Big Ten Recruiting Class Rankings 8-1-10

Submitted by Tim on

Busy, busy week, with a Michigan commitment. I'm not sure when the recruiting sites will post their post-summer, pre-season rankings, but keep an eye out for that soon. Action since last rankings:

7-25-10 Illinois gains commitment from Ted Karras. Minnesota gains commitment from Peter Westerhaus. Penn State gains commitment from Angelo Mangiro.

7-26-10 Michigan State gains commitment from Arjen Colquhoun. Nebraska loses commitment from Dylan Admire.

7-27-10 Illinois gains commitment from Daniel Rhodes. Michigan State gains commitment from Mikail McCall.

7-29-10 Michigan gains commitment from Kellen Jones. Minnesota gains commitment from Mike Moore.

7-30-10 Iowa loses commitment from JaCorey Shepherd. Iowa gains commitment from Cole Fisher. Wisconsin gains commitment from Terrance Floyd. Notre Dame gains commitments from Justice Hayes and Anthony Rabasa.

7-31-10 Notre Dame gains commitments from Aaron Lynch and Jalen Brown. Indiana gains commitment from Bernard Taylor. Wisconsin gains commitment from Makinton Dorleant. Nebraska gains commitment from David Santos.

Big Ten+ Recruiting Class Rankings
Rank School # Commits Rivals Avg Scout Avg ESPN Avg
1 Ohio State 17 5.75 3.82 79.18
2 Notre Dame 16 5.64 3.44 76.88
3 Michigan 9 5.67 3.33 78.11
4 Nebraska 13 5.58 3.15 72.92
5 Indiana 21 5.48 2.48 75.48
6 Michigan State 11 5.49 2.91 76.18
7 Northwestern 11 5.50 2.70 76.70
8 Iowa 11 5.49 2.55 72.72
9 Minnesota 13 5.38 2.38 73.77
10 Wisconsin 8 5.36 2.50 68.50
11 Penn State 4 5.60 3.25 77.75
12 Illinois 11 5.30 2.64 67.18
13 Purdue 6 5.30 2.83 65.83

Rivals rankings have been converted to their "RR" scale, which is on a scale from about 5 to about 6.1. Unrated prospects are given a 5.1 rating, on par with the worst of any Big Ten commit last year. Scout is on the 5-star system (unranked players earn star), and ESPN uses grades out of 100 (unranked is 40 or 45).

#1 Ohio State - 17 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Michael Bennett DT OH 6.0 4 80
Braxton Miller QB OH 5.9 5 81
Kenny Hayes DE OH 5.9 4 78
Steve Miller DE OH 5.8 5 84
Nick Vannett TE OH 5.8 4 80
Jeremy Cash S FL 5.8 4 80
Chase Farris DE OH 5.8 4 79
Brian Bobek OL IL 5.8 4 79
Evan Spencer WR IL 5.7 4 81
DerJuan Gambrell CB OH 5.7 4 77
Devin Smith WR OH 5.7 4 76
Matt Hegarty OL NM 5.9 4 83
Jeff Heuerman TE FL 5.7 3 80
Joel Hale DT IN 5.7 3 79
Chris Carter OL OH 5.7 3 78
Ron Tanner S OH 5.6 4 78
Tommy Brown OL OH 5.6 3 78
Antonio Underwood OL OH 5.6 3 75

Buckeyes stay atop the heap, though they did miss out on instate LB Trey DePriest this week. DePriest committed to Alabama.

#2 Notre Dame - 16 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Ben Koyack TE PA 5.9 5 81
Matt Hegarty OL NM 5.9 4 83
Justice Hayes RB MI 5.9 4 79
Aaron Lynch DE FL 5.8 4 81
Eilar Hardy S OH 5.8 4 79
Jordan Prestwood OL FL 5.7 4 80
Jarrett Grace LB OH 5.7 4 78
Anthony Rabasa DE FL 5.7 3 81
Tony Springmann OL IN 5.7 3 78
Conor Hanratty OL CT 5.6 4 76
Clay Burton DE FL 5.6 3 79
Ben Councell DE NC 5.6 3 78
Brad Carrico OL OH 5.6 3 77
Matthias Farley CB NC 5.5 3 77
Jalen Brown CB TX NR 3 78
Kyle Brindza K MI NR NR NR

The Irish end their drought with a huge week, picking up four commits. They've solidified their hold on the second position.

#3 Michigan - 9 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Brennen Beyer DE MI 5.8 4 79
Delonte Hollowell CB MI 5.8 3 79
Chris Rock DE OH 5.7 3 78
Shawn Conway WR MI 5.7 3 78
Greg Brown CB OH 5.7 3 77
Kellen Jones LB TX 5.6 4 79
Jake Fisher OL MI 5.6 4 77
Kevin Sousa QB FL 5.6 3 78
Jack Miller OL OH 5.5 3 78

The Wolverines pick up Kellen Jones. I've moved them past Nebraska in the rankings, because they're starting to come close in number of commits, but are significantly higher in the quality of those players. Is Michigan on track to get another commit or two soon?

#4 Nebraska - 13 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Tyler Moore OL FL 5.9 4 78
Bubba Starling QB KS 5.8 4 81
Jamal Turner QB TX 5.8 4 81
Ryne Reeves OL NE 5.8 4 79
Tevin Mitchell CB TX 5.8 4 79
Ryan Klachko OL IL 5.8 4 78
Zach Sterup OL NE 5.8 3 78
Kevin Williams DT OH 5.7 3 79
Daniel Davie S NE 5.5 2 75
Aaryn Bouzos CB CA 5.4 2 76
David Santos LB TX NR 3 79
Daimion Stafford S CA NR 3 NR
Nicklas Sade K NC NR NR NR

The Huskers trade OL Dylan Admire (decommitted in favor of Kansas) for LB David Santos. Nebraska's averages might improve a bit once all of their commits are ranked.

#5 Indiana - 21 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Raymon Taylor CB MI 5.8 3 77
Zack Shaw LB OH 5.8 2 76
Max Pirman LB OH 5.6 3 78
D'Angelo Roberts RB IN 5.6 3 77
Jake Reed TE IN 5.6 3 77
Jalen Schlachter TE MI 5.6 3 75
Ralston Evans OL IN 5.6 3 74
Tre Roberson QB IN 5.6 2 76
Bernard Taylor OL MI 5.5 3 76
CJ Robbins DE IL 5.5 3 75
Nick Stoner S IN 5.5 3 74
Kirk Harris OL KS 5.5 2 77
Kyle Kennedy LB IN 5.5 2 76
Mark Murphy S OH 5.5 2 75
Kenny Mullen CB IN 5.4 3 74
Jay McCants WR OH 5.4 2 75
Mike Replogle LB OH 5.4 2 74
Donte Phillips DE WI 5.4 2 74
Shafer Johnson DT MI NR 2 77
Nick VanHoose DB OH NR 2 74
Forisse Hardin S KY NR 2 74

Hoosiers pick up another Michigan prospect in the conference's (+ Notre Dame and Nebraska, of course) largest class. I've rewarded them by moving them past Michigan State. Once other teams come closer in number of commits, IU should fall down the rankings.

#6 Michigan State - 11 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Lawrence Thomas LB MI 6.1 5 80
Connor Cook QB OH 5.7 2 76
Onaje Miller RB MI 5.6 4 78
Taiwan Jones LB MI 5.6 3 78
Mikail McCall RB IL 5.6 3 77
AJ Sims CB GA 5.6 2 78
Mark Scarpinato DT WI 5.5 3 76
Trae Waynes CB WI 5.4 3 75
Joel Heath DE OH NR 3 76
Arjen Colquhoun S ON NR 2 76
Paul Lang TE PA NR 2 68

No change for MSU. They move behind Indiana on the basis of total commits, mostly because their overall numbers aren't that far off from the other few teams behind the Hoosiers (Northwestern, Iowa, et al).

#7 Northwestern - 11 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Sean Cotton S IL 5.7 3 79
Shane Mertz OL NJ 5.6 3 79
Jack Konopka OL IL 5.6 3 79
Zack Oliver QB LA 5.6 3 78
Jarrell Williams CB IL 5.6 3 76
Matt Frazier OL IL 5.6 3 75
Geoff Mogus OL OH 5.5 3 75
Mark Szott TE IL 5.5 2 77
Derek Watt LB WI 5.5 2 77
Cameron Dickerson WR NJ 5.3 3 73
Max Chapman DE FL NR 2 78

No change for the Wildcats, except they're now looking up at Michigan State.

#8 Iowa - 11 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Austin Blythe OL IA 5.8 3 79
Ray Hamilton TE OH 5.7 4 79
Riley McMinn DE IL 5.6 3 77
Jake Rudock QB FL 5.6 2 78
Marcus Grant WR MA 5.6 2 76
Jake Duzey TE MI 5.5 3 73
Henry Krieger-Coble TE IA 5.5 2 78
Cole Fisher LB NE 5.5 2 74
Mike Orloff LB MA 5.4 2 69
John Raymon DE PA NR 3 NR
Austin Vincent WR TX NR 2 73

Scout gives Orloff a 2-star ranking. No other changes for the Hawkeyes.

#9 Minnesota - 13 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Tommy Olson OL MN 5.7 3 79
Matt LaCosse ATH IL 5.6 3 78
Max Shortell QB KS 5.6 3 74
Quinn Bauducco LB CA 5.6 3 74
Peter Westerhaus TE MN 5.6 2 76
Kyle McAvoy OL IL 5.5 3 79
Luke McAvoy OL IL 5.4 2 75
Sam Rohr TE WI 5.4 2 74
Marquise Vann LB OH NR 3 78
Jephete Matilus LB FL NR 2 77
Mike Moore LB TX NR 2 77
Devin Crawford-Tufts WR MN NR 2 74
Samuel Oyenuga CB TX NR NR NR

No change for Minnesota. They're due for a jump once that other half of their class gets Rivals rankings.

#10 Wisconsin - 8 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Jake Keefer LB WI 5.8 3 78
Sam Arneson TE WI 5.7 3 78
Jordan Frederick LB WI 5.5 3 75
Austin Maly TE WI 5.5 2 76
Makinton Dorleant CB FL NR 3 77
Derek Landisch LB WI NR 2 74
Eric Steffes TE WI NR 2 NR
Terrance Floyd CB FL NR 2 NR

Boooooo grabbing a couple guys who are neither from Wisconsin nor TE/LBs.

#11 Penn State - 4 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Shawn Oakman DE PA 5.8 4 77
Angelo Mangiro OL NJ 5.7 4 81
Jordan Kerner DE PA 5.5 3 77
Kyle Carter TE DE 5.4 2 76

Penn State's class is no longer the laughingstock of the conference, as they pick up a good offensive lineman in Angelo Mangiro. They still have a long way to go in terms of numbers, but their averages are way above the other teams near them.

#12 Illinois - 11 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Zeph Grimes S SC 5.6 3 77
Tony Durkin OL IL 5.6 3 74
Josh Ferguson RB IL 5.5 3 75
Chris O'Connor DE IL 5.4 3 75
Ted Karras OL IN 5.4 3 77
Hunter Wells OL IL 5.3 3 NR
Chris Boles OL OH NR 3 77
Reilly O'Toole QB IL NR 3 76
Daniel Rhodes TE NC NR 2 73
Marquise Mosley WR TX NR 2 NR
Justin DuVernois K FL NR NR NR

Illinois picks up a couple prospects, and that moves them past Purdue (while getting jumped by Penn State).

#13 Purdue - 6 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Russell Bellomy QB TX 5.5 3 78
Robert Kugler TE PA 5.5 3 78
Brandon Cottom LB PA 5.5 3 76
Michael Rouse DT IL NR 3 73
Randy Gregory DE IN NR 3 NR
Taylor Richards CB FL NR 2 77

Purdue becomes the bottom-dweller in Big Ten recruiting.

Comments

Nez

August 1st, 2010 at 1:53 PM ^

I don't see how we could actually consider our recruiting class to be better than ND's unless things change drastically sometime soon. If you look at the numbers, we're getting doubled up by then. Also, we've only got a handful of defensive recruits, and if that doesn't change we'll be sunk for several more years to come.

aaamichfan

August 1st, 2010 at 2:13 PM ^

I agree that ND would be tough to pass, but our best is definitely yet to come in 2011 recruiting. Also, a few of our current commits are very likely to be ranked higher on NSD.

Rockne

August 1st, 2010 at 3:34 PM ^

ND probably only has 3-4 more spots left in the class unless something drastic unexpected attrition happens.  Kelly will probably hold out and only accept commitments from elite guys at this point, as ND has satisfied most of their recruiting needs and can afford to wait.  If ND has a good season (8 wins or more) I don't think Michigan or anyone else on the list will be passing them.

ND fans who follow recruiting would also make the argument that some of their guys are very likely to be ranked higher on NSD, especially Jordan Prestwood (playing OT for the first time this year with offers from everyone), Clay Burton, and Anthony Rabasa.  Plus Jalen Brown and Kyle Brindza  will also be ranked at some point too.

Irish

August 2nd, 2010 at 12:48 PM ^

hahaha, you mean like some random recruit with no other offer than UM getting a 3 star rating.  

Just in case you were serious about what you posted up there:  Brindza (K) is rated in the top 15 of michigan prospects easily a 3star player.  Grace (LB) has offers from Bama and OSU among many others, definitely enough to be considered for a 4th star.  Brown (DB) will be a 3 star, TAM, TT and Nebraska easily qualifies him.  Prestwood (OT) has one of the most impressive offers lists for an OT, FSU, UF, Bama, USC and Auburn.  He was a 4star player before he announced for ND, eventually rivals will figure it out like scout and espn did back in march.  Rabasa a florida LB chose ND over UF, UMiami, FSU, LSU, Nebraska and UCLA, quite the list for a mere 3 star.  

I don't care if rivals figures this out or not, but if they do its not because they picked ND.

burntorange wi…

August 2nd, 2010 at 4:31 PM ^

their rankings deflate because rivals/scout get more readers from more schools if they have highly ranked UNCOMMITTED kids. lots of texas kids commit early and lose their opportunity to move into the 5* range because rivals/scout dont want committed kids where only one fanbase will read about them highly ranked. much more profitable to have uncommitted kids who take until NSD highly ranked so you have people from multiple schools checking the same prospect for updates on his commitment status. it goes both ways basically. 

Irish

August 2nd, 2010 at 5:56 PM ^

yep thats one of the reasons I really like texas recruits.  Scouting services don't really seem to pay attention to the state after texas is done offering and there is a lot of talent in there that goes under appreciated imo 

Rockne

August 2nd, 2010 at 5:28 PM ^

Basically none of the ND defensive front seven recruits are ranked properly because they are being recruited for the 3-4 not a 4-3 which is how they are graded by the recruiting services.  Rabasa, Burton, and Councell are all DE/OLB tweeners but great fits as 3-4 OLB.  Carrico and Springmann are really poor fits in a 4-3 line so they are graded as OL, but they have the necessary bulk and athleticism to play as 3-4 DE.  Even Aaron Lynch would probably end up as a DT in a 4-3 but is a great fit as a 3-4 DE.  Jarrett Lynch isn't going to be a sideline to sideline 4-3 MLB but can absolutely excel as a 3-4 ILB (see Alabama offer).

Not a Blue Fan

August 1st, 2010 at 11:39 AM ^

Looks good, but a couple things: you've got Matt Hegarty listed under both OSU and ND (I assume a copy/paste error) and you state "no change for MSU", but they got a commitment from Arjen Colquhoun.

At any rate, ND and UM are starting to move up on OSU. Depending on how many more recruits we can take, we might get passed by the time all is said and done.

wildbackdunesman

August 1st, 2010 at 12:07 PM ^

I think that these rankings are flawed since it is using the average.

In example, it shows Michigan ahead of Notre Dame in the ESPN rankings...only because the ND kicker is evaluated at a 45.  Notre Dame has 5 players evaluated at an 80 or higher, Michigan has 0.  According to ESPN, Notre Dame has a better class so far and has far more elite players (higher probability to be elite in college as well).

I don't know if you should adjust the rankings or not to measure in elite players, but the current system seems flawed.

funkywolve

August 1st, 2010 at 1:26 PM ^

They would need to be great weeks probably.  A little comparison:

Scout:  ND has 7 guys that are 4 or 5 star.  UM has 3

Rivals:  ND has 9 guys that are 5.7 or higher.  UM has 5

ESPN:  ND has 5 guys 80 or higher.  UM has none.

kevin holt

August 1st, 2010 at 2:09 PM ^

But how the hell did MSU get a 5 star LB over Ohio State, Florida, Alabama, Notre Dame, USC, Penn State, Oklahoma, Miami (NTM), Cincinnati, and us?

Oh well, it'll just make it that much sweeter when KJ plays like he deserves 6 stars and Lawrence Thomas plays like 2. Go BLUE!

Howard4Heisman

August 1st, 2010 at 4:10 PM ^

It doesn't make any sense to have our class higher than Nebraska's.  According to ESPN rankings we have 9 players 77 or higher, they have 9 78 or higher, plus 4 additional recruits.  1/3 of our recruits are Scout 4 stars, half of their class are scout 4 stars.  Their class has more numbers, and, honestly, is probably of higher quality.

Tim

August 2nd, 2010 at 8:38 AM ^

If you take only their top 9 recruits against all 9 of our guys, the classes are very even. I staked a bet that we will be able to add some guys who won't be the bottom 4 members of our class at the time they join.

philthy66

August 1st, 2010 at 5:42 PM ^

Think we are all excited about the 2011 class.  We need to hurry up and get them fast Southern boys signed.  But, the class is shaping up to be a great one.  Can't wait to see this class when all is said and done...

imafreak1

August 2nd, 2010 at 9:48 AM ^

Iowa's coaching staff has been unpossibly stable--all through the ranks. They bring guys into a system full of players at every level that know exactly what is expected of them. Add to that, the incoming players have the luxury of learning for at least a season or two or three before they see the field.

Now compare that to Michigan, who, out of necessity, is yoinking kids out of high school straight on to the field and no one knows the system.

Hannibal.

August 2nd, 2010 at 10:03 AM ^

Iowa has only been good for about the last 18 games.  They stunk between 2005 and most of 2008.  People use them as an example of "recruiting rankings don't matter", but for the most part, they have performed as expected. 

Not to mention, their '05 class (i.e. redshirt seniors from last year) had seven 4* guys and one 5* guy.  The rest of their classes are typically middle of the pack Big Ten, but not bottom.

jamiemac

August 2nd, 2010 at 12:23 AM ^

Indiana #5? Sweet. I'm ordering my 2014 Gator Bowl tickets right now.

Is Penn State really in serious danger of cratering the recruiting year? Or are they in the lead for a ton of guys that eventually will drop. Please advice

Great work as always, Tim

Tim

August 2nd, 2010 at 8:40 AM ^

No to your second Penn State question. The PSU fans are having a mild internet freakout, because they thought they led for a bunch of kids... until those guys committed to Pitt, Maryland, Ohio State, etc.

They probably won't have a completely horrid class, but challenging for the top few spots would mean getting a lot of dominoes to fall their way first.

MGoShoe

August 2nd, 2010 at 8:45 AM ^

...addressing all of the questions here.  Looking forward to your updates on the Big Ten meetings throughout the day.  Will you be employing twitter much?

Hannibal.

August 2nd, 2010 at 10:12 AM ^

I'm not terribly worried about Brian Kelly with this first class.  He is in honeymoon city right now.  So was RichRod in his first year and RichRod pulled in just as good a class in '09 if not better.  The first full class for a coach is often a very strong one. 

The fact that we are still basically neck-and-neck with Nebraska after a two year record of 7-16 is pretty encouraging.  We're going to be a recruiting powerhouse again when we reach the 10-win level. 

bronxblue

August 2nd, 2010 at 11:45 AM ^

This class is starting to look good because most of the players (outside of Jones) should have players ahead of him.  That means these kids can step onto campus and not be expected to start from day-one, instead maturing in the system and being legit players in their second and third years.

bronxblue

August 2nd, 2010 at 12:19 PM ^

You're probably right there as well.  I just looked at the depth chart and saw less substantive depth in front of him compared to other positions.  But yes, hopefully Jones won't be expected to step in and start, though I agree with the Hello piece that he'll see some time on special teams.