Big Ten Recruiting Class Rankings 9-4-11

Submitted by Ace on

The latest week in recruiting sees Notre Dame pick up their highest-ranked recruit in DT Jarron Jones while Purdue and Northwestern each add some lower-ranked players to their classes. Other than that, nothing really happened. Action since last rankings:

8-28-11 Northwestern gains commitment from Jaylen Prater.

8-29-11 Notre Dame gains commitment from Jarron Jones. Purdue gains commitment from Carlos Carvajal.

8-30-11 Northwestern gains commitment from Terrance Brown.

9-3-11 Purdue gains commitment from Aloyis Gray.

9-4-11 Purdue gains commitment from Devin Smith.

Chart? Chart:

Big Ten+ Recruiting Class Rankings
Rank School # Commits Rivals Avg Scout Avg ESPN Avg 24/7 Avg
1 Michigan 22 3.50 3.64 3.41 3.59
2 Notre Dame 14 3.43 3.86 3.50 3.57
3 Penn State 17 3.18 3.29 3.29 3.00
4 Ohio State 12 3.25 3.42 3.17 3.33
5 Michigan State 14 3.14 3.14 3.07 3.00
6 Wisconsin 10 3.10 3.40 3.20 3.20
7 Indiana 17 2.65 2.82 2.63* 2.88
8 Northwestern 16 2.5 2.44 2.31 1.81
9 Iowa 10 3.00 3.00 3.00 2.90
10 Minnesota 18 2.56 2.39 2.12* 2.33
11 Purdue 15 2.47 2.13 2.14* 2.40
12 Nebraska 6 3.17 3.33 3.00 3.33
13 Illinois 8 2.50 2.63 2.75 2.50

*ESPN doesn't rate JUCOs, so Isaac Fruechte (Minnesota), Darius Stroud (Indiana), Steffon Martin and Devin Smith (Purdue) are exluded from their respective team averages.

On to the full data, after the jump.

 

#1 Michigan - 22 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Kyle Kalis OL OH 4 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
Tom Strobel DE OH 4 4 3 4
Ondre Pipkins DT MO 4 4 3 4
Pharaoh Brown DE OH 4 3 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
Kaleb Ringer LB OH 3 4 3 3
Matt Godin DE MI 3 3 3 4
Ben Braden OL MI 3 3 3 3
Anthony Standifer CB IL 3 3 3 3
Caleb Stacey OL OH 3 3 3 3
Allen Gant S OH 3 3 3 3
A.J. Williams TE OH 3 3 3 3
Sione Houma FB UT 3 3 2 3

Michigan maintains their stranglehold at the top of the rankings. Sione Houma moves from two to three stars on Rivals, and he's now ranked as their #5 fullback in the country.

#2 Notre Dame - 14 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Jarron Jones DT NY 4 5 4 5
Ronald Darby CB MD 4 5 4 4
Tee Shepard CB CA 4 5 4 4
Sheldon Day DT IN 4 5 4 4
Deontay Greenberry WR CA 4 4 4 4
Taylor Decker OL OH 4 4 3 4
David Perkins LB IN 3 4 4 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
John Turner S IN 3 3 3 3
Scott Daly LS IL 2 2 2 2

The Irish land Jarron Jones, their highest-rated recruit across the board to date. They still have some ground to cover to catch Michigan, going by pure numbers, but in terms of quality of commits this class is right up there.

#3 Penn State - 17 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Tommy Schutt DT IL 4 5 4 4
Camren Williams LB MA 4 4 4 4
J.J. Denman OL PA 4 4 4 4
Eugene Lewis WR PA 4 4 4 4
Armani Reeves CB MA 4 4 4 4
Joey O'Connor OL CO 4 4 4 3
Brent Wilkerson DE MD 4 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
J.P. Holtz TE PA 3 3 3 3
Austin Johnson OL NJ 3 3 NR NR
Malik Golden ATH PA 3 2 3 3
Jake Kiley CB NH 2 3 2 NR
Derek Dowrey DT VA 2 2 3 NR

J.P. Holtz earns a three-star ranking from Rivals.

#4 Ohio State - 12 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Bri'onte Dunn RB OH 4 5 4 4
Joshua Perry LB OH 4 4 4 4
Warren Ball RB OH 4 4 3 4
De'Van Bogard S OH 4 4 3 4
Pat Elflein OL OH 3 3 4 3
Jacoby Boren OL 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 2
Tyvis Powell S OH 3 3 2 3
Najee Murray CB OH 2 3 3 3

No change for the Buckeyes.

#5 Michigan State - 14 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Se'Von Pittman DE OH 4 4 4 4
Aaron Burbridge WR MI 4 4 4 4
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
Jamal Lyles LB MI 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
Evan Jones TE OH 3 3 NR 3
Kodi Kieler OL MI 3 3 3 NR

Kodi Keiler is upgraded from unranked to three stars on Rivals. Interesting, but completely irrelevant, sidenote: Rivals and Scout are in complete lockstep when it comes to ranking the Spartan commits (requisite dig: because they're almost all three-stars—but, you know, national three-stars).

#6 Wisconsin - 10 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
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
Hugs Etienne CB CA 3 2 3 3
Reggie Mitchell CB PA 2 2 2 NR
Arthur Goldberg DT PA NR 3 2 NR

No change for the Badgers.

#7 Indiana - 17 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Gunner Kiel QB IN 4 5 4 5
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
Sebastian Smith S OH 3 2 NR 3
Jason Spriggs TE IN 2 3 3 3
Tanner Kearns TE OH 2 3 2 3
Caleb Cornett WR IN 2 3 2 2
Alex Todd OL OH 2 3 2 3
Jacob Bailey OL IN 2 2 3 3
Dawson Fletcher S OH 2 2 NR 2
Darius Stroud LB KS NR NR JC NR

Shawn Heffern gets a three-star ranking from Rivals, while Alex Todd picks up three stars from 24/7. I'm still keeping them just a hair below Wisconsin, but if the average rankings get any closer or the Hoosiers pick up another commit that'll probably change.

#8 Northwestern - 16 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Adam DePietro OL PA 3 4 3 3
Greg Kuhar DT OH 3 3 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 NR
Malin Jones RB IL 3 3 2 3
Mike McHugh WR PA 3 2 2 2
Dwight White CB TX 3 2 2 NR
Connor Mahoney OL PA 2 3 3 NR
Dan Vitale S IL 2 2 2 2
Joseph Jones S PA 2 2 NR NR
Chris Fitzpatrick OL KY 2 2 NR 2
Jaylen Prater LB OH NR NR 2 NR
Terrance Brown S CA NR NR NR NR

The Wildcats pick up a pair of unheralded recruits in LB Jaylen Prater and S Terrance Brown. This drags down their averages considerably, but I won't punish a team for picking up commits. Iowa is hot on their heels, though.

#9 Iowa - 10 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
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
Mitch Keppy OL IL 3 3 2 3
Michael Malloy RB IA 3 3 2 3
Drew Ott DE NE 3 2 3 3
Laron Taylor LB MI 2 3 3 3
Connor Kornbrath K WV 2 3 2 NR

No change for the Hawkeyes.

#10 Minnesota - 18 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
Philip Nelson QB MN 3 3 2 3
Jack Lynn LB IL 3 3 2 3
Dinero Moss S FL 3 2 3 3
Dominic Twitty DT NJ 3 2 3 3
Brian Nicholson LB FL 3 2 2 2
Jordan Hinojosa DT FL 3 2 NR NR
Nick Rallis S MN 3 3 2 3
Maxx Williams TE MN 3 3 NR NR
Rodrick Williams RB TX 3 NR NR 3
Mitch Leidner QB MN 2 3 2 3
Drew Davis LB NC 2 2 3 NR
Samad Hinds TE FL 2 2 3 2
Josh Ballesteros LB FL 2 2 2 2
Eric Murray CB WI 2 2 NR NR
Scott Ekpe DT TX 2 2 NR 3
Isaac Fruechte WR MN NR 2 JC NR

Nick Rallis, Maxx Williams, and Rodrick Williams each pick up three stars from Rivals after being unrated. 24/7 does the same for Scott Ekpe and R. Williams.

#11 Purdue - 15 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
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
Jonathan Curry TE AL 3 3 3 3
Aloyis Gray ATH IN 3 3 2 3
Andy Garcia LB FL 3 2 2 2
B.J. Knauf WR FL 3 3 2 3
Jimmy Herman S IN 3 3 2 3
Anthony Brown CB FL 3 NR NR 3
Paul Griggs K NC 2 3 3 3
Thomas Meadows K VA 2 NR 2 2
Steffon Martin LB AZ NR 2 JC NR
Devin Smith OL AZ NR 3 JC NR
Carlos Carvajal TE NY NR NR NR NR

The Boilermakers land ATH Aloyis Gray, OL Devin Smith, and TE Carlos Carvajal. Jimmy Herman picks up three stars from Rivals. By the power of sheer volume, Purdue moves ahead of Nebraska. File that under: 'Things I Never Thought I'd Write About Football and/or Recruiting'.

#12 Nebraska - 6 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Paul Thurston OL CO 4 4 4 4
Greg McMullen DE OH 4 4 3 4
Michael Rose LB MO 3 3 4 4
Jordan Westerkamp WR IL 3 4 3 4
Sam Cotton TE NE 3 2 3 3
Deion Jones LB LA 2 3 NR NR

No change for the Huskers. Still. Bo Pelini isn't expecting some sort of Big Ten Expansion Draft, is he?

#13 Illinois - 8 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Tajarvis Fuller LB FL 3 3 3 3
Cody Quinn CB OH 3 3 3 3
Elliot Faerber WR KS 3 3 2 NR
Tyler Barton S FL 3 NR 2 NR
Joseph Spencer OL OH 3 3 3 3
Jason Robertson WR IL 2 3 3 3
Joey Warburg OL KY 2 2 3 3
Zach Jackson S FL NR 3 3 3

No new commits for the Illini. Joseph Spencer picks up three stars and Joey Warburg two from Rivals.

Comments

turd ferguson

September 4th, 2011 at 5:11 PM ^

Is it safe to assume that you're a believer in the "bigger classes are better because they're big" idea? Just trying to understand your reasoning.
<br>FWIW, I agree with that when you have classes of roughly the same average quality. With something like Iowa/Northwestern, though, Iowa could very easily grab a bunch of 2-star (even some 1-star) recruits who would even out the class sizes while still leaving Iowa ahead in the average star ratings.

Ace

September 4th, 2011 at 5:45 PM ^

Not necessarily (see Wisconsin ahead of Indiana), but in general it helps to have depth in the class. I very nearly stuck Iowa in front of Northwestern, but I didn't want to penalize the Wildcats for pulling in a couple recruits, and that's where they were last week. As these classes start filling up, I'm sure Iowa and Nebraska will move their way up the rankings pretty quickly.

It may look like there's a method to the madness, but right now it's mostly just madness (and trying to make sure I don't mess up the HTML for the tables). I'm more worried about making sure all the right info is in the right place than making arbitrary distinctions between incomplete recruiting classes full of players who have played one or two games in their senior seasons.