Big Ten Recruiting Class Rankings 5-8-11

Submitted by Tim on

The Wolverines are truly reeling them in now. Three new commits this week. To the front page again! Action since last rankings:

5-2-11 Michigan gains commitment from James Ross. Notre Dame gains commitment from Justin Ferguson. Wisconsin gains commitment from Bart Houston.

5-5-11 Northwestern gains commitment from Ian Park.

5-6-11 Nebraska gains commitment from Jordan Westerkamp.

5-7-11 Michigan gains commitments from Mario Ojemudia and Pharaoh Brown. Michigan State gains commitment from Evan Jones.

Big Ten+ Recruiting Class Rankings
Rank School # Commits Rivals Watchlist Scout Avg ESPN Watchlist 24/7 Avg
1 Michigan 10 2 3.60 4 2.90
2 Ohio State 6 4 4.00 3 3.50
3 Notre Dame 6 2 3.50 2 2.67
4 Penn State 6 1 3.17 1 3.17
5 Wisconsin 4 3 3.75 3 4.00
6 Minnesota 3 1 3.00 1 2.33
7 Michigan State 4 0 2.50 1 1.50
8 Northwestern 3 1 3.00 0 1.67
9 Nebraska 2 0 3.00 1 2.50
10 Illinois 1 0 3.00 0 1.00
11 Purdue 1 0 1.00 0 3.00
12 Iowa 1 0 1.00 0 1.00
13 Indiana 0 - - - -

All rankings will be on the 5-star scale this year (when available) for easier comparing across services. Rivals rankings come out this week. Full data after the jump.

#1 Michigan - 10 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Royce Jenkins-Stone LB MI 250* 4 150* 4
James Ross LB MI 250* 4 150* 4
Devin Funchess TE MI NR 4 150* 4
Joe Bolden LB OH NR 4 150* 4
Mario Ojemudia DE MI NR 4 NR 3
Kaleb Ringer LB OH NR 4 NR NR
Pharaoh Brown DE OH NR 3 NR 4
Ben Braden OL MI NR 3 NR 3
Caleb Stacey OL OH NR 3 NR NR
AJ Williams TE OH NR 3 NR NR

Three commits last week puts Michigan at the top on the strength of sheer numbers. The Wolverines also have the most ESPN150 Watchlist members in the conference.

#2 Ohio State - 6 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Bri'onte Dunn RB OH 250* 5 150* 4
Kyle Kalis OL OH 250* 5 150* 4
Joshua Perry LB OH 250* 4 150* 4
Warren Ball RB OH 250* 4 NR 4
Jacoby Boren OL OH NR 3 NR 4
Frank Epitropoulos WR OH NR 3 NR NR

No change for Ohio State. I imagine the NCAA cloud hanging over Columbus has something to do that.

#3 Notre Dame - 6 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Ronald Darby CB MD 250* 5 150* 4
Tee Shepard CB CA 250* 4 150* 4
Nick Baratti S TX NR 4 NR 3
Taylor Decker OL OH NR 4 NR NR
Justin Ferguson WR OH NR 3 150* 3
Scott Daly LS IL NR NR NR NR

No change for ND.

#4 Penn State - 6 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Jarron Jones DT NY 250* 5 150* 5
Camren Williams LB MA NR 4 150* 4
Anthony Stanko OL OH NR 3 NR 4
Brent Wilkerson DE MD NR 3 NR 4
Jamil Pollard DT NJ NR 3 NR NR
Jesse James TE PA NR NR NR NR

Jarron Jones is listed as a soft commit by all services (straight from his own mouth).

#5 Wisconsin - 4 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Dan Voltz OL IL 250* 4 150* 4
Vince Biegel LB WI 250* 4 150* 4
Bart Houston QB CA 250* 4 150* 4
Vonte Jackson RB WI NR 3 NR 4

Wisconsin picks up a highly-rated QB in Bart Houston.

#6 Minnesota - 3 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Andre McDonald WR MN 250* 3 150* 3
Philip Nelson QB MN NR 3 NR 3
Maxx Williams TE MN NR 3 NR NR

A pair of future Gophers pick up 3-star ratings from 24/7 Sports.

#7 Michigan State - 4 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Benny McGowan OL OH NR 3 150* NR
Riley Bullough LB MI NR 3 NR 3
Zach Higgins OL OH NR 3 NR NR
Evan Jones TE OH NR NR NR NR

MSU picks up Evan Jones, who hasn't gotten any love from the recruiting sites yet. They're riiiight on Minnesota's heels.

#8 Northwestern - 3 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Malin Jones RB IL 250* 3 NR 3
Kenton Playko OL OH NR 3 NR NR
Ian Park OL PA NR 3 NR NR

No change for Northwestern.

#9 Nebraska - 2 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Michael Rose LB MO NR 3 150* NR
Jordan Westerkamp WR IL NR 3 NR 4

Highly-rated wideout Jordan Westerkamp picks the Huskers.

#10 Illinois - 1 Commit
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Elliot Faerber WR KS NR 3 NR NR

Scout calls Faerber a 3-star.

#11 Purdue - 1 Commit
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Jordan Shine S IN NR NR NR 3

24/7 Sports gives Shine a 3-star rating.

#12 Iowa - 1 Commit
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Mitch Keppy OL IL NR NR NR NR

No change for Iowa.

Indiana is the reverse-champion this year, taking the longest to receive any commitments.

Comments

readyourguard

May 8th, 2011 at 9:29 AM ^

This is great news and fantastic start for Coach Hoke and his staff.  I can't wait for this season and for this program to reclaim its rightful place at the top of the heap.

In the meantime, for your entertainment pleasure, venture over to Sparty24toLife and read the "Ojemudio commits to Michigan" thread (I refuse to infect this board with a link to that turd).  It's 100% pure Columbian Gold.

dahblue

May 8th, 2011 at 9:41 AM ^

Wow.  The staff is doing such an amazing job, I wonder if we'll all be bored when the class is  complete earlier than we're used to. 

gajensen

May 8th, 2011 at 10:17 AM ^

If we snag Dunn from Ohio State our Scout averages raise to 3.72 and theirs falls to 3.8...I'd love to indisputably beat  their recruitingly class, and it very well could be possible if TresselGate yields justice.

and just because I liked seeing the breakdown, our offense averages 3.25 stars and our defense 3.83.

JohnnyBlue

May 8th, 2011 at 10:19 AM ^

Will be nice if Hoke can get most of the class locked up this spring, then focus on a few blue chips, and start laying inroads with upstart 2013 prospects.

GratefulBlue

May 8th, 2011 at 10:32 AM ^

I think we'll have to put a strong product on the field this fall to hold onto everyone, but so far just an unbelievable job. Obviously Urban Meyer was right: Mattison is an absolute animal on the recruiting trail. That's probably why we sent our D Coordinator to Ohio to meet with Dunn.

Just for comparison's sake, I looked around at what other high-profile programs had been up to recruiting-wise; we're toe-to-toe or ahead of everyone ... except Texas. Holy moly: 9 four stars and 3 five stars. I don't understand how they don't win a championship every other year. Just goes to show recruiting can take you only so far.

ihateMichigan

May 8th, 2011 at 11:42 AM ^

Couldnt have said it better myself.  Recruiting only takes you so far.  What is Hoke's record?  I cant wait until he comes in and does the reverse dickrod, and ruins the offense right off the bat.  It's gonna be fun to watch you chumps win 5 games again this year.  It never gets old.

Logan88

May 8th, 2011 at 11:56 AM ^

The thing about Texas is that they get so many commits before the recruiting sites even do their rankings. Generally, if a kid has commited to an "elite" program he is automatically elevated in the eyes of recruiting "experts" so I suspect that many of UT's early commits benefit from this bump. If the same kid was evaluated as an uncommited prospect he might be a 4* instead of a 5* or a 3* instead of a 4*. That is not the case with ALL of their commits, obviously, but I think it is very likely that several of their commits benefit from this bump each recruiting season. Hence, their classes are probably overrated each year.

ryebreadboy

May 8th, 2011 at 11:35 AM ^

It's seriously incredible that it has gone on this long.  Did anyone have any idea that Pharoah Brown was thinking about committing, or did this just come wildly out of the blue?  Can't ask for better timing.  I guess that's the real reason Bri'onte hasn't flipped yet... Marshall isn't ready to commit.

MGoBender

May 8th, 2011 at 5:14 PM ^

Am I just missing something, or do we not have a 2012 Recruiting Board?

How am I supposed to keep track of all these recruits without the tried and true MGoBlog metrics of "Sad Josh" and "Nefarious Edwardo"

MGoBender

May 8th, 2011 at 5:38 PM ^

No, in the past there has been an epic breakdown of all things recruiting.  This included prospects, offers, commits, longshots, etc.  Every artcile that mentioned a player was linked in this grand table and Michigan's position with these recruits was measured by smiley face metrics.

Sad josh = Someone who would jump at a M offer, but likely won't get one.

Nefarious Edwardo = Very long shot, likely to go to some other BCS power.

Mr. Blue = Committ, or very likely to commit.

Happy Teeth = Someone we have a very good shot at.

Data = 50/50 tossup.

Wow, I can't believe I was able to rattle those off from memory.  WE NEED A RECRUITING BOARD - the smiley face system made following recruiting sooooo much easier!

NMU Blue

May 8th, 2011 at 5:55 PM ^

She started to cry and I told her not to "Sad Josh" me.  She obviously didn't get it and I looked like a huge dick, but it just goes to show that Mgoblog affects all aspects of our lives.  I wish they'd bring back the grand board, too.  I'm sure that takes a lot of work to keep accurate, though.

jshclhn

May 8th, 2011 at 7:51 PM ^

A very encouraging start, indeed - keep up the good work coaching staff!

Still a ways to go in this class, especially on the offensive side of the ball.  There's all kinds of time now to focus on the guys they really want , and the coaching staff can afford to be very selective outside of the postions of need (DT, QB, outside WR, OL, and perhaps safety).

 

PeteM

May 8th, 2011 at 9:01 PM ^

I apologize if someone has raised this earlier, but for the 24/7 average how do we treat guys who are unranked?  I haven't done the math, but to get to our average to 2.90 it appears that Tim treats them as 1 or 2 stars since the ranked guys consist of 5 four stars and 3 three stars.  That's fine if unranked means that 24/7 has determined that they are lesser players undeserving of attention.  If, on the other hand, this is such an early stage in the process, and 24/7 simply hasn't scouted them, then maybe those players should be left out of the rankings entirely.  I would be curious if anyone knows the process behind this.

 

Indiana Blue

May 8th, 2011 at 9:43 PM ^

In re: another thread ... it certainly appears as though Hoke is building the "numbers" of the defensive side, and perhaps the " 5 stars" will be fewer but perhaps on the offensive side of the ball.  Depth is obviously critical on all facets of football, though if you are going to build your focus around the defense, this is where you initially need to build that depth.

Congrats again to this entire staff ... the excitement has definitely added to expectation of watching this program grow !!!

Go Blue