Big Ten Recruiting Class Rankings 7-17-11
With more new Michigan commits, we're hitting the front page after a hiatus of a couple weeks. Action since last rankings:
7-10-11 Michigan gains commitment from Kyle Kalis. Notre Dame gains commitment from Romeo Okwara. Penn State gains commitment from Nyeem Wartman. Indiana gains commitment from Wes Rogers. Minnesota gains commitment from Samad Hinds.
7-11-11 Minnesota gains commitments from Brian Nicholson and Jordan Hinojosa.
7-13-11 Ohio State gains commitments from Luke Roberts and Pat Eiflein. Michigan State gains commitment from MacGarrett Kings II.
7-14-11 Illinois gains commitment from Joseph Spencer.
7-15-11 Northwestern gains commitment from Dwight White.
7-17-11 Penn State loses commitment from Jamil Pollard.
| Big Ten+ Recruiting Class Rankings | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | School | # Commits | Rivals Avg | Scout Avg | ESPN Avg | 24/7 Avg |
| 1 | Michigan | 19 | 3.53 | 3.63 | 3.47 | 3.58 |
| 2 | Notre Dame | 12 | 3.25 | 3.33 | 3.42 | 3.25 |
| 3 | Ohio State | 11 | 3.27 | 3.36 | 3.18 | 3.36 |
| 4 | Penn State | 10 | 3.30 | 2.70 | 3.20 | 2.90 |
| 5 | Michigan State | 11 | 3.09 | 3.09 | 3.00 | 3.18 |
| 6 | Wisconsin | 8 | 3.13 | 3.00 | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| 7 | Northwestern | 13 | 2.46 | 2.31 | 2.31 | 1.85 |
| 8 | Indiana | 12 | 2.25 | 2.50 | 2.58 | 2.25 |
| 9 | Minnesota | 15 | 2.33 | 2.15 | 2.58* | 2.00 |
| 10 | Nebraska | 5 | 3.40 | 3.60 | 3.40 | 3.80 |
| 11 | Iowa | 6 | 2.67 | 2.50 | 3.00 | 2.50 |
| 12 | Illinois | 4 | 2.40 | 2.80 | 2.00 | 2.60 |
| 13 | Purdue | 7 | 2.43 | 1.86 | 2.29 | 1.86 |
*ESPN doesn't rate JUCOs, so Isaac Fruechte is not included in Minnesota's average, and Steffon Martin doesn't count against Purdue.
On to the full data, after the jump:
| #1 Michigan - 19 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 |
| Pharaoh Brown | DE | OH | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Blake Bars | OL | TN | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 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 | 3 | 3 |
Kyle Kalis cements Michigan's position at the top of the rankings for the time being.
| #2 Notre Dame - 12 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
| Ronald Darby | CB | MD | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Tee Shepard | CB | CA | 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 |
| Justin Ferguson | WR | FL | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Mark Harrell | OL | NC | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| CJ Prosise | S | VA | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| John Turner | S | IN | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Romeo Okwara | DE | NC | 3 | NR | 3 | 4 |
| Scott Daly | LS | IL | 2 | NR | 2 | NR |
Irish pick up defensive end Romeo Okwara, who had some nice offers.
| #3 Ohio State - 11 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 |
| Tyvis Powell | S | OH | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Luke Roberts | LB | OH | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Najee Murray | CB | OH | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Ohio State picks up a couple new commits, helping stave off the stagnation that an unresolved NCAA investigation can bring.
| #4 Penn State - 10 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
| Camren Williams | LB | MA | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| JJ Denman | OL | PA | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Joey O'Connor | OL | CO | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Brent Wilkerson | DE | MD | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Brian Gaia | OL | MD | 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 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Austin Johnson | OL | NJ | 3 | NR | NR | NR |
| Derek Dowrey | DT | VA | 2 | NR | 3 | NR |
Nittany Lions lose yet another DT in Jamil Pollard. I leave them ahead of Michigan State for now, because their averages are about the same (a bit better on a couple services) despite a couple commits who are yet to be ranked.
| #5 Michigan State - 11 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 |
| Nick Tompkins | RB | GA | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Kyle Kerrick | WR | PA | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| MacGarrett Kings | WR | FL | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Evan Jones | TE | OH | 3 | 3 | NR | 3 |
No change for the Spartans.
| #6 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 still looking for ratings for a number of their commits.
| #7 Northwestern - 13 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 |
| Mike McHugh | WR | PA | 3 | NR | 2 | NR |
| Connor Mahoney | OL | PA | 2 | 3 | 3 | NR |
| Joseph Jones | S | PA | 2 | 2 | NR | NR |
| Dan Vitale | S | IL | 2 | 2 | 2 | NR |
| Dwight White | CB | TX | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Chris Fitzpatrick | OL | KY | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Excellently-named Dwight White picks Northwestern. Once more future Wildcats get their ratings, the averages will look quite a bit better.
| #8 Indiana - 12 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 | NR |
| Jacob Bailey | OL | IN | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Tanner Kearns | TE | OH | NR | 3 | 2 | NR |
| Alex Todd | OL | OH | NR | 2 | 2 | NR |
| Caleb Cornett | WR | IN | NR | NR | 2 | 2 |
| Dawson Fletcher | S | OH | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Wes Rogers picks the Hoosiers. Indiana still awaiting ratings for some guys, as well.
| #9 Minnesota - 15 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
| Andre McDonald | WR | MN | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Isaac Hayes | OL | MN | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Philip Nelson | QB | MN | 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 | NR | NR | NR |
| Jordan Hinojosa | DT | FL | 3 | NR | NR | NR |
| Drew Davis | LB | NC | 2 | 2 | 3 | NR |
| Josh Ballesteros | LB | FL | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Samad Hinds | TE | FL | 2 | NR | 3 | NR |
| Mitch Leidner | QB | MN | 2 | NR | 2 | NR |
| Eric Murray | CB | WI | 2 | NR | NR | NR |
| Maxx Williams | TE | MN | NR | 3 | NR | NR |
| Isaac Fruechte | WR | MN | NR | 2 | JC | NR |
| Scott Ekpe | DT | TX | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Minnesota's commitment list is all over the place. I'm fairly certain that Nick Rallis has committed to the Gophers, but since i'm using Rivals as the official source for these rankings, he's still left off.
| #10 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 | 3 | 3 |
Still a small class for Nebraska. They're likely holding out for some top prospects.
| #11 Iowa - 6 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
| Jaleel Johnson | DT | IL | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Maurice Fleming | CB | IL | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Cameron Wilson | WR | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Mitch Keppy | OL | IL | 3 | 2 | 2 | NR |
| Connor Kornbrath | K | WV | 2 | NR | 2 | NR |
| Drew Ott | DE | NE | NR | 2 | 3 | 3 |
No change for the Hawkeyes.
| #12 Illinois - 5 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 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Joseph Spencer | OL | OH | NR | 2 | NR | 3 |
Illinois grabs Joseph Spencer, who only has ratings from a couple services.
| #13 Purdue - 7 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 |
| BJ Knauf | WR | FL | 3 | NR | 2 | NR |
| Paul Griggs | K | NC | 2 | NR | 3 | NR |
| Thomas Meadows | K | VA | 2 | NR | NR | NR |
| Steffon Martin | LB | AZ | NR | NR | JC | NR |
Like Rallis with Minnesota, I'm guessing Purdue has a commitment from safety Jimmy Hermann, but since it's not on Rivals, I'll leave him off for now.
Everything is coming up Milhouse.
that episode was on tonight !
ass up and down the recruiting trail.
They're doing a good job.
Of course, the mushroom cloud over Columbus isn't exactly hurting matters for MIchigan.
It'll really help if the NCAA finds the balls to do its job right.
Good to see the rest of the B1G hovering around 3* averages. Especially OSU. Nebraska is closer to 4* but thats mostly bcus of their mini class. Hoke continues to poop gold. My friend played for Hoke at Ball State, and he says Hoke is the real deal. Basically he's a player's coach; jokes around a lot and real straightforward. He said he considered him a buddy and a coach. Combine that with Mattison and you've got a recruiting inferno.
Is it just me or do all these kids have seemingly perfect names for the schools to whom they commit:
Wes Rogers - so obviously Indiana
Samad Hinds - yup, Gopher
Dwight White - I imagine him wearing a blazer while committing to Pat Fitzgerald
No doubts we're the top in the conference. A couple things jumped out at me. Wisky has a small class but a few studs in there: Voltz and Biegel are two good players I know we were after. But the surprise there to me was Bart Houston from CA. He's a quality QB who could be big factor for them down the road. I'm kind of surprised he signed with them given Wisky's poor track record of putting QB's into the NFL. The other thing was Iowa's and Nebraska's weak classes early on. Yes, I know there's a lot of time left and a lot of recruits still out there. But, I love where we stand. Especially when OSU's class takes a dump when Dunn comes over to the good side.
and since most rankings factor quantity as well as quality, they're class appears weaker than it actually is. Notice Nebraska ranks 1 or 2 in quality across the board.
Yeah, I really like that Tim does these rankings, but Nebraska's placement seems odd. If you think about this in terms of "Would I trade Team X's class for Team Y's class?" then, personally, I'd move Nebraska up a few spots. I'd rather have their class right now than Minnesota's, Indiana's, Northwestern's, and probably MSU's. Filling out a class with 3 stars wouldn't be difficult for them.
Would you really want a class of 5 though? Although they are highly rated, number of recruits in a class does make a difference, as you won't be good without depth. I think that's why they're so low right now. 5 just isn't enough to be a viable class, no matter how good they may be rated.
Exactly - it's only 5 guys, and if every guy they add after this is a 3-star, it won't be a very good class. That probably won't happen, but since we don't know, Tim can only rank them based on who they have so far. You really can't move them up until they actually get more guys in there.
Michigan's lowest class average (3.47, ESPN) is higher than the highest class averages of every school and service, except for 2 (Nebraska - 24/7, 3.80 and Scout, 3.60). Really shows the strength of this class in the eyes of the pundits. If Hoke and Co. can coach as well as they recruit, well, color me jubilated.
Wow - Every school except Minnesota have at least one commit from Ohio and all of the Buckeye commits are from their home state.
Michigan is #1, IU isn't last, and Purdue is. The only way this can get better is if OSU and Sparty join Purdue at the bottom.
I remember pretty much all last year we were 4th in the big ten according to Tim's rankings. Nice to be where we should be.
edit: and great job by IU. Would be awesome if they end up in the top 5.
They very well could if Keil commits to them. They have a legit shot at him, too.
Do you have any specific information about this?
Does anyone have a guess as to who the next commit might be? I wonder if some of guys still holding offers are getting concerned that the class will fill up.
provided that the NCAA drops the banhammer on Columbus on August 12th.
The NCAA's ruling will be months later. I'm hoping they find reasons to delay it further.
It still is only one recruiting season. That's all you can get at one time, but folks shouldn't overestimate the impact of one recruiting season.
The cumulative four classes that are still at the schools in fall '12 almost certainly will still have OSU, ND and Nebraska ahead of Michigan.
Michigan needs to win this year, close out this recruiting year and win and recruit well next year to leapfrog the current big dogs.
Absolutely! Winning breeds winning. It is easier to fall than to get up there (a lesson that I hope OSU learns now).
If we have a winning season and beat our rivals, it should help us close out the recruiting season strongly.
and in the recruiting section was reminded what a monster class TSIO brought in last year
Can we get an update on this kid?
We heard a lot about him early on, including his almost commitment. Now it seems the staff has backed off of him (or him on us). The reason I ask is because I noticed that Rivals now lists him as a WR instead of a TE. I know we just offered Madaris, but it seemed we were pretty solidly #1 for Thompson and could pull him in easily if we wanted him at WR.
Thompson ran something like a 5.37 40 in Oregon. I'm not sure why that prompted Rivals to move him to WR. The staff had plenty of time to consider him as a WR, surely they don't care what Rivals does. Putting Funchess at WR seems like a better possibility to open up a spot for Thompson, but it doesn't look like they're moving in that direction.
I don't check Rivals players pages top often but the last time I checked, Thompson was a TE. That's a pretty terrible 40 so yeah, I guess he's not w WR. Thanks for the input guys.
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