Big Ten Recruiting Rankings 2-5-12
Barring a late-breaking commitment—say, Alex Kozan—these are your final Big Ten recruiting rankings for the class of 2012. After Ohio State's late charge under Urban Meyer, the Buckeyes finish atop the rankings; Michigan is a relatively close second and from there it's a precipitous drop to Notre Dame and the rest of the Big Ten. You can find the previous edition of the rankings here—changes are not listed because there were far too many.
Chart? Chart:
Big Ten+ Recruiting Class Rankings | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | School | # Commits | Rivals Avg | Scout Avg | ESPN Avg | 24/7 Avg | Avg Avg^ |
1 | Ohio State | 25 | 3.68 | 3.76 | 3.48 | 3.68 | 3.65 |
2 | Michigan | 25 | 3.56 | 3.64 | 3.36 | 3.56 | 3.53 |
3 | Notre Dame | 16 | 3.50 | 3.69 | 3.50 | 3.56 | 3.56 |
4 | Michigan State | 18 | 3.11 | 3.17 | 3.11 | 3.11 | 3.13 |
5 | Nebraska | 17 | 3.35 | 2.94 | 2.88* | 3.29 | 3.12 |
6 | Purdue | 26 | 2.92 | 2.62 | 2.78* | 2.88 | 2.80 |
7 | Iowa | 24 | 2.92 | 2.71 | 2.63* | 2.92 | 2.75 |
8 | Penn State | 19 | 2.79 | 2.95 | 2.58 | 3.11 | 2.86 |
9 | Northwestern | 20 | 2.90 | 2.85 | 2.60 | 2.85 | 2.80 |
10 | Wisconsin | 12 | 3.08 | 3.08 | 2.92 | 3.25 | 3.08 |
11 | Indiana | 25 | 2.72 | 2.52 | 2.39* | 2.60 | 2.56 |
12 | Minnesota | 27 | 2.70 | 2.37 | 2.12* | 2.63 | 2.46 |
13 | Illinois | 19 | 2.74 | 2.63 | 2.16 | 2.63 | 2.54 |
*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 Ohio State - 25 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Noah Spence | DE | PA | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Adolphus Washington | DE | OH | 5 | 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 |
David Perkins | LB | IN | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Se'Von Pittman | DE | OH | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Armani Reeves | CB | MA | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Warren Ball | RB | OH | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
De'Van Bogard | S | OH | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Taylor Decker | OL | OH | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Kyle Dodson | OL | OH | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Camren Williams | LB | MA | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Michael Thomas | WR | VA | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Joey O'Connor | OL | CO | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Najee Murray | CB | OH | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Jamal Marcus | LB | NC | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
Pat Elflein | OL | OH | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Ricquan Southward | WR | FL | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Jacoby Boren | OL | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Cardale Jones | QB | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Frank Epitropoulos | WR | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Blake Thomas | TE | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Luke Roberts | LB | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Tyvis Powell | S | OH | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
The Buckeyes round out their class with Armani Reeves, former Wisconsin commit Kyle Dodson, and Jamal Marcus.
#2 Michigan - 25 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Kyle Kalis | OL | OH | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Ondre Pipkins | DT | MO | 5 | 4 | 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 |
Dennis Norfleet | RB | MI | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Tom Strobel | DE | OH | 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 |
Allen Gant | S | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Willie Henry | DT | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Sione Houma | FB | UT | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Drake Johnson | RB | MI | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
The Wolverines strengthen their class with a couple of surprise pickups in Willie Henry and Dennis Norfleet.
#3 Notre Dame - 16 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Gunner Kiel | QB | IN | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
Jarron Jones | DT | NY | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
Tee Shepard | CB | CA | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Sheldon Day | DT | IN | 4 | 5 | 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 |
KeiVarae Russell | RB | WA | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Nick Baratti | S | TX | 3 | 3 | 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 |
The Irish lose blue-chip receiver Deontay Greenberry to... Houston? Yikes. They don't add anyone in the final stages of the recruiting cycle, either. Take note, whining Michigan fans.
#4 Michigan State - 18 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Aaron Burbridge | WR | MI | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Demetrius Cox | S | PA | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Jamal Lyles | LB | MI | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Monty Madaris | WR | OH | 3 | 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 |
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 |
Mark Meyers | S | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Evan Jones | TE | OH | 3 | 3 | NR | 3 |
Ezra Robinson | CB | FL | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
David Fennell | DT | OR | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
The Spartans add Demetrius Cox, Monty Madaris, Mark Meyers, and David Fennell; they jump from #6 to #4 in the final standings.
#5 Nebraska - 17 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 |
Alonzo Moore | WR | LA | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
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 |
Imani Cross | RB | MO | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Thomas Brown | LB | CA | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Aaron Curry | DT | TX | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Vincent Valentine | DT | IL | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Avery Moss | DE | AZ | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Sam Cotton | TE | NE | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Corey Whitaker | OL | CA | 3 | 2 | NR | 3 |
LeRoy Alexander | S | OH | 3 | 2 | NR | 2 |
The Cornhuskers add five recruits late in Alonzo Moore, Imani Cross, Aaron Curry, Vincent Valentine, and Corey Whitaker; they move up from #8 to #5 thanks to the late influx of commits.
#6 Purdue - 26 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 |
Robert Gregory | QB | IL | 3 | 3 | 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 |
Joey Warburg | OL | KY | 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 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
James Prince | OL | TX | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Jordan Woods | WR | MI | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Thomas Meadows | K | VA | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Jason King | OL | AK | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
The Boilermakers lose CB Dion Witty but finish out their class by adding Robert Gregory and Joey Warburg. Purdue finishes with the surprise class in the conference and jump from #9 to #6 in the standings. They could potentially be as high as #4, depending on how much you value class size.
#7 Iowa - 24 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 |
Sean Draper | CB | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 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 |
C.J. Beathard | QB | TN | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Drew Ott | DE | NE | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Daumantas Venckus | DE | FL | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
Barkley Hill | RB | IA | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Greg Mabin | WR | FL | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Eric Simmons | OL | IA | 3 | 2 | JC | NR |
George Kittle | WR | OK | 3 | NR | 2 | 2 |
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 |
Nate Meier | LB | IA | 2 | 2 | NR | 2 |
Reid Sealby | OL | OK | 2 | 2 | NR | 2 |
The Hawkeyes add six players down the stretch: Sean Draper, C.J. Beathard, Barkley Hill, George Kittle, Nate Meier, and Reid Sealby. They hold steady at #7 in the final standings.
#8 Penn State - 19 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Eugene Lewis | WR | PA | 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 |
Jordan Lucas | S | MA | 3 | 3 | 3 | 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 |
Trevor Williams | WR | MD | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Steven Bench | QB | GA | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Jake Kiley | CB | NH | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Da'Quan Davis | CB | MD | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Derek Dowrey | DT | VA | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Jake Kiley | CB | NH | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Wendy Laurent | DT | NJ | 2 | 3 | NR | 3 |
Evan Schwan | DT | PA | 2 | 3 | NR | 3 |
Jonathan Warner | WR | WA | 2 | 2 | NR | 2 |
The Nittany Lions stumble to the finish line, losing Armani Reeves and Skyler Mornhinweg while filling out their class with mostly two-stars. Trevor Williams, Steven Bench, Da'Quan Davis, Jake Kiley, Wendy Laurent, Evan Schwan, and Jonathan Warner are the late additions. PSU falls from #5 down to #8 in the rankings.
#9 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, though they move up one spot in the final rankings due to having a much larger class than the next team on the list...
#10 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 |
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 |
Jake Meador | OL | IN | 3 | 3 | 3 | 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 |
The Badgers lose Kyle Dodson to Ohio State and fill his spot with three-star OL Jake Meador. Due to having just 12 players in their final class, I can't justify ranking the Badgers any higher than #10—they plummet from their previous #4 ranking after failing to add any depth to the class.
#11 Indiana - 23 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Nathan Sudfield | QB | CA | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
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 |
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 |
Cameron Coffman | QB | AZ | 3 | 2 | JC | 3 |
David Cooper | LB | KS | 3 | 2 | JC | 3 |
Dimitric Camiel | OL | TX | 3 | 2 | NR | 2 |
Antonio Marshall | CB | GA | 3 | NR | JC | 2 |
Ryan Thompson | S | MS | 3 | 2 | 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 |
Ricky Jones | WR | FL | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
Dawson Fletcher | S | OH | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Tregg Waters | S | AZ | 2 | 2 | JC | 2 |
Justin Rayside | DE | CA | 2 | 2 | JC | NR |
The Hoosiers stick at #11 after picking up Nathan Sudfield, Dimitric Camiel, and Ricky Jones.
#12 Minnesota - 27 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 |
Andre McDonald | WR | MN | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Philip Nelson | QB | MN | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Jack Lynn | LB | IL | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Jordan Hinojosa | DT | FL | 3 | 2 | 2 | 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 | 2 | 3 |
James Gillum | RB | MS | 3 | 2 | JC | 3 |
K.J. Maye | QB | AL | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
Roland Johnson | DT | KS | 3 | 2 | JC | 3 |
Duke Anyanwu | WR | MN | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Antonio Johnson | S | OH | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Damarius Travis | S | FL | 3 | 2 | NR | 2 |
Lincoln Plsek | DE | TX | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
Briean Boddy | CB | KS | 3 | 2 | JC | 2 |
Mitch Leidner | QB | MN | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Yoshoub Timms | DT | FL | 2 | 2 | 3 | 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 | 2 | JC | 2 |
Alex Keith | DE | MO | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Ben Lauer | OL | MN | 2 | 2 | NR | 2 |
The Gophers lose three players from their commit list but add two in Andre McDonald and spectacularly-monikered Yoshoub Timms. They jump ahead of Illinois to finish the class ranked #12.
#13 Illinois - 19 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Dami Ayoola | RB | FL | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
T.J. Neal | LB | PA | 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 |
Elliot Faerber | WR | KS | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Robert Bain | OL | IL | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Devin Church | RB | MI | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Mason Monheim | LB | OH | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
V'Angelo Bentley | CB | OH | 3 | 3 | NR | 3 |
Tyler Barton | S | FL | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Teko Powell | DT | FL | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Lakeith Wells | RB | OH | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Mike Svetina | LB | OH | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Jevaris Little | CB | FL | 3 | 2 | NR | 2 |
Jason Robertson | WR | IL | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Ryan Frain | K | IN | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Daniel Rhodes | TE | NC | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Justin Hardee | WR | OH | 2 | 2 | NR | 2 |
B.J. Bello | S | IL | 2 | 2 | NR | 2 |
The Illini bring up the rear after losing Joey Warbug and picking up Devin Church, V'Angelo Bentley, Lakeith Wells, Mike Svetina, Jevaris Little, Daniel Rhodes, and B.J. Bello.
February 5th, 2012 at 4:55 PM ^
February 5th, 2012 at 6:00 PM ^
I think the rankings highlight more a bias for SEC teams than any talent discrepancy except at the very top of the rankings. Yes, Alabama, LSU, Georgia, and Florida recruit very well, but teams like Ole Miss and Miss. St. find a way to "recruit" good players but never turn them into anything more than average players. My sense is that this is more an indictment of the recruiting services, who perhaps invest/view more favorably metrics versus actual ability. Oh yeah, and that whole nasty oversigning problem that allows teams like Arkansas signing 109(!!!) players in the past 4 classes.
I'm not saying the SEC isn't a great conference football-wise, but there are reasons beyond the number of stars they accumulate that makes their classes "better" than the ones in the Big 10.
February 5th, 2012 at 10:51 PM ^
Ah yes, the infamous mediocrity of Mississippi State. If only we had a chance to showcase the Big Ten's true talent against them.
/s
February 5th, 2012 at 5:01 PM ^
A 12-man class for Wisconsin seems crazy, no? They'll have to put up some real numbers in subsequent classes just to get up to 85.
February 5th, 2012 at 5:15 PM ^
There are still more than 500 uncommitted recruits of at least three stars. I imagine they'll fill out that class somewhat?
February 5th, 2012 at 5:22 PM ^
I thought maybe Beilema botched the class, but according to this:
http://www.badgersportsblog.com/scholarship-distribution.html
they only have 14 scholarships (and a similar number for next year).
February 5th, 2012 at 5:30 PM ^
Thanks for this. I don't have a lot of experience with these scholarship distributions, but that seems like an interesting, probably undesirable imbalance across classes.
They'll only have nine seniors next year, and even if you figure that:
- a few of those juniors are RS juniors who won't be asked back and
- a couple more kids will leave for whatever reason
... they probably won't get much higher than 15 again next year.
If that's true, then they're a couple years away from having very, very few experienced players on their roster.
February 6th, 2012 at 8:58 AM ^
Thanks for the context, I thought the same thing [that Bielema had majorly dropped the ball with only twelve incoming freshmen]. I imagine this will hurt them down the road when these guys (and the next class of 12-14) are the upperclassmen and they have such a small number of them to lead the team.
February 6th, 2012 at 12:31 PM ^
Does anyone know if there is a similar scholarship distribution for the University of Michigan?
2nd, I'd love to know if having 7 TE's on scholarship is "normal" It seems to my uneducated eye as a bit much, but I"m sure there is a reason.
February 5th, 2012 at 5:07 PM ^
Does anybody know when Alex Kozan is going to announce. I might not have seen the most recent update but the last I heard was he would anounce within 36 hours and that was three days ago.
February 5th, 2012 at 5:39 PM ^
Already announced I think it was yesterday IIRC
February 5th, 2012 at 5:47 PM ^
Still up-in-the-air according to Rivals, which is generally up-to-date:
February 6th, 2012 at 2:02 PM ^
He just "committed to sign" with Iowa today per espn.
**Scratch that, espn pulled the post**
February 5th, 2012 at 5:38 PM ^
Did he not sign with Rutgers? I must've missed that.
February 5th, 2012 at 6:01 PM ^
2* RB Leo Musso should be on Wisconsin's list instead.
February 5th, 2012 at 6:11 PM ^
If by "bias" you mean the results of the last 5 BCS Championships then I agree with you. As much as I want to blame the media, loactions of the bowls and any if not every excuse the proof is in the results.
February 5th, 2012 at 6:18 PM ^
I will never disagree with the results of the SEC on the field, but the fact that their dominance has coincided, at least for LSU/Alabama, with massive oversigning and "roster management", definitely needs to be taken into account. The SEC has always been full of talented teams, and at the top the difference between the top teams in every conference may be only 2-3 players at key positions. When you have an extra man at every position every 4 years, that can definitely make the difference.
February 5th, 2012 at 6:38 PM ^
Media bias and results on the field aren't entirely independent. For example, it's not hard to win a national championship when you're given both teams in the national championship game.
Still, I agree with your broader point that the best football in recent years has been played in the SEC.
February 5th, 2012 at 7:25 PM ^
Bronxblue is correct. Just a couple of extra players making a couple of plays that go your way can mean the difference between winning and losing. Let's see how well the SEC does over the next 7 years versus the last 7 years. Especially after the last of the over signing classes graduates.
I'm surprised that I have not seen a study that shows the higher probability of long-term success of a Big10 athlete versus SEC athlete. By success I mean health/age, a career after sports, happiness, etc. Not that I would expect a 17 year old to care or understand but their coaches and parents might.
February 5th, 2012 at 8:10 PM ^
Did anyone else notice that OSU's avg ranking is exactly 0.12 higher than M for all 4 services? Furthermore, should i be embarassed that i noticed something so pointless?
February 5th, 2012 at 9:07 PM ^
.12? Greg Mattison accounts for twice a .12 recruiting differential...
February 5th, 2012 at 11:41 PM ^
ND is still in it for Devonte Neal, not closed yet.
February 6th, 2012 at 12:32 AM ^
February 6th, 2012 at 12:55 AM ^
Northwestern actually got 21 commits on signing day. You're missing Stephen Buckley.
February 6th, 2012 at 3:32 AM ^
That's a bit lower than I thought they'd be, especially vis-a-vis Michigan State.
February 6th, 2012 at 8:13 AM ^
February 6th, 2012 at 11:27 AM ^
Tough to be upset with our great class, although I do wish we had landed a few of our final prospects to round it out and push us ahead of Ohio. Oh well, great first haul by Hoke and co.
Comments