Big Ten Recruiting Rankings 8-4-13

Submitted by Ace on

This edition of the recruiting rankings features a change at the top of the board — one you probably won't like, obviously — as well as the debut of the NOTY Power Rankings, because players named J-Shun and Geronimo committed to Big Ten schools this month and this clearly requires action.

Changes since last rankings:

7-5-13: Jason Hall decommits from Nebraska (later commits to Texas). Nebraska picks up Larenzo Stewart.

7-8-13: Wisconsin picks up D.J. Gillins. Iowa picks up Mick Ellis. Purdue picks up Gelen Robinson.

7-9-13: Northwestern picks up Robert Westerfield. Illinois picks up Julian Hylton.

7-10-13: Indiana picks up J-Shun Harris.

7-15-13: Michigan State picks up Matt Morrissey.

7-16-13: Iowa picks up Terrence Harris.

7-19-13: Indiana picks up Nick Carovillano and Jermane Conyers.

7-20-13: Iowa picks up Ben Niemann. Minnesota picks up Andrew Stelter.

7-23-13: Purdue picks up Drue Tranquill.

7-24-13: Illinois picks up Tyrin Stone-Davis.

7-25-13: Illinois picks up Tyree Stone-Davis and Geronimo Allison.

7-28-13: Ohio State picks up Demetrious Knox.

7-29-13: Ohio State picks up Malik Hooker.

8-3-13: Michigan State picks up Robert Bowers.

Chart? Chart:

Big Ten+ Recruiting Class Rankings
247 Comp. Rank* (Nat'l Rank) School # Commits 5* 4* 3* Rivals Avg Scout Avg 247 Avg ESPN Avg Avg Avg^
1 (6) ↑1 Ohio State 16 0 10 6 3.38 3.63 3.79 3.65 3.61
2 (10) ↓1 Michigan 14 1 7 6 3.50 3.57 3.57 3.79 3.61
3 (23) Rutgers 20 0 2 17 2.80 2.90 2.85 3.05 2.90
4 (24)  Penn State 13 0 4 9 3.23 3.31 3.31 3.38 3.31
5 (29) Michigan State 14 0 0 14 3.07 3.14 3.36 3.21 3.20
6 (32) Northwestern 13 0 3 10 3.08 3.08 3.31 3.31 3.19
7 (36) Wisconsin 11 0 3 8 3.09 3.27 3.09 3.27 3.18
8 (43) ↑1 Iowa 12 0 1 8 2.83 2.83 2.92 2.83 2.85
9 (49) ↓1 Nebraska 11 0 0 10 2.82 2.55 3.00 3.18 2.89
10 (55) Illinois 12 0 0 12 2.75 2.58 2.67 2.75 2.69
11 (69) ↑2 Indiana 10 0 0 7 2.50 2.50 2.60 2.80 2.60
12 (70) ↑2 Purdue 8 0 0 6 2.63 2.88 2.75 2.88 2.78
13 (76) ↓1 Minnesota 6 0 1 5 3.00 3.33 3.17 2.67 3.04
14 (79) ↓3 Maryland 8 0 0 6 2.75 2.50 2.75 3.00 2.75

*Full rankings and explanation here.

^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 Ohio State - 16 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Kyle Berger LB OH 4 4 4 4
Dante Booker LB OH 4 4 4 4
Jalyn Holmes DE VA 4 4 4 4
Jamarco Jones OL IL 4 4 4 4
Demetrius Knox OL TX 4 4 4 4
Damon Webb CB MI 4 4 4 4
Kyle Trout OL OH 4 4 4 3
Marcelys Jones OL OH 4 3 4 3
Parris Campbell RB OH 3 4 4 4
Malik Hooker S PA 3 4 4 4
Sam Hubbard LB OH 3 4 4 3
Lonnie Johnson ATH IN 3 3 4 4
Terry McLaurin WR IN 3 3 4 4
Dylan Thompson DE IL 3 3 3 4
Stephen Collier QB GA 2 3 3 3
Sam Nuernberger K KY 2 3 2 3

The Buckeyes move past Michigan into the top spot after adding TX OL Demetrious Knox and PA ATH Malik Hooker, whom the Buckeyes recruited as a safety.

#2 Michigan - 14 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Jabrill Peppers CB NJ 5 5 5 5
Mason Cole OL FL 4 4 4 4
Michael Ferns LB OH 4 4 4 4
Drake Harris WR MI 4 4 4 4
Bryan Mone DT UT 4 4 4 4
Freddy Canteen WR MD 4 3 3 3
Lawrence Marshall DE MI 3 4 4 4
Chase Winovich LB PA 3 4 3 3
Ian Bunting TE IL 3 3 4 4
Juwann Bushell-Beatty OT NJ 3 3 4 4
Noah Furbush LB OH 3 3 3 4
Wilton Speight QB VA 3 3 3 4
Maurice Ways WR MI 3 3 3 4
Brandon Watson CB MD 3 3 2 NR

Freddy Canteen picks up three stars from ESPN while his teammate, Brandon Watson, earns three from Scout. (Strangely, Watson is still unranked on ESPN — it's not like he and Canteen play on the same high school team and attend all the same camps or anything.)

#3 Rutgers - 20 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Kiy Hester S NJ 4 4 4 4
Adonis Jennings WR NJ 4 3 4 4
Tyler Wiegers QB MI 4 3 3 4
Sidney Gopre LB NJ 3 3 3 3
Joshua Hicks RB FL 3 3 3 3
Logan Lister TE TX 3 3 3 3
Kamren Lott CB FL 3 3 3 3
Robert Martin RB PA 3 3 3 3
Justin Nelson LB NJ 3 3 3 3
David Njoku WR NJ 3 3 3 3
Jacquis Webb OL NY 3 3 3 3
Saquan Hampton S NJ 3 3 2 3
Jacob Kraut FB FL 3 3 2 3
Zack Heeman OL NJ 2 3 3 3
Pete Mokwuah DT NY 2 3 3 3
Justin Herron OL MD 2 3 3 3
Jimmy Hogan DE NJ 2 3 NR 3
George Behr TE MN 2 2 NR 2
Donald Bedell DE NJ 2 2 3 NR
Brandon Russell LB FL 2 2 NR 3

Scout gives Jacob Kraut three stars and upgrades Deonald Bedell and Brandon Russell to two stars each. Rutgers maintains a tenuous hold on the third spot, one they'll lose as soon as one of the three schools behind them pick up another commit or two.

#4 Penn State - 13 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Chris Godwin WR DE 4 4 4 4
Troy Vincent Jr. CB MD 4 4 3 4
Michael O'Connor QB FL 4 3 4 4
De'Andre Thompkins WR NC 4 3 4 4
Marcus Allen S MD 3 4 4 3
Troy Apke WR PA 3 4 3 3
Troy Reeder LB DE 3 3 3 4
Mark Allen RB MD 3 3 3 3
Noah Beh DE PA 3 3 3 3
Nick Scott WR VA 3 3 3 3
Antoine White DT NJ 3 3 3 3
Daquan Worley CB PA 3 3 3 3
Jared Wangler LB MI 2 3 3 3

No change for the Nittany Lions, though one could be on the horizon now that Michigan has offered in-state linebacker Jared Wangler, son of former Michigan QB John and brother of 2013 preferred walk-on Jack.

#5 Michigan State - 14 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Enoch Smith Jr. DT IL 4 3 4 4
Deon Drake LB MI 4 3 4 3
Chris Durkin QB OH 3 4 4 3
Byron Bullough LB MI 3 4 3 4
Vayante Copeland RB OH 3 4 3 3
Gerald Owens RB NJ 3 3 4 4
Chris Frey LB OH 3 3 4 3
Brian Allen OL IL 3 3 3 4
David Beedle DE MI 3 3 3 3
Chase Gianacakos OL IL 3 3 3 3
Matt Morrissey S IL 3 3 3 3
Matt Sokol TE MI 3 3 3 3
Robert Bowers DE OH 3 3 3 NR
Jalen Watts-Jackson CB MI 2 2 3 3

The Spartans land IL S Matt Morrissey and OH DE Robert Bowers. David Beedle and Jalen Watts-Jackson each pick up three stars on 247; Watts-Jackson also earns a two-star rating on Scout.

#6 Northwestern - 13 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Justin Jackson RB IL 4 4 4 4
Dareian Watkins ATH OH 4 4 4 4
Clayton Thorson QB IL 4 3 4 4
Jordan Thomas S TX 3 3 4 3
Solomon Vault RB MD 3 3 3 4
Tommy Doles OL MI 3 3 3 3
Auston Anderson RB TX 3 3 3 3
Blake Hance OL IL 3 3 3 3
Ben Oxley OL OH 3 3 3 3
Cameron Queiro LB NJ 3 3 3 3
Fred Wyatt DT KS 3 3 3 3
Noah Westerfield LB TX 2 3 3 3
Nate Hall WR OH 2 2 3 3

The Wildcats pick up TX LB Noah Westerfield.

#7 Wisconsin - 11 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Craig Evans DT WI 4 4 4 4
Jaden Gault OL WI 4 4 4 4
D.J. Gillins QB FL 4 3 4 4
George Panos OL WI 3 4 4 3
Conor Sheehy DE WI 3 4 3 3
Billy Hirschfeld DE WI 3 3 4 3
Taiwan Deal RB MD 3 3 3 3
Michael Deiter OL OH 3 3 2 3
Dominic Cizauskas LB WI 3 3 2 3
Ula Tolutau RB UT 2 3 2 3
Austin Hudson S FL 2 2 2 3

The Badgers add dual-threat FL QB D.J. Gillins.

#8 Iowa - 12 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Ross Pierschbacher OL IA 4 4 4 4
Jay Scheel WR IA 4 3 4 4
C.J. Hilliard RB OH 3 3 3 3
Lucas LeGrand OL IA 3 3 3 3
Omar Truitt ATH DC 3 3 3 3
Matt Nelson TE IA 3 3 3 NR
Keegan Render OL IA 3 3 2 3
Jameer Outsey LB NJ 3 2 3 3
Jyaz Jones S TX 2 3 4 NR
Terrence Harris DE NJ 2 2 2 NR
Ben Niemann LB IL 2 2 2 NR
Mick Ellis K TX NR 3 2 3

The Hawkeyes move past Nebraska after adding three commits in NJ DE Terrence Harris, IL LB Ben Niemann, and TX K Mick Ellis. The move up the board may not last long, however, as Iowa is in serious danger of losing their top-ranked commit, Ross Pierschbacher, to Alabama or Stanford. I'm okay with this if it means I don't have to attempt to spell "Pierschbacher" again in my life.

#9 Nebraska - 11 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Monte Harrison WR NJ 4 3 3 4
Tanner Farmer OL IL 3 3 4 3
Zack Darlington QB FL 3 3 3 4
D.J. Foster OL NE 3 3 3 4
Luke Gifford S NE 3 3 3 3
Demornay Pierson-El ATH VA 3 3 3 3
Mick Stoltenberg DE NE 3 2 3 3
Freedom Akinmoladun TE MO 3 2 3 NR
Trai Mosley CB TX 2 2 3 3
Larenzo Stewart RB TX 2 2 3 3
Drew Brown K TX 2 2 2 3

The Huskers lose TX S Jason Hall, who later committed to Texas, but gain another (albeit lower-ranked) Lone Star State prospect in RB Larenzo Stewart. Tanner Farmer is bumped up to four stars on 247; Trai Mosley earns three stars from 247 and ESPN; Freedom Akinmoladun gets two stars on Scout; Drew Brown picks up three stars from ESPN.

#10 Illinois - 12 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Tyrin Stone-Davis (JuCo) WR CA 3 3 4 NR
Nick Allegretti OL IL 3 3 3 3
Tito Odenigbo DE OH 3 3 3 3
Chayce Crouch QB OH 3 3 3 3
Matt Domer RB IL 3 3 3 3
Mike Dudek WR IL 3 3 3 3
Geronimo Allison (JuCo) WR IA 3 2 3 NR
Julian Hylton ATH IL 3 2 2 3
Tyree Stone-Davis (JuCo) CB CA 3 2 NR NR
Malik Turner WR IL 2 3 NR 3
Henry McGrew LB KS 2 2 2 3
Austin Roberts LB WI 2 NR NR 3

The Illini add three JuCo commits in twins(!) Tyrin and Tyree Stone-Davis and spectacularly-named IA WR Geronimo Allison; they also pick up in-state ATH Julian Hylton.

#11 Indiana - 10 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Michael Barwick DT OH 3 3 3 3
Nick Carovillano DE OH 3 3 3 3
Donovan Clark CB IN 3 3 3 3
DeAndre Herron (JuCo) OL IA 3 3 3 NR
Delroy Baker OL FL 3 2 3 3
Jermane Conyers DT GA 2 2 3 NR
Wes Martin OL OH 2 2 2 3
Alexander Diamont QB CA 2 2 2 3
Willie Yarbary DE GA 2 2 2 3
J-Shun Harris WR IN NR 3 2 3

The Hoosiers jump two spots after landing OH DE Nick Carovillano, GA DT Jermane Conyers, and in-state WR J-Shun Harris. Donovan Clark, Alexander Diamont, and Willie Yarbary all pick up three stars from ESPN.

#12 Purdue - 8 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Gelen Robinson DE IN 4 3 3 3
Drue Tranquill S IN 3 4 3 3
David Blough QB TX 3 3 3 3
Denzel Ward OL FL 3 3 3 3
Trae Hart WR TX 2 3 3 3
Kirk Barron OL IN 2 3 3 3
Gregory Phillips WR GA 2 2 2 3
Austin McGehee K AR NR NR 2 NR

The Boilermakers also move up two spots after picking up their two highest-ranked commits — not to mention a pair of familar names around these parts — in IN DE Gelen Robinson and IN S/LB Drue Tranquill. That's a great pair of additions to Purdue, as well as two candidates for the traditional late-cycle snake-oiling.

#13 Minnesota - 6 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
Jeff Jones RB MN 4 4 4 3
Connor Mayes OL TX 3 4 3 3
Gaelin Elmore TE TX 3 3 3 3
Dimonic McKinzy QB KS 3 3 3 3
Andrew Stelter DE MN 3 3 3 NR
Steven Richardson DT IL 2 3 3 2

The Gophers add in-state DE Andrew Stelter but still drop a spot in the team rankings.

#14 Maryland - 8 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout 24/7 ESPN
William Ulmer QB DC 4 3 4 4
Johnathan Thomas RB MA 3 3 3 4
Tyler Burke LB PA 3 3 3 3
Jared Cohen OL MD 3 3 3 3
Andrew Gray TE OH 3 2 2 3
David Shaw DT PA 2 2 2 NR
Brendan Moore OL TX 2 2 3 3
Brett Kulka DE PA 2 2 2 NR

No change for the Terps, who are getting a head start on embarrassing the Big Ten, apparently.

NOTY Power Rankings

For the hell of it, here's how the Big Ten recruiting rankings would look — in one man's humble opinion — if ranked by each team's best-monikered commit.

1. Wisconsin (Taiwan Deal)

2. Iowa (Jyaz Jones)

3. Nebraska (Freedom Akinmoladun)

4. Michigan (Moe Ways)

5. Illinois (Geronimo Allison)

6. Minnesota (Dimonic McKinzy)

7. Indiana (J-Shun Harris)

8. Michigan State (Vayante Copeland)

9. Purdue (Drue Tranquill)

10. Ohio State (Kyle Trout)

11. Rutgers (Adonis Jennings)

12. Northwestern (Solomon Vault)

13. Penn State (Noah Beh)

14. Maryland (Uh... Brett Kulka, I guess? You stink at this too, Maryland.)

Comments

bronxblue

August 4th, 2013 at 2:36 PM ^

Depressing that Rutgers has a clear #3 class in the B1G already.  You'd expect somebody else to have better than the 23rd-ranked class nationally.

Beyond that, seems about right.  Is OSU at (or near) their scholarship cap?  I feel like they won't be able to take more than 1-2 players and still hit the sanctions limit.

GoWings2008

August 4th, 2013 at 4:32 PM ^

I have fairly good confidence that osu nor St Urban would oversign, or even come close to violating the strict rules the B1G has against it, squeezing 20-21 out of the class when they have 16 now, depending on minor attrition that always seems to happen, suggests to me that they know something that we don't.  Hard to say at this point, still 7 months away from NSD and all...

spartanfan123

August 4th, 2013 at 5:36 PM ^

Rutgers' class is ranked high based on just numbers alone. They have 20 commits whereas the next highest numbers in the B1G are 16 (OSU) and 14 (Michigan, MSU, some others). Their average isn't that great either. I expect them to be around 7-8 when its all done, with Michigan, OSU, PSU, and MSU being a clear top 4 (Northwestern is almost done with their class so i don't see how much higher they can go barring a committment from Parkerr Westphal)

elaydin

August 4th, 2013 at 2:40 PM ^

There's a guy with a first name of "Dimonic" with a poorly spelled Scottish surname and you rank him #6?  smh

Where would you rank Scrooge McDuck or <no first name> McLovin?

elm

August 4th, 2013 at 2:45 PM ^

Tranqull is horribly underrated.  And McKinzy overrated.  Flip them, and I'd be pretty happy.

 I also prefer Enoch Smith, Jr. to Vayante Copeland.  It's the Jr. that sells it.

Michigan Eaglet

August 4th, 2013 at 3:16 PM ^

Anyone else think its weird that Jared Wangler, who will be playing in the Under Armour All American game, is rated a 2 star by Rivals, who is sponsered by Under Armour and I'm pretty sure makes the picks for the game? Are they updating their rankings any time soon?

MichiganG

August 4th, 2013 at 10:31 PM ^

The short answer: there has been one 'consensus' 2* play in the UA game, and only one other player who had a single 2* ranking to at least one of the services.

Long version...

ESPN actually made this search easy, at least with respect to their rankings: LINK

For the 2014 kids, Wangler is the only 3* according to ESPN.

In years past I'm going to ignore kickers and long snappers, because there are a few of them on the roster as 2* and 3* players, but based on ESPN rankings there has been just one 2* player (Deion Sanders Jr.).  He was a 2* to both ESPN and Rivals (NR by 247, 3* to Scout).

2013: one 3* LB

2012: one 3* DT, one 3* OL, one 3* RB, one 3* ATH, one 2* ATH

2011: four 3* OL, one 3* QB, one 3* TE, one 3* CB, one 3* WR

2010: three 3* LB, one 3* S, one 3* OL, one 3* DT, one 3* WR

I also cross-referenced all the players above with the other services, and while a handful were Not Rated by 247, all the other ratings except one (Trey Griffey a 2* to Scout) across the other services had them as 3* or 4* players

In fact, the majority had at least one 4* ranking.  So, if history repeats itself, there's a good chance Wangler will be a 3* to all the services by the time the final rankings come out.

NJblue2

August 4th, 2013 at 3:40 PM ^

I've noticed that OSU and Rutgers have been battling for similar recruits. If Rutgers wins a couple, they might cement themselves right behind OSU and UM.

alum96

August 4th, 2013 at 10:33 PM ^

I continue to be amazed at the poorness of Illinois football - so much potential, so little results.  Should be a gold mine in IL with OH right next door.  On a sour note not liking all the OL talent Ohio is bringing in - it seemed their one weakness in recent years relative to Michigan - looked like 3 high caliber kids and a 4th on the border "based on stars".  The OSU DL v UM OL battles should be immense in the coming years based on projections but I thought the UM DL vs OSU OL would be clearly to our advantage in the 2015-2016 time frame.  Looks like Urban is trying to address that. Poopy.

NebraskaStudent

August 5th, 2013 at 1:27 AM ^

Illinois has historically recruited the Chicagoland poorly in all sports.  Beyond that the football program lacks the tradition and the fanbase to really sell recruits.  Their best recruiting selling points are essentially a solid education, as well as the opportunity to play in a premier conference, and this is offered at every other school in the Big Ten.

alum96

August 4th, 2013 at 10:42 PM ^

Just curious for the guys who follow this religiously - I was noting only one 5 star had committed the conference thus far (ours) so I went back to look at Rivals for example and in 2013 they had 33, in 2012 32, and 2011 26 players ranked 5 star but in 2014 ....only 18.  Is it normal for such a discrepency from year to year?  Does Rivals do another pass through after next November and expand the class of 5 stars or it is just a down year in terms of their elite talent in 2014?  Maybe asked better - is there a pre-determined # of 5 stars generally (I assumed 30ish) or if the country is really lacking players in any one year you could in theory have say eight 5 stars one year and 40 the next?




On a side note just realized what a haul Notre Dame had last year - four of the countries 5 stars per rivals.