Big Ten Recruiting Rankings: 7-22-12

Submitted by Ace on

The recruiting rankings return this week with Northwestern(!) making a big move up the board. Also, the fallout begins from the Freeh Report and the teams at the bottom begin to fill in their classes. Changes since the last rankings:

7-8-12: Notre Dame picks up Alex Anzalone. Minnesota picks up Chris Wipson.

7-9-12: Nebraska picks up Johnny Stanton.

7-12-12: Iowa picks up Jon Wisnieski. Northwestern picks up Matt Harris. Minnesota picks up Jordan Hinojosa. Indiana picks up Danny Friend.

7-13-12: Tre'vell Dixon decommits from Nebraska. Northwestern picks up Jayme Taylor.

7-17-12: Northwestern picks up Anthony Walker Jr. and Brett Walsh. Purdue picks up Parker Cothren and Myles Norwood.

7-19-12: Ohio State picks up Taivon Jacobs.

7-20-12: Purdue picks up Johnny Thompson.

7-21-12: Greg Webb decommits from Penn State.

Chart? Chart:

Big Ten+ Recruiting Class Rankings
Rank School # Commits Rivals Avg Scout Avg 24/7 Avg ESPN Avg Avg Avg^
1 Michigan 22 3.55 3.86 3.77 3.68 3.72
2 Notre Dame 17 3.59 3.88 3.76 3.82 3.76
3 Ohio State 15 3.73 3.73 3.67 3.80 3.73
4 Penn State 13 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.54 3.48
5 Iowa 15 2.88 2.75 2.88 2.94 2.86
6 Illinois 15 2.93 2.80 2.66 3.07 2.87
7 Northwestern 15 2.67 2.60 2.73 2.67 2.67
8 Nebraska 12 3.17 3.17 3.42 3.25 3.25
9 Wisconsin 11 3.18 3.09 3.09 3.09 3.11
10 Michigan State 10 3.00 3.10 3.10 3.30 3.13
11 Purdue 8 2.50 2.38 2.50 2.25 2.41
12 Minnesota 6 2.33 2.50 2.67 2.67 2.54
13 Indiana 4 2.75 2.25 2.75 2.50 2.58

^The average of the average rankings of the four recruiting services (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.

NOTE: Unranked recruits are counted as two-star players.

On to the full data after the jump.

 

#1 Michigan - 22 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Shane Morris QB MI 4 5 5 4
Patrick Kugler OL PA 4 5 4 4
Dymonte Thomas S OH 4 5 4 4
Kyle Bosch OL IL 4 4 4 4
Jake Butt TE OH 4 4 4 4
Taco Charlton DE OH 4 4 4 4
David Dawson OL MI 4 4 4 4
Chris Fox OL CO 4 4 4 4
Ben Gedeon LB OH 4 4 4 4
Jourdan Lewis CB MI 4 4 4 4
Mike McCray LB OH 4 4 4 4
Henry Poggi DT MD 4 4 4 4
Logan Tuley-Tillman OL IL 4 4 4 4
Wyatt Shallman ATH MI 4 4 4 3
Gareon Conley CB OH 3 4 4 4
DeVeon Smith RB OH 3 4 4 4
Maurice Hurst Jr. DT MA 3 4 4 3
Jaron Dukes WR OH 3 4 3 4
Khalid Hill TE MI 3 3 3 3
Csont'e York WR MI 3 3 3 3
Channing Stribling CB NC 2 2 3 3
Scott Sypniewski LS IL 2 2 2 NR

Shane Morris earns his fifth star from 247, Taco Charlton is upgraded to four stars on Scout, and Channing Stribling goes from unranked to three stars on ESPN. With Charlton's bump, Michigan now has 13 consensus four-stars (or better).

#2 Notre Dame - 17 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Jaylon Smith LB IN 5 5 5 4
Alex Anzalone LB PA 4 4 4 4
Hunter Bivin OL KY 4 4 4 4
Steven Elmer OL MI 4 4 4 4
Mike Heuerman TE FL 4 4 4 4
Mike McGlinchey OL PA 4 4 4 4
Isaac Rochell DE GA 4 4 4 4
Malik Zaire QB OH 4 4 4 4
John Montelus OL MA 4 4 3 4
Colin McGovern OL IL 3 4 4 4
Jacob Matuska DE OH 3 4 4 3
James Onwualu WR MN 3 4 3 4
Danny Mattingly TE WA 3 4 3 3
Corey Robinson WR TX 3 4 3 3
Rashad Kinlaw ATH NJ 3 3 4 4
Devin Butler CB DC 3 3 4 4
Michael Deeb LB FL 3 3 3 4

The Irish land former Ohio State commit Alex Anzalone. Devin Butler moves up to four stars on 247.

#3 Ohio State - 15 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Cameron Burrows CB OH 5 4 4 4
Jalin Marshall ATH OH 4 5 4 4
Joey Bosa DE FL 4 5 4 4
Eli Woodard CB NJ 4 4 4 5
J.T. Barrett QB TX 4 4 4 4
Marcus Baugh TE CA 4 4 4 4
Michael Hill DT SC 4 4 4 4
Evan Lisle OL OH 4 4 4 4
Billy Price DT OH 4 4 4 4
Ezekiel Elliott RB MO 4 4 4 4
Jayme Thompson S OH 4 3 4 4
Darron Lee ATH OH 3 3 3 3
Tracy Sprinkle DE OH 3 3 3 3
Taivon Jacobs WR MD 3 2 3 4
Johnny Townsend P FL NR 3 2 NR

The Buckeyes get a commitment from MD WR Taivon Jacobs. Jalin Marshall is downgraded from five to four stars on 247, Johnny Townsend gets three stars on Scout, and Darron Lee picks up three stars from ESPN.

#4 Penn State - 13 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Adam Breneman TE PA 4 5 4 4
Dorian Johnson OL PA 4 4 5 4
Christian Hackenberg QB VA 4 4 4 4
Garrett Sickels DE NJ 4 4 4 4
Ross Douglas CB OH 4 3 4 4
Brendan Mahon OL NJ 4 3 3 4
William Fuller WR PA 3 4 3 3
Zayd Issah LB PA 3 4 3 3
Andrew Nelson OL PA 3 3 3 4
Brandon Bell LB NJ 3 3 3 3
Zach Bradshaw WR MD 3 3 3 3
Curtis Cothran DE NJ 3 3 3 3
Neiko Robinson S FL 3 2 3 3

Four-star NJ DT Greg Webb is the first Penn State decommit in the wake of the Freeh Report, changing his commitment to North Carolina yesterday.

#5 Iowa - 16 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
David Kenney DE IN 4 4 3 4
Delano Hill S MI 3 3 4 3
Jon Wisnieski TE IA 3 3 3 4
Colin Goebel OL IL 3 3 3 3
Brant Gressel DT OH 3 3 3 3
John Kenny LB IN 3 3 3 3
Derrick Mitchell Jr. S MO 3 3 3 3
Malik Rucker S MN 3 3 3 3
Solomon Warfield S OH 3 3 3 3
Sean Welsh OL OH 3 3 3 3
Derrick Willies WR IL 3 3 3 3
Nathan Bazata DT NE 3 2 3 3
Nic Shimonek QB TX 3 2 3 3
Trevon Young LB IA NR 2 NR NR
Ike Boettger TE IA NR 2 NR 2
Andre Harris ATH MO NR 2 NR NR

The Hawkeyes add in-state TE Jon Wiskieski. Delano Hill is bumped to four stars on 247; Ike Boettger and Andre Harris each get two-star ratings from Scout. Iowa jumps Illinois in the standings and could easily pass Penn State if the Nittany Lions suffer any more attrition, which appears likely—if not inevitable—at this point.

#6 Illinois - 15 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Aaron Bailey QB IL 4 4 4 4
Caleb Day CB OH 4 3 3 3
Darius Mosely CB IL 3 3 3 4
Jarrod Clements DE OH 3 3 3 3
Reon Dawson CB OH 3 3 3 3
Christian DiLauro TE OH 3 3 3 3
Kenton Gibbs DT MI 3 3 3 3
Merrick Jackson DT IL 3 3 3 3
Dillan Cazley CB IL 3 3 2 3
Joshua Jones S MI 3 3 2 NR
Kendrick Foster RB IL 3 2 2 3
Dawuane Smoot DE OH 3 2 NR 3
Jesse Chadwell OL MI 2 3 3 3
Austin Schmidt OL OH 2 2 2 3
Bryce Douglas DT IL NR 2 NR 3

Bryce Douglas gets two stars from Scout and three from ESPN; Dawuane Smoot also gets three stars from ESPN.

#7 Northwestern - 15 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Matt Alviti QB IL 4 4 4 4
Sam Coverdale OL OH 3 3 3 3
Blake King OL IL 3 3 3 3
Brad North OL TX 3 3 3 3
Kyle Queiro ATH NJ 3 3 3 3
Anthony Walker Jr. LB FL 3 3 3 3
Eric Joraskie DE PA 3 3 2 3
Warren Miles-Long RB CA 3 3 2 NR
Macan Wilson WR TX 3 2 2 3
Jayme Taylor TE TX 2 2 3 NR
Xavier Menifield RB CA 2 2 NR 3
Matt Harris WR IL NR 2 3 NR
Tyler Lancaster OL IL NR 2 3 NR
Brett Walsh LB CA NR 2 3 NR
Hunter Miswander K OH NR 2 NR NR

The Wildcats haul in four commits over the last couple of weeks: FL LB Anthony Walker Jr., TX TE Jayme Taylor, IL WR Matt Harris, and CA LB Brett Walsh. Xavier Menefield picks up three stars from ESPN and Hunter Niswander gets two stars from Scout. Northwestern leaps all the way up from 10th to 7th in the rankings, though that's unlikely to hold as the teams below fill out their classes.

#8 Nebraska - 12 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Marcus McWilson S OH 4 4 4 3
Josh Banderas LB NE 4 3 4 4
Marcus Newby LB MD 4 3 4 4
Christian Lacouture DE TX 3 4 4 3
A.J. Natter DE WI 3 4 3 3
Courtney Love LB OH 3 3 4 4
Johnny Stanton QB CA 3 3 4 4
Nathan Gerry S SD 3 3 3 3
Kevin Gladney WR OH 3 3 3 3
Greg Hart TE OH 3 3 3 3
Dan Samuelson OL IN 3 3 3 3
Gabriel Miller LS IN 2 2 2 NR

The Cornhuskers pick up CA QB Johnny Stanton but lose LA ATH Tre'vell Dixon.

#9 Wisconsin - 11 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Darius Latham DT IN 4 4 4 4
Chikwe Obasih DE WI 4 3 4 3
Rob Wheelwright WR OH 3 4 3 3
Austin Ramesh ATH WI 3 3 4 3
Garret Dooley LB IL 3 3 3 4
Jack Keeler OL IL 3 3 3 4
Hayden Biegel OL WI 3 3 3 3
Matt Miller OL OH 3 3 3 3
T.J. Watt ATH WI 3 3 3 NR
Sam Raridon DT IA 3 3 NR 3
Jazz Peavy WR WI 3 2 2 NR

No change for the Badgers.

#10 Michigan State - 10 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Jon Reschke LB MI 4 4 4 4
Shane Jones LB OH 4 3 3 4
Damion Terry QB PA 3 4 3 4
Darian Hicks CB OH 3 3 4 3
Jalyn Powell S OH 3 3 3 4
Gerald Holmes RB MI 3 3 3 3
R.J. Shelton RB WI 3 3 3 3
Trey Kilgore WR OH 3 3 3 3
Jay Harris WR PA 2 3 3 3
Dylan Chmura TE WI NR 2 2 NR

Trey Kilgore and Jay Harris get three stars each on ESPN; Dylan Chmura picks up two stars on Scout.

#11 Purdue - 8 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Danny Etling QB IN 4 3 3 3
Randy Gregory DE AZ 3 3 3 JC
David Yancey RB IN 3 2 3 NR
Myles Norwood WR TX 2 NR 3 NR
Johnny Thompson DE GA NR 3 NR NR
Jake Replogle DE OH NR 2 2 3
Parker Cothren DE AL NR 2 2 NR
John Strauser DE IL NR 2 NR NR

The Boilermakers add three commits: TX WR Myles Norwood, GA DE Johnny Thompson, and AL DE Parker Cothren. Jake Replogle is upgraded to three stars on ESPN.

#12 Minnesota - 6 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Keelon Brookins CB MN 3 3 3 3
Alex Mayes OL TX 3 3 3 3
Owen Salzwedel DE WI NR 3 3 3
Chris Wipson LB MN 2 2 NR NR
Chris Streveler QB IL NR 2 3 3
Jordan Hinojosa DT KS NR 2 NR JC

The Gophers add in-state LB Chris Wipson and JuCo DT Jordan Hinojosa, who reclassified from their 2012 class. Owen Salzwedel gets three stars from ESPN.

#13 Indiana - 4 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Danny Friend TE IL 3 3 3 3
Isaac Griffith WR IN 3 2 3 3
Evan Jansen TE OH 3 2 3 NR
Patrick Dougherty DE OH NR 2 2 2

The Hoosiers pick up IL TE Danny Friend.

Comments

Blerg

July 22nd, 2012 at 4:58 PM ^

I'm not too into recruiting, so what's the deal with Wisconsin? It's a little strange to see them that low. They have (at least recently) put a pretty good product on the field. How do they usually end up in the recruiting rankings?

Urbans Heart Problem

July 22nd, 2012 at 5:31 PM ^

the Penn State sanctions are as bad as rumored, how many kids do you see them losing as a direct result of them? I figure they lose Hackenburg for sure, but i also have a feeling they lose Breneman also. I think these two recruits have to much riding on this decision to decide to play somewhere that could possibly be down for the greater part of the next century if the sanctions are what's rumored. If I was one of their parents I feel as I would decide this for them.

turtleboy

July 22nd, 2012 at 6:34 PM ^

With our class as big as it is already, and so many question marks on our d-line depth I think its likely the coaches would keep the door open for TE Breneman who they did offer, or for Michigan natives Jr WDE CJ Olaniyan and Soph SDE Anthony Zettle.

elm

July 22nd, 2012 at 7:00 PM ^

What's up with those Taivon Jacobs ratings?  I don't think I've ever seen a guy ranked as a 2-star at one place and a 4-star at another.  Anyone have any infor on him that could explain that gap?  (or is it more common than I think it is?)

DonAZ

July 22nd, 2012 at 8:00 PM ^

Notre Dame's recruiting success (on paper) is both a blessing and a curse.  A blessing if Kelly can do something with it; a curse if he can't.

DonAZ

July 22nd, 2012 at 9:46 PM ^

Kelly is on something of a hot seat.  Not immediate, but the flame has been turned up a bit.  Nothing is going to happen to him this year (unless he really tanks, which I don't think he will).  But with these kinds of incoming classes he has to do well or ... or one must think he's not up to the task of being a Notre Dame coach and turning quality recruits into winners.

Simply reality.  He knows it.  The administration at ND knows it.

turtleboy

July 22nd, 2012 at 10:26 PM ^

Their play is all over the map, and they have at least 7 "loseable" games this year playing against the likes of USC, Oklahoma, Michigan, Stanford, Miami, State, and Purdue. With recent Kelly losses against teams like Navy, Tulsa, and others I wouldn't be surprised if they finish the season without a bowl game...

RationalBuckeye

July 23rd, 2012 at 12:40 AM ^

I disagree here. I think with the fact that there is not much room in the class, there are only a few players the staff would take. Probably limited to Johnson and Brenemen. Brenemen will likely stick, while Johnson has cited money problems keeping him close to home. Many think he will go to Pitt or WVU, but he did mention another OSU visit

turtleboy

July 22nd, 2012 at 8:44 PM ^

Surprised to see so few FL commits to Ohio. I would've though Urban would be tapping up some of his old Florida pipelines. Pahokee certainly has no issue sending its sons up north.

JT4104

July 22nd, 2012 at 9:35 PM ^

Maybe it wasn't urban who was killin it down in florida.....I'm starting to guess mattison, strong, mullen had a lot to do with the great recruiting down in florida for Urban.

Not saying he is a bad recruiter or anything, but when you have those 3 guys on the same staff it shouldn't be to difficult to dominate the state of florida.

DonAZ

July 22nd, 2012 at 11:37 PM ^

Pulling quality recruits from Florida is like pulling Jupiter's moons away from ... Jupiter.

Florida and Florida State are the local gravity centers.  Miami to a degree, but they seem to have residual problems.  Alabama is alike a temptress beckoning, as are many of the SEC teams.

Ohio might as well be on the moon.  Ditto Michigan and ditto Arizona (for the coach-that-shall-not-be-named).  Yeah, they'll get a recruit here or there, but they simply will not pull the cream to the northern climes.

Hoke is absolutely correct in focusing on Michigan and Ohio first, then branching out from there.  I'm sure Meyer realizes the same.

Let the battle begin.

PaulRL

July 22nd, 2012 at 9:38 PM ^

I'm 100% UM blue, but I'd like to make 3 comments about the chart.

1, I don't like ND included in the ranking. I understand the regional interest, so put them after/under the 12 B1G teams. not ranked 13, just "I" for independant or Interest or Information, whatever.

2, I don't believe that the top criteria should be quantity. Either total points or average rating would be better, IMHO.

3, I wouldn't include Punters, Kickers, and LSs, as their actual value far exceeds their star rating.

Great information! I couldn't/wouldn't do all that work. But I can criticize! LOL!

Thanks! Go Blue!

OMG Shirtless

July 22nd, 2012 at 10:11 PM ^

1.  When this class of recruits is in school, we will play Notre Dame more times than Wisconsin and a handful of other teams in the Big Ten.  We recruit against Notre Dame more often than Northwestern, Indiana, and Illinois.  Notre Dame's inclusion is appropriate.

2.  Quantity is not the top criteria.  It's a combination.  If you take quantity * avg you can figure out approximately how the classes are ranked.

3.  This isn't a bad point, but if every team needs to take a P, K, LS at some point, it all evens out.

Side Note - Ending comments wtih "Go Blue!" is cheesy as shit.

PaulRL

July 22nd, 2012 at 10:31 PM ^

How was my post trolling? Did I not make valid points, or attack anyone? I understand your sig phrase. (I twice)

On the chart, only ND is not B1G. The only way UM is #1 is quantity. If criteria for #1 is a combination, it would be more clear to state that.

If I said Go Badgers, would that be more cheezy?

Go Blue!

DonAZ

July 22nd, 2012 at 11:40 PM ^

I don't think your post was "trolling," and I see you've since been upvoted to 1 point.

But having ND in that mix makes some sense ... they are geographically in the heart of the Big 10.  They are often considered part of the "midwestern football ethos."  They compete for many of the same recruits.  So yeah, having them part of the Big 10 recruiting discussion makes some sense.

DanGoBlue

July 22nd, 2012 at 9:44 PM ^

All those 4s makes me a little dizzy. The consensus regarding the quality of Michigans class and the shear number of recruits is pretty amazing. And we could add another couple of stud recruits to boot. Of course I want the lowest ranked recruits to turn out to be gems as well and hope Hoke's assessment is spot on for them ALL.