Big Ten Recruiting Class Rankings 6-26-11
Busy, busy week in the Big Ten. There's no way that Thursday was anything less than the busiest day for commitments since I started this here exercise. (Tons of) action since last rankings:
6-19-11 Michigan State gains commitment from Se'Von Pittman. Indiana gains commitment from Dan Feeney. Minnesota loses commitment from Andre McDonald.
6-20-11 Iowa gains commitment from Cameron Wilson. Nebraska gainst commitment from Sam Cotton. Indiana gains commitment from Dawson Fletcher. Purdue gains commitment from BJ Knauf.
6-21-11 Ohio State loses commitment from Kyle Kalis. Iowa gains commitment from Drew Ott.
6-22-11 Wisconsin gains commitment from Hugs Etienne. Purdue gains commitment from Thomas Meadows. Indiana gains commitment from Caleb Cornett.
6-23-11 Michigan State gains commitments from Kyle Kerrick, Jamal Lyles, and Josiah Price. Wisconsin gains commitments from Arthur Goldberg and Reggie Mitchell. Northwestern gains commitments from Eric Olson, Jack Schwaba, and Adam DePietro. Minnesota gains commitment from Drew Davis. Nebraska gains commitment from Greg McMullen. Indiana gains commitments from Jordan Wallace, Kevin Davis, and Mike Cotton. Purdue gains commitment from Paul Griggs. Iowa gains commitment from Maurice Fleming.
6-25-11 Penn State gains commitments from Austin Johnson and Derek Dowrey. Ohio State gains commitment from De'Van Bogard. Northwestern gains commitment from Chris Fitzpatrick. Indiana gains commitment from Tanner Kearns. Iowa gains commitment from Connor Kornbrath.
| Big Ten+ Recruiting Class Rankings | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | School | # Commits | Rivals Avg | Scout Avg | ESPN Avg | 24/7 Avg |
| 1 | Michigan | 16 | 3.44 | 3.56 | 3.38 | 3.56 |
| 2 | Notre Dame | 10 | 3.30 | 3.50 | 3.30 | 3.30 |
| 3 | Penn State | 10 | 3.10 | 2.90 | 3.00 | 3.20 |
| 4 | Ohio State | 9 | 3.22 | 3.56 | 3.11 | 3.56 |
| 5 | Wisconsin | 8 | 3.13 | 3.00 | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| 6 | Michigan State | 9 | 3.11 | 3.11 | 2.78 | 3.22 |
| 7 | Northwestern | 12 | 2.25 | 2.42 | 2.33 | 1.92 |
| 8 | Nebraska | 5 | 3.40 | 3.60 | 3.00 | 3.80 |
| 9 | Indiana | 9 | 2.11 | 2.44 | 2.33 | 2.00 |
| 10 | Minnesota | 7 | 1.71 | 2.00 | 2.17* | 1.71 |
| 11 | Illinois | 4 | 2.50 | 3.00 | 2.25 | 2.50 |
| 12 | Iowa | 5 | 2.20 | 2.20 | 2.00 | 2.20 |
| 13 | Purdue | 4 | 2.50 | 1.50 | 2.25 | 1.50 |
*ESPN doesn't rate JUCOs, so Isaac Fruechte is not included in Minnesota's average.
On to the full data:
| #1 Michigan - 16 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
| 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 |
| Tom Strobel | DE | OH | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Pharaoh Brown | DE | OH | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Devin Funchess | TE | MI | 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 |
| AJ Williams | TE | OH | 3 | 3 | NR | 3 |
No change for Michigan, but it sounds like Kyle Kalis and Bri'Onte Dunn may be realistic possibilities now. They're picking up a DB commitment (either OH S Jarrod Wilson or KY S Jeremy Clark will move into the 2012 class) sometime soon.
| #2 Notre Dame - 10 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
| Ronald Darby | CB | MD | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Tee Shepard | CB | CA | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Deontay Greenberry | WR | CA | 4 | 4 | 3 | 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 |
| Justin Ferguson | WR | FL | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Mark Harrell | OL | NC | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| CJ Prosise | S | VA | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Scott Daly | LS | IL | 2 | NR | NR | NR |
Irish are neck-and-neck with Penn State, and barely ahead based on averages. They haven't picked anyone up in a long time.
| #3 Penn State - 10 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
| Jarron Jones | DT | NY | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Camren Williams | LB | MA | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| JJ Denman | OL | PA | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Brent Wilkerson | DE | MD | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Jamil Pollard | DT | NJ | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Brian Gaia | OL | MD | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Anthony Stanko | OL | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Jesse James | TE | PA | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Austin Johnson | OL | NJ | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Derek Dowrey | DT | VA | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Penn State picks up a couple unrated guys. They're just behind Notre Dame (lower averages, same number of commits), but could move ahead once those guys pick up rankings.
| #4 Ohio State - 9 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 |
| Jacoby Boren | OL | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Frank Epitropoulos | WR | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Blake Thomas | TE | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Tyvis Powell | S | OH | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Najee Murray | CB | OH | NR | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Ohio State's top-rated recruit, OL Kyle Kalis, decommits from the Buckeyes. That drops them a couple spots, but they did soften the blow by picking up highly-rated DB De'Van Bogard.
| #5 Wisconsin - 8 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 |
| Hugs Etienne | CB | CA | 3 | 2 | NR | NR |
| Reggie Mitchell | CB | PA | 2 | NR | NR | NR |
| Arthur Goldberg | DT | PA | NR | NR | 2 | NR |
Wisconsin picks up all-namer Hugs Etienne(!!), followed by a couple unrated-ish prospects in Arthur Goldberg and Reggie Mitchell. They could move past Ohio State if those guys get decent rankings.
| #6 Michigan State - 9 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
| Se'Von Pittman | DE | OH | 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 |
| Evan Jones | TE | OH | 3 | 3 | NR | 3 |
| Kyle Kerrick | WR | PA | 3 | 3 | NR | 3 |
A big commitment in Se'Von Pittman (and not-so-big ones in Kyle Kerrick, Jamal Lyles, and Josiah Price) boosts the Spartans in a big way. MSU remains behind Wisconsin on the basis of not punishing the Badgers for picking up some unrated guys.
| #7 Northwestern - 12 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
| Adam DePietro | OL | PA | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Dean Lowry | DE | IL | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Kenton Playko | OL | OH | 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 |
| Eric Olson | OL | MA | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Connor Mahoney | OL | PA | 2 | 3 | 3 | NR |
| Dan Vitale | S | IL | NR | 2 | 2 | NR |
| Joseph Jones | S | PA | NR | 2 | NR | NR |
| Mike McHugh | WR | PA | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Chris Fitzpatrick | OL | KY | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Wildcats pick up a flood of commitments. Their averages should improve once the services (particularly 24/7 Sports) start rating commits.
| #8 Nebraska - 5 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 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Jordan Westerkamp | WR | IL | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Sam Cotton | TE | NE | 3 | 2 | NR | 3 |
Huskers pick up two very important pieces in Paul Thurston and Greg McMullen. That vaults them up the rankings.
| #9 Indiana - 9 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 |
| Mike Cotton | LB | IL | 3 | 3 | 3 | NR |
| Tanner Kearns | TE | OH | NR | 3 | 2 | NR |
| Alex Todd | OL | OH | NR | 2 | 2 | NR |
| Caleb Cornett | WR | IN | NR | NR | NR | 2 |
| Dawson Fletcher | S | OH | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Hoosiers are starting to fill up a decent class. Once their prospects pick up some ratings, the averages will look much nicer.
| #10 Minnesota - 7 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
| Dinero Moss | S | FL | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Philip Nelson | QB | MN | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Drew Davis | LB | NC | 2 | 2 | 3 | NR |
| Maxx Williams | TE | MN | NR | 3 | NR | NR |
| Josh Ballesteros | LB | FL | NR | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Scott Ekpe | DT | TX | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Isaac Fruechte | WR | MN | NR | NR | JC | NR |
Andre McDonald is still listed as a Minnesota commit by Rivals, but there are interviews where he says he's no longer committed, so I'm inclined to believe those. The Gophers did pick up a new commit in LB Drew Davis, but their class is ranked this high on volume alone.
| #11 Illinois - 4 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
| Tajarvis Fuller | LB | FL | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Elliot Faerber | WR | KS | 3 | 3 | 2 | NR |
| Cody Quinn | CB | OH | 3 | 3 | NR | 3 |
| Jason Robertson | WR | IL | NR | 3 | 3 | 3 |
No change for the Illini, but other schools have now moved past them.
| #12 Iowa - 5 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
| Cameron Wilson | WR | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Maurice Fleming | CB | IL | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Mitch Keppy | OL | IL | 3 | 2 | NR | NR |
| Drew Ott | DE | NE | NR | 2 | NR | 3 |
| Connor Kornbrath | K | WV | NR | NR | 2 | NR |
Iowa picks up a corner and a kicker, helping them move past Purdue.
| #13 Purdue - 4 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
| Jordan Shine | S | IN | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| BJ Knauf | WR | FL | 3 | NR | 2 | NR |
| Paul Griggs | K | NC | 2 | NR | 3 | NR |
| Thomas Meadows | K | VA | 2 | NR | NR | NR |
A class heavy on kicking specialists is not good for high rankings.
really appreciate the updates.
Alright, that was the busiest week yet by far, but no Michigan commits?? Unacceptable. I need my Hello: fix
Good point... Maybe one of a prospect that Tim's happy about, so the post is actually optimistic?
As of right now, Clark is a member of the 2013 class (in a way). If Jarrod Wilson picks a different school, Clark will be considered a 2012 commit for the purposes of these rankings.
thats a good way to do it
That's what she said.
every night
Mike Valenti thinks Jamal Lyles is the best prospect in Michigan, and maybe even the world.
You may want to bump them up.
Sounds like a 6 star recruit to me
Ready to make a recruiting class prediction yet?
till he's done being coached up. We might as well quit now.
Well they seem to have already decided that Elmer is going to be the best in next years class.
hope they don't get too attached to him
Hope you don't either. All Michigan recruits are belong to Hoke!!!
It's gonna be a dogfight for him. He has big family ties to ND and MSU. Big thing for him is academics though, and he and his family haven't seem particularly swayed by big college names. They are handling the process intelligently. Will probably pick whatever they feel most comfortable with. Hopefully us...
Named korn-something
<br>
<br>Obvious pun firsties!
Shooting up the rankings
How many defensive backs is Notre Dame taking?
This can only help UofM in regards to landing Jarrod Wilson. Fingers crossed.
Doubt it, he has said before that he doesn't care who is already committed or the depth they have at the position he is worried more about where he will be.
I would be quite surprised if he went anywhere but UM though
Up to 2 more, 1 more S and 1 more CB
I was thinking more in the how much space does ND have more so than whether Wilson's decision would be affected by this other kid going to ND.
Wilson would be a huge get for whichever team he goes to. I'm a big fan.
I am sure they would still take his committment
I saw a few ND games last year, but genuinely don't recall. Was the ND secondary their Achilles' heel to the same degree Michigan's was? They really seem to be using a lot of schollies on it. Or is it just that they are taking simply taking them because they are great players, regardless of position? You can't fault the ratings that some of the ND secondary recruits have, I just wonder if it is a need area or coincidence.
(I apologize, but by virtue of some cognizant posts, you have become my ND guru)
At the end of the year the secondary was the weakest part of the defense though not nearly to the degree if was for UM. ND's problem was depth, when the offense averages only a few minutes per drive you need bodies that can sub in and out to keep the defense fresh.
Lost 1 CB to what was probably grades, another S took his mission which left 3 safeties, and 4 CBs on scholarship when healthy. The guys out there were solid but they were beaten down after games.
Getting Tee shepard and Darby so early was huge, assuming they stay committed, both EEs both are probably about 90% likely to see playing time their freshman years.
Sounds a lot like what UM went through, for sure. Of course, we had the injury bug as well. Given the UM and ND secondary recruiting, as well as the fact that both teams seem to have suffered the perfect storm, I have to think both secondaries can only improve. Hopefully the UM LBs will be in place more often. Add to that a little more d-line pass rush, and I (and most of us here) are hoping for some real improvement. Of course, we really would like to see Wilson wearing winged headgear, as opposed to the golden kind . . .
Defense and defensive coaching will be a huge story line for UM this year. It will be interesting to see what solid coaching can do for you guys.
Next week you'll be adding, Ohio State loses commitment from Bri'onte Dunn.
I need to do some research on this WI recruit. Fantastic name.
I think its pretty amazing that we don't only have the most commits by far, but we also lead the average star rankings from all of the sites as well(except the 24/7 one, nebraska is the only team ahead of us in that)
Normally when I think of a team having a lot of commits this early in the stage I think of having a lot of lower grade players, which is not the case at all with this class.
Nebraska is also beating us in Scout average, but yes, your point stands.
Follow Texas recruiting. You'll lose that thought process quickly.
And despite how fast they fill up with quality prospects and always have Top-5 classes they've managed only 1 National Title under Mack Brown...
I'll take ten win seasons for the next decade plus a MNC...just sayin'.
Thanks Tim for keeping us up-to-date.
For the record, I think this class will add at least one more big name by the end of June/beginning of July, and then I wouldn't be surprised if the recruiting died down until August or so. Just feels like some kids are ready to switch because of the OSU problems, but the other big-name kids are probably going to just wait it out and take their trips.
ESPN insider has this class ranked 6th nationally as of June 23.
Have to wonder how we are going to rank once other teams catch up with the number of commits we have. Particularly the SEC. Alabama has lots of 3 stars already, and probably will fill up on some higher ranked players down the road.
a local TV station's sports program was making a big deal about how they got Bogard even though he considered Michigan. I don't remember hearing much about him with all the DB commits and the possible addition of Jarrod Wilson soon - please. I'm sure Bogard's a fine player but it seemed a little desperate to me.
I don't see why making abig deal about landing a unanimous (pretty much) 4* safety would seem desparate. From everything I have seen and read about Bogard he is a very good player so I can see why they would get excited.
I mean...you have seen the commitment threads around here right? It doesn't really matter what a recruit is ranked, once he committs (with a few exceptions of course) there is excitement in the air. Look at the Hello: Blake Bars thread. Bogard is a higher rated recruit but I am sure the optimism on that thread would rival what you saw about Bogard.
To be clear, I am not trashing any of our committs, just making an objective correlation.
I was commenting more on the fact they pointed out the Michigan offer than the quality of the recruit. In the recent past, I don't remember the local emphasis on tsio beating out Michigan for recruits. Maybe it's just me but I read it as a little defensive, sort of like "hey, we're still getting good players, too".
I gues I just misinterpretted your post. Sorry about that.
I love seeing Michigan having the highest amount in every category, it makes me feel special.
ESPN should really get on rating AJ Williams. I mean, he's not exactly a no name guy and he's been committed to a major program for a while. I'm saying they need to rate him high if they don't think he deserves it, but they should at least rate him something.
They're still deciding whether they should give him a 10th star or if they should just leave him at 9.
As far as I can tell, ESPN likes to release their rankings all at once, then when they add additional ratings (for previously unrated prospects) they hold it and release tham all in a second wave, likely after the summer camp season ends.
The fact that Williams doesn't have a ton of film available running routes and catching passes also makes it tougher for them to rate him as a TE.
The defense is starting to look better now.
It does seem a busy time with a lot of commitments. Looks like it’s all for bettering class, and improving averages.
pokies
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