11 Indiana 24 2.67 2.46 2.32* 2.46 2.48
12 Illinois 13 2.62 2.62 2.46 2.77 2.62
13 Minnesota 27 2.26 2.19 2.00* 2.30 2.19

*ESPN doesn't rate JuCos, so they are counted as unranked recruits for the sake of consistency (trust me, it makes sense when you look at the spreadsheet).

^The average of the average rankings of the four recruiting services (aka the previous four columns). The figure is calculated based on the raw numbers and then rounded, so the numbers above may not average out exactly.

On to the full data, after the jump.

 

#1 Michigan - 24 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Kyle Kalis OL OH 5 5 4 4
Royce Jenkins-Stone LB MI 4 4 4 4
James Ross LB MI 4 4 4 4
Joe Bolden LB OH 4 4 4 4
Terry Richardson CB MI 4 4 4 4
Erik Magnuson OL CA 4 4 4 4
Jarrod Wilson S OH 4 4 4 4
Amara Darboh WR IA 4 4 3 4
Tom Strobel DE OH 4 4 3 4
Ondre Pipkins DT MO 4 4 3 4
Blake Bars OL TN 4 3 3 3
Devin Funchess TE MI 3 4 4 4
Chris Wormley DE OH 3 4 4 4
Mario Ojemudia DE MI 3 4 4 3
A.J. Williams TE OH 3 4 3 3
Matt Godin DE MI 3 3 3 4
Kaleb Ringer LB OH 3 3 3 3
Ben Braden OL MI 3 3 3 3
Jehu Chesson WR MO 3 3 3 3
Jeremy Clark S KY 3 3 3 3
Caleb Stacey OL OH 3 3 3 3
Allen Gant S OH 3 3 3 3
Sione Houma FB UT 3 3 2 3
Drake Johnson RB MI 3 3 2 3

No change for the Wolverines.

#2 Ohio State - 19 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Noah Spence DE PA 5 5 5 5
Adolphus Washington DE OH 4 5 4 5
Bri'onte Dunn RB OH 4 5 4 4
Tommy Schutt DT IL 4 5 4 4
Joshua Perry LB OH 4 4 4 4
Se'Von Pittman DE OH 4 4 4 4
Warren Ball RB OH 4 4 3 4
De'Van Bogard S OH 4 4 3 4
Michael Thomas WR VA 4 4 3 3
Najee Murray CB OH 3 4 3 3
Pat Elflein OL OH 3 3 4 3
Ricquan Southward WR FL 3 3 4 3
Jacoby Boren OL OH 3 3 3 4
Cardale Jones QB OH 3 3 3 4
Frank Epitropoulos WR OH 3 3 3 3
Blake Thomas TE OH 3 3 3 3
Roger Lewis WR OH 3 3 3 3
Luke Roberts LB OH 3 3 3 3
Tyvis Powell S OH 3 3 2 3

No change for the Buckeyes.

#3 Notre Dame - 17 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Jarron Jones DT NY 4 4 4 5
Tee Shepard CB CA 4 5 4 4
Sheldon Day DT IN 4 5 4 4
Deontay Greenberry WR CA 4 4 4 4
Elijah Shumate S NJ 4 4 4 4
Ronnie Stanley OL NV 4 4 4 4
William Mahone RB OH 4 4 4 3
Taylor Decker OL OH 4 4 3 4
KeiVarae Russell RB WA 4 4 3 4
Nick Baratti S TX 3 4 3 3
C.J. Prosise S VA 3 4 3 3
Justin Ferguson WR FL 3 3 4 3
Mark Harrell OL NC 3 3 4 3
Romeo Okwara DE NC 3 3 3 4
Chris Brown WR SC 3 3 3 3
John Turner S IN 3 3 3 3
Scott Daly LS IL 2 2 2 2

No change for the Irish.

#4 Wisconsin - 12 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Dan Voltz OL IL 4 4 4 4
Vince Biegel LB WI 4 4 4 4
J.J. Denman OL PA 4 4 4 4
Kyle Dodson OL OH 4 4 3 4
Vonte Jackson RB WI 4 4 3 4
Bart Houston QB CA 3 4 4 4
D.J. Singleton S NJ 3 4 4 3
Walker Williams OL WA 3 3 3 3
Arthur Goldberg DT PA 3 3 2 3
Hugs Etienne CB CA 3 2 3 3
Reggie Love WR FL 3 2 2 3
Reggie Mitchell CB PA 2 2 2 3

No change for the Badgers.

#5 Penn State - 14 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Camren Williams LB MA 4 4 4 4
Eugene Lewis WR PA 4 4 4 4
Armani Reeves CB MA 4 4 4 4
Jamil Pollard DT NJ 4 3 3 4
Brent Wilkerson DE MD 3 3 3 4
Brian Gaia OL MD 3 3 4 3
Skyler Mornhinweg QB PA 3 3 4 3
Anthony Stanko OL OH 3 3 3 3
Nyeem Wartman LB PA 3 3 3 3
Jesse James TE PA 3 3 3 3
Austin Johnson OL NJ 3 3 NR 3
Malik Golden ATH PA 3 3 3 3
Jake Kiley CB NH 2 3 2 2
Derek Dowrey DT VA 2 3 3 3

No change for the Nittany Lions.

#6 Michigan State - 14 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Aaron Burbridge WR MI 4 4 4 4
Jamal Lyles LB MI 4 4 3 3
Benny McGowan OL OH 3 3 4 3
Tyler O'Connor QB OH 3 3 3 4
Riley Bullough LB MI 3 3 3 3
Zach Higgins OL OH 3 3 3 3
Josiah Price TE IN 3 3 3 3
Nick Tompkins RB GA 3 3 3 3
Kyle Kerrick WR PA 3 3 3 3
MacGarrett Kings WR FL 3 3 3 3
Jermaine Edmondson S OH 3 3 3 2
Kodi Kieler OL MI 3 3 3 3
Evan Jones TE OH 3 3 NR 3
Ezra Robinson CB FL 3 3 NR 3

No change for the Spartans.

#7 Iowa - 18 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Faith Ekakitie DE IL 4 4 4 4
Greg Garmon RB PA 4 4 4 4
Jaleel Johnson DT IL 4 4 4 4
Ryan Ward OL IL 4 3 4 3
Maurice Fleming CB IL 3 3 4 3
Ruben Lile ATH MI 3 3 3 3
Cameron Wilson WR OH 3 3 3 3
Anthony Morgan S TX 3 3 3 3
Mitch Keppy OL IL 3 3 2 3
Michael Malloy RB IA 3 3 2 3
Drew Ott DE NE 3 2 3 3
Daumantas Venckus DE FL 3 NR 3 2
Greg Mabin WR FL 3 NR 2 3
Eric Simmons OL IA 3 NR JC NR
Laron Taylor LB MI 2 3 3 3
Kevin Buford CB MI 2 3 3 3
Connor Kornbrath K WV 2 3 2 2
Tevaun Smith WR CT 2 3 JC NR

Iowa adds JuCo offensive lineman Eric Simmons.

#8 Nebraska - 11 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Paul Thurston OL CO 4 4 4 4
Greg McMullen DE OH 4 3 3 4
Jordan Westerkamp WR IL 4 4 3 4
Mohammed Seisay CB AZ 4 3 JC 4
Zaire Anderson LB CA 4 2 JC 3
Michael Rose LB MO 3 3 4 4
Tommy Armstrong QB TX 3 4 3 3
Jared Afalava LB UT 3 3 4 4
Thomas Brown LB CA 3 3 3 3
Avery Moss DE AZ 3 3 2 3
Sam Cotton TE NE 3 2 3 3

No change for the Cornhuskers.

#9 Purdue - 25 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Ryan Watson DE MD 4 4 3 4
Jordan Shine S IN 3 3 3 3
Ryan Morris TE NJ 3 3 3 3
Austin Appleby QB OH 3 3 3 3
Jordan Roos OL TX 3 3 3 3
Bilal Marshall QB FL 3 3 3 3
Kingsley Ike DE TX 3 3 3 3
Dion Witty CB FL 3 2 3 3
Jonathan Curry TE AL 3 3 3 3
Paul Griggs K NC 3 3 3 3
Aloyis Gray ATH IN 3 3 2 3
Andy Garcia LB FL 3 2 2 2
Cameron Cermin OL TX 3 2 3 3
B.J. Knauf WR FL 3 3 2 3
Jimmy Herman S IN 3 3 2 3
Devin Smith OL AZ 3 3 JC 3
Carlos Carvajal TE NY 3 3 3 3
Anthony Brown CB FL 3 2 2 3
Danny Anthrop WR IN 3 2 2 2
Greg Latta DE CA 3 2 JC 2
Cameron Posey WR FL 3 NR 2 3
James Prince OL TX 3 NR NR NR
Jordan Woods WR MI 2 3 2 3
Thomas Meadows K VA 2 2 2 2
Jason King OL AK 2 NR 3 NR

No change for the Boilermakers.

#10 Northwestern - 20 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Ifeadi Odenigbo DE OH 4 4 4 4
Greg Kuhar DT OH 4 3 3 3
Adam DePietro OL PA 3 4 3 3
Dean Lowry DE IL 3 3 3 3
Kenton Playko OL OH 3 3 3 3
Eric Olson OL MA 3 3 3 3
Jack Schwaba TE PA 3 3 3 2
Ian Park OL PA 3 3 3 3
Eric Wilson WR MI 3 3 3 3
Malin Jones RB IL 3 3 2 3
Traveon Henry RB FL 3 3 2 3
Terrance Brown S CA 3 2 2 3
Mike McHugh WR PA 3 2 2 2
Dwight White CB TX 3 2 2 2
Connor Mahoney OL PA 2 3 3 2
Dan Vitale S IL 2 2 2 2
Joseph Jones S PA 2 2 2 3
Chris Fitzpatrick OL KY 2 2 2 2
Jaylen Prater LB OH 2 2 2 3
Andrew Scanlan WR PA NR NR 2 NR

No change for the Wildcats.

#11 Indiana - 24 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Nick Mangieri DE IL 3 3 3 3
Dan Feeney OL IL 3 3 3 3
Jordan Wallace LB IN 3 3 3 3
Kevin Davis WR IN 3 3 3 3
Adam Kranda TE IN 3 3 3 3
Wes Rogers OL IN 3 3 3 3
Mike Cotton LB IL 3 3 3 3
Shawn Heffern DE IN 3 3 3 3
Jason Spriggs TE IN 3 3 3 3
Tevin Coleman RB IL 3 3 3 3
Jacarri Alexander LB IA 3 3 JC 2
Shaine Boyle CB CA 3 2 JC 3
David Cooper LB KS 3 2 JC 3
Antonio Marshall CB GA 3 NR JC 2
Ryan Thompson S MS 3 NR JC NR
Caleb Cornett WR IN 3 3 2 2
Ralphael Green OL TX 3 2 2 NR
Tanner Kearns TE OH 2 3 2 3
Alex Todd OL OH 2 3 2 3
Jacob Bailey OL IN 2 2 3 3
Dawson Fletcher S OH 2 2 2 2
Tregg Waters S AZ 2 2 JC 2
Justin Rayside DE CA 2 2 JC NR
Cameron Coffman QB AZ NR NR JC NR

JuCo linebacker Darrius Stroud re-opened his recruitment, but the Hoosiers managed to pick up three-star RB Tevin Coleman and JuCo QB Cameron Coffman.

#12 Illinois - 13 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Dami Ayoola RB FL 3 3 3 3
Tajarvis Fuller LB FL 3 3 3 3
Joseph Spencer OL OH 3 3 3 3
Vontrell Williams DT IL 3 3 3 3
Zach Jackson S FL 3 3 3 3
Elliot Faerber WR KS 3 3 2 2
Robert Bain OL IL 3 3 2 3
Tyler Barton S FL 3 2 2 2
Teko Powell DT FL 3 2 NR 2
Jason Robertson WR IL 2 3 3 3
Joey Warburg OL KY 2 2 3 3
Ryan Frain K IN 2 NR 2 2
Mason Monheim LB OH NR 3 2 3

The Illini lose cornerback Cody Quinn, who flipped his commitment from Illinois to Kentucky.

#13 Minnesota - 26 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Jonah Pirsig OL MN 3 4 3 4
Isaac Hayes OL MN 3 3 4 3
Jamel Harbison WR NC 3 3 4 3
Philip Nelson QB MN 3 3 2 3
Jack Lynn LB IL 3 3 2 3
Dinero Moss S FL 3 2 3 3
Brian Nicholson LB FL 3 2 2 2
Jordan Hinojosa DT FL 3 2 NR 3
Martez Shabazz CB TX 3 2 JC 3
Nick Rallis S MN 3 3 2 3
Maxx Williams TE MN 3 3 NR 3
Rodrick Williams RB TX 3 2 NR 3
James Gillum RB MS 3 2 JC NR
Mitch Leidner QB MN 2 3 2 3
Drew Davis LB NC 2 2 3 3
Samad Hinds TE FL 2 2 3 2
Josh Ballesteros LB FL 2 2 2 2
Eric Murray CB WI 2 2 NR 2
Scott Ekpe DT TX 2 2 2 3
Isaac Fruechte WR MN 2 2 JC 2
Jeremy Baltazar CB TX 2 NR JC NR
Duke Anyanwu WR MN NR 2 1 2
Alex Keith DE MO NR NR 2 NR
Antonio Johnson S OH NR NR 2 NR
Damarius Travis S FL NR NR NR NR
Lincoln Plsek DE TX NR NR NR NR
Briean Boddy CB KS NR NR JC NR

The Gophers pick up WR/ATH Duke Anyanwu.

Comments

JT4104

January 15th, 2012 at 3:52 PM ^

Rivals rerank is this week...from the sounds of it Pipkins should get a 5th and Bolden should be a high 4. Mags might slip a little and other than that I dont think much will change regarding our guys to much.

MgoBLUEfromDC

January 15th, 2012 at 5:26 PM ^

I think that Iowa's class should be ranked higher than MSU's.  Iowa has 4 more commits and 2 more consensus 4*'s.  I know that MSU's averages are higher and they have the advantage with better recruits in the bottom half of the class, but I'd still rather take Iowa's. 

Not that it matters, just a thought.

Drew Sharp

January 15th, 2012 at 9:15 PM ^

So a team that hasn't been able to fill its scholarships should be rewarded? Sorry but Mich has five more than tsio. Unless Michigan had all 3* or lower, more is better. If the difference was two or less, then maybe. But 5?? That's 25%!

UMaD

January 16th, 2012 at 10:02 AM ^

If Michigan had higher rated recruits (by all 3 recruiting sites), I'd be saying the same thing.  Especially for a pre-signing-day ranking, the number of guys is less important than the quality of those guys. IMO, if you're only a handful of recruits off, quality is more important and OSU has higher ranked recruits.

This rankings isn't a reward, it's just a ranking.  Supposedly, an objective one.

I don't like it any more than any other Michigan fan, but OSU is going to weather these punishments without any real problem, and their current recruiting class reflects that.  The bigger issue for them is how effective Meyer is.

oriental andrew

January 16th, 2012 at 10:26 AM ^

Depends on how you look at it, I guess.  If you're just looking for how many guys have 5 stars by a service, then yes - osu has a "better" class than Michigan.  You look at overall depth and quality?  It's clearly Michigan.

players rated 5 stars by at least 1 service: 

osu 4, Michigan 1

Players rated 4 stars or better by at least 3 services:

osu 8, Michigan 12

Players rated 4 stars or better by at least 2 services:

osu 9, Michigan 13

Players rated 4 stars or better by at least 1 service:

osu 14, Michigan 16

UMaD

January 16th, 2012 at 1:06 PM ^

Michigan also has more guys rated 'just' 3-stars.  Michigan has more guys in EVERY category (except 5 star), because they have more guys period.

The gap in quantity shouldn't matter a great deal when you consider that it could/probably will disappear by signing day.  The gap in 4 star or better guys (Michigan leads by 2 to 4) is likely to disappear as OSU fills out it's class to the same numbers, give or take, that Michigan does.

I say this from the perspective of a Michigan fan who has many times thought our class was underrated because we had less quantity, but more quality (based on averages stars).  In other words, we were punished for roster stability and low attrition.  The shoe is on the other foot now.  We have to get numbers to fill depth and so are taking a number of marginal recruits (according to their rankings).  I know I know, our guys are underrated sleepers...

You could make a case that Notre Dame should also be ahead of Michigan, but with Decker's defection, I don't think it'd be a very strong one.

Not that any of this matters, when we're talking about parsing 3.54 vs 3.63 average stars...  I just think a team ranking should appear objective and the numbers say OSU's class is stronger than Michigan's.  If you hid the school names, would the results change?

BraveWolverine730

January 16th, 2012 at 2:57 PM ^

I don't think it's being subjective at all to say that the fact that UM has more commits is a good enough factor to have them slightly above OSU.  If you look at Rivals, Scout, and ESPN, all three have UM as slightly above OSU and they really have no reason to be partial to one over the other. 

UMaD

January 16th, 2012 at 3:07 PM ^

This is a more detailed (regional) look than the national sites are making.

Like I said, this is a gripe (quality vs quantity) that I've had before.  But it's especially true when it's temporary. Decker's flip (which isn't included in the national rankings yet) may change the balance in some of those list.

I wouldn't trade OSU's class for ours (because of positional needs, character, etc.) but going by the ranking numbers they deserve to be ranked higher.

 

Drew Sharp

January 16th, 2012 at 4:27 PM ^

With five more recruits the overall difference is less than 0.1. Yes their average is higher, but only slightly. At what point does quantity become important? A difference of five recruits is a good chunk. So until 19 becomes 21 or 22, I still say ours is better. If they get to 22 and still have higher rated recruits overall then I will put them ahead. Quality is more important, yes, but only to a certain point.

UMaD

January 16th, 2012 at 4:49 PM ^

Look at the top 5 programs (UM, OSU, ND, Wisc, Neb - excluding PSU b/c duh) and they're all within .1 according to rivals. Other sites say it's .2 or .3, but regardless, this narrow range is what we're parsing.  That's what will seperate the top 2 classes from the 4th and 5th best classes.  

With Decker added, the difference (in quantity) is down to 4 players. But it shouldn't matter.  Quantity is driven more by team needs and is also somewhat of a strategy thing (do you accept sub-elite players earlier or risk waiting till signing day.)  OSU could have paniced (and maybe with a few guys they did), but mostly they kept their options open and now Meyer's bringing in elite guys and flipping people from other schools.

HarBooYa

January 17th, 2012 at 6:22 PM ^

I think with the O'Connor flip the OSU class should be, unfortunately, ranked higher than ours.  Still like our class better based on our need but, removing my blue and gold goggles,  they seem more top heavy with stars than us.  Our last 4 recruits will be interesting.   If we net 4 4 stars, I could care less what OSU gets.   

HarBooYa

January 17th, 2012 at 6:29 PM ^

I totally agree that quality is always better than quantity, except in the case where your sample size is so small it does not make sense to compare (e.g. Nebraska when they had like 5 recruits).  

In regards to Ohio, I am interested if they continue to go this fantasy football route in getting best available with the remainder of their slots or they are going to compromise on some guys to fill out their class.  Looks like they may not need to compromise and are getting the best available from all of their competition (except us) at the moment.  Tells me the NCAA sanctions (aleit predictably) did not have the deterrent effect they were looking for...