Big Ten Recruiting Class Rankings 1-30-11

Submitted by Tim on

New Michigan commit(s), and this bad boy hits the front page. There's been tooooons of action since last rankings:

1-23-11 Michigan State gains commitment from Brandon Clemons. Illinois gains commitment from Darrius Caldwell.

1-24-11 Nebraska loses commitment from Aaryn Bouzos. Northwestern gains commitments from Andrew Smith and Deonte Gibson. Minnesota gains commitment from Wedley Estime.

1-25-11 Michigan gains commitment from Antonio Poole. Michigan gains commitment from Russell Bellomy, Purdue loses commitment from Russell Bellomy. Purdue gains commitment from Raheem Mostert.

1-26-11 Illinois gains commitment from Valdon Cooper. Indiana loses commitment from Donte Phillips.

1-27-11 Illinois gains commitment from Willie Beavers.

1-28-11 Michigan gains commitment from Chris Bryant. Ohio State gains commitment from Bryce Haynes. Nebraska gains commitment from Joseph Carter.

1-30-11 Nebraska gains commitment from Mauro Bondi.

Big Ten+ Recruiting Class Rankings
Rank School # Commits Rivals Avg Scout Avg ESPN Avg
1 Ohio State 22 5.73 3.68 78.91
2 Notre Dame 23 5.73 3.57 78.96
3 Nebraska 17 5.71 3.39 78.44**
4 Michigan State 20 5.64 3.20 76.80
5 Iowa 20 5.62 3.05 76.79*
6 Wisconsin 20 5.60 2.95 73.75
7 Michigan 17 5.62 3.29 77.53
8 Penn State 15 5.63 3.27 76.53
9 Illinois 29 5.51 2.62 73.28
10 Northwestern 17 5.54 2.88 76.59
11 Minnesota 22 5.54 2.41 75.06****
12 Indiana 15 5.55 2.87 75.20
13 Purdue 14 5.51 2.64 71.38**

Rivals rankings are on the "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 1 star), and ESPN uses grades out of 100 (unranked is 40 or 45, except JuCo players, who aren't included in the average).

#1 Ohio State - 22 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Braxton Miller QB OH 6.0 5 81
Doran Grant CB OH 6.0 4 81
Michael Bennett DT OH 6.0 4 80
Kenny Hayes DE OH 5.9 4 79
Steve Miller DE OH 5.8 5 82
Ryan Shazier LB FL 5.8 4 81
Nick Vannett TE OH 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
Ron Tanner S OH 5.7 4 78
Devin Smith WR OH 5.7 4 78
DerJuan Gambrell CB OH 5.7 4 77
Jeremy Cash S FL 5.7 3 80
Jeff Heuerman TE FL 5.7 3 80
Joel Hale DT IN 5.7 3 79
Chris Carter OL OH 5.7 3 78
Conner Crowell LB MD 5.7 3 78
Tommy Brown OL OH 5.6 3 78
Antonio Underwood OL OH 5.6 3 75
Ejuan Price LB PA 5.5 4 79
Bryce Haynes LS GA 5.2 2 73

Long-snapper Bryce Haynes commits to the Buckeyes, and though he brings down their averages quite a bit, it's unfair to knock the Buckeyes below Notre Dame for adding another piece to their class.

#2 Notre Dame - 23 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Ishaq Williams DE NY 6.1 5 82
Stephon Tuitt DE GA 6.1 5 81
Aaron Lynch DE FL 6.0 5 84
Ben Koyack TE PA 5.9 5 81
Matt Hegarty OL NM 5.9 4 82
DaVaris Daniels WR IL 5.8 4 81
Eilar Hardy S OH 5.8 4 79
George Atkinson III S CA 5.8 3 79
Ben Councell DE NC 5.8 3 79
Everett Golson QB NC 5.7 4 80
Jarrett Grace LB OH 5.7 4 78
Anthony Rabasa DE FL 5.7 3 80
Tony Springmann OL IN 5.7 3 78
Josh Atkinson CB CA 5.7 3 78
Chase Hounshell OL FL 5.7 3 76
Nick Martin OL IN 5.6 3 78
Brad Carrico OL OH 5.6 3 77
Cam McDaniel RB TX 5.6 3 77
Conor Hanratty OL CT 5.6 3 76
Bennett Okotcha CB TX 5.6 3 76
Jalen Brown CB TX 5.5 3 78
Matthias Farley CB NC 5.5 3 77
Kyle Brindza K MI 5.4 3 79

No changes to the Notre Dame class. It's a very solid one, however.

#3 Nebraska - 17 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Aaron Green RB FL 5.9 5 85
Tyler Moore OL FL 5.9 4 78
Charles Jackson CB TX 5.8 4 81
Bubba Starling QB KS 5.8 4 81
Jamal Turner QB TX 5.8 4 81
Ryne Reeves OL NE 5.8 4 79
Ryan Klachko OL IL 5.8 4 78
Daimion Stafford S CA 5.8 4 JC
David Santos LB TX 5.8 3 79
Zach Sterup OL NE 5.8 3 78
Kevin Williams DT OH 5.7 3 79
Ameer Abdullah RB OH 5.7 3 74
Joseph Carter DE CA 5.7 3 JC
Max Pirman LB OH 5.6 3 78
Daniel Davie S NE 5.5 3 75
Givens Price OL TX 5.5 3 75
Taariq Allen WR TX 5.5 2 75
Mauro Bondi K FL 5.4 2 79

Aaryn Bouzos drops the Huskers for Air Force. Nebraska responds by snagging defensive end Joseph Carter and kicker Mauro Bondi (the latter of whom ESPN gives a ludicrous 79 rating).

#4 Michigan State - 20 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Lawrence Thomas LB MI 5.9 5 80
Brandon Clemons OL PA 5.8 3 76
Donavon Clark OL OH 5.7 4 78
Darien Harris LB MD 5.7 3 79
Juwan Caesar WR FL 5.7 3 79
Taiwan Jones LB MI 5.7 3 78
Roger Williamson CB OH 5.7 3 78
AJ Sims CB GA 5.7 3 78
Ed Davis LB MI 5.7 3 77
Arjen Colquhoun S ON 5.7 3 76
Connor Cook QB OH 5.7 2 76
Onaje Miller RB MI 5.6 4 78
Joel Heath DE OH 5.6 4 76
Jack Allen OL IL 5.6 3 78
Nick Ramondo DT GA 5.6 3 77
Shilique Calhoun DE NJ 5.5 3 77
Mark Scarpinato DT WI 5.5 3 76
Damon Knox DE MI 5.5 3 76
Trae Waynes CB WI 5.4 3 75
Paul Lang TE PA 5.4 3 68

Michigan State picks up a highly-rated offensive lineman in Brandon Clemons. I think their class could jump Nebraska's with another talented commit.

#5 Iowa - 20 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Jordan Walsh OL IL 5.8 4 79
Rodney Coe RB IL 5.8 4 79
Austin Blythe OL IA 5.8 3 79
Ray Hamilton TE OH 5.8 3 79
Quinton Alston LB PA 5.7 3 79
John Raymon DE PA 5.7 3 78
Mika'il McCall RB IL 5.7 3 77
Dan Heiar OL IA 5.7 2 JC
Torrey Campbell RB FL 5.6 3 78
Jake Rudock QB FL 5.6 3 78
Riley McMinn DE IL 5.6 3 77
Marcus Grant WR MA 5.6 3 76
Nick Law CB MD 5.5 4 77
Melvin Spears LB TX 5.5 3 79
Henry Krieger-Coble TE IA 5.5 3 78
Jacob Hillyer WR TX 5.5 3 76
Cole Fisher LB NE 5.5 3 74
Jake Duzey TE MI 5.5 3 73
Mike Orloff LB MA 5.5 2 70
Austin Vincent WR TX 5.4 3 73

No changes for Iowa.

#6 Wisconsin - 20 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Jake Keefer LB WI 5.8 4 78
Melvin Gordon RB WI 5.8 3 79
Austin Traylor DE OH 5.8 3 78
Sam Arneson TE WI 5.7 3 78
Jesse Hayes DE OH 5.7 3 78
James Adeyanju DE IL 5.7 3 77
AJ Jordan WR OH 5.6 3 79
Mike Caputo LB PA 5.6 3 77
Derek Watt LB WI 5.6 3 77
Eric Steffes TE WI 5.6 3 77
Austin Maly TE WI 5.6 3 76
Terrance Floyd CB FL 5.6 2 77
Devin Gaulden CB FL 5.5 3 78
Ray Ball OL OH 5.5 3 77
Jordan Frederick LB WI 5.5 3 75
Darius Hillary CB OH 5.5 3 75
Derek Landisch LB WI 5.5 3 74
Frederick Willis WR WI 5.5 3 NR
Tyler Marz OL MN 5.5 2 NR
Kenzel Doe WR NC 5.4 3 75

The Badgers are still waiting on ESPN to rate Frederick Willis and Tyler Marz.

#7 Michigan - 17 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Justice Hayes RB MI 5.9 4 79
Blake Countess CB MD 5.8 4 80
Brennen Beyer DE MI 5.8 4 79
Raymon Taylor CB MI 5.8 3 77
Chris Bryant OL IL 5.8 3 77
Kellen Jones LB TX 5.7 4 79
Antonio Poole LB OH 5.7 4 78
Delonte Hollowell CB MI 5.7 3 79
Chris Rock DE OH 5.6 3 78
Jack Miller OL OH 5.5 3 78
Tony Posada OL FL 5.5 3 78
Desmond Morgan LB MI 5.5 3 78
Russell Bellomy QB TX 5.5 3 78
Greg Brown CB OH 5.5 3 77
Keith Heitzman DE OH 5.5 3 75
Tamani Carter CB OH 5.5 3 74
Matt Wile K CA 5.3 NR 73

The Wolverines pick up commitments from Russell Bellomy, Antonio Poole, and the long-awaited Chris Bryant. With very similar averages to Penn State, they're pushed ahead of the Nittany Lions on the basis of having more commits.

#8 Penn State - 15 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Anthony Zettel DE MI 5.9 4 80
Bill Belton WR PA 5.8 4 80
Donovan Smith OL MD 5.8 4 79
Shawn Oakman DE PA 5.8 4 77
Deion Barnes DE PA 5.8 3 78
Angelo Mangiro OL NJ 5.7 4 81
Ben Kline LB PA 5.7 3 78
Ryan Nowicki OL AZ 5.7 3 77
Shyquan Pullium WR PA 5.6 3 74
Anthony Alosi OL NJ 5.6 2 70
Jordan Kerner DE PA 5.5 3 77
Allen Robinson WR MI 5.5 3 72
Kyle Carter TE DE 5.4 3 76
Matt Zanellato WR VA 5.3 4 76
Sam Ficken K PA 5.3 2 73

No change for the Nittany Lions. As mentioned above, they're passed by Michigan in this week's rankings.

#9 Illinois - 29 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Dondi Kirby S PA 5.8 3 79
Clint Tucker DT IL 5.7 3 79
Darrius Caldwell DE GA 5.7 3 79
Reilly O'Toole QB IL 5.7 3 76
Patrick Flavin OL IL 5.7 3 75
Matt LaCosse ATH IL 5.6 3 78
Zeph Grimes S SC 5.6 3 77
Chris Boles OL OH 5.6 3 77
Kenny Knight WR MI 5.6 3 76
Ralph Cooper LB SC 5.5 3 78
Josh Ferguson RB IL 5.5 3 75
Chris O'Connor DE IL 5.5 3 75
Donavonn Young RB TX 5.5 3 75
Scott McDowell OL IL 5.5 3 75
Tony Durkin OL IL 5.5 3 74
Ted Karras OL IN 5.5 2 77
Willie Beavers OL MI 5.5 2 76
Henry Dickinson LB TN 5.5 2 75
Jeremy Whitlow WR OH 5.5 2 74
Valdon Cooper CB GA 5.5 2 67
Nick North CB FL 5.4 3 76
Marquise Mosley WR TX 5.4 3 74
JT Thornton CB FL 5.4 2 77
Kenny Nelson DE MI 5.4 2 75
Daniel Rhodes TE NC 5.4 2 73
Justin DuVernois K FL 5.4 2 70
Hunter Wells OL IL 5.3 3 NR
Jordan Frysinger WR NY 5.3 2 73
Eaton Spence CB FL 5.3 2 NR

Illini add a couple more pieces to what will end up as easily the conference's largest recruiting class.

#10 Northwestern - 17 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Christian Jones WR TX 5.7 3 81
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
Deonte Gibson DE OH 5.6 3 76
Matt Frazier OL IL 5.6 3 75
Jordan Perkins RB CA 5.5 2 70
Max Chapman DE FL 5.6 2 78
Andrew Smith LB OH 5.5 3 78
Mark Szott TE IL 5.5 3 77
Geoff Mogus OL OH 5.5 3 75
CJ Robbins DE IL 5.5 3 75
Cameron Dickerson WR NJ 5.5 2 73
Xavier Youngblood WR TX 5.5 NR 76
Nick VanHoose DB OH 5.4 3 74
Treyvon Green RB TX 5.3 3 77

Northwestern picks up Deonte Gibson and Andrew Smith. The Wildcats get a little bump up in the rankings.

#11 Minnesota - 22 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Tommy Olson OL MN 5.7 3 79
Mike Moore LB TX 5.6 3 77
Peter Westerhaus TE MN 5.6 3 76
Quentin Gardener WR TX 5.6 3 76
Steven Montgomery WR FL 5.6 3 76
Max Shortell QB KS 5.6 3 74
Quinn Bauducco LB CA 5.6 3 74
Drew Goodger TE KS 5.6 2 74
Josh Campion OL VA 5.6 2 73
Drayquan Crawford S TX 5.6 2 JC
Kyle McAvoy OL IL 5.5 3 79
Luke McAvoy OL IL 5.5 3 75
Foster Bush OL WI 5.5 3 70
Jephete Matilus LB FL 5.5 2 77
Joe Bjorklund OL MN 5.5 2 75
Devin Crawford-Tufts WR MN 5.5 2 74
Grayson Levine S MN 5.5 2 73
Ge'Shun Harris WR CA 5.5 2 JC
Junior Osunde CB TX 5.5 2 JC
Wedley Estime DE FL 5.5 NR 75
Marcus Jones CB NC 5.4 2 74
John Rabe TE IA 5.4 2 JC

The newest Minnesota commit, Wedley Estime, is not even in Scout's database.

#12 Indiana - 15 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Zack Shaw LB OH 5.8 3 76
Cody Latimer WR OH 5.7 3 73
D'Angelo Roberts RB IN 5.6 3 77
Jake Reed TE IN 5.6 3 77
Tre Roberson QB IN 5.6 3 76
Ralston Evans OL IN 5.6 3 74
Forisse Hardin S KY 5.6 3 74
Bernard Taylor DT IN 5.5 3 76
Mark Murphy S OH 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
Jay McCants WR OH 5.4 3 75
Kenny Mullen CB IN 5.4 3 74
Mike Replogle LB OH 5.4 3 74

Indiana's class gets smaller as Donte Phillips is no longer a Hoosier. Class size drops them behind Minnesota and Northwestern.

#13 Purdue - 14 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Frankie Williams WR FL 5.7 3 77
Taylor Richards CB FL 5.6 3 77
Raheem Mostert WR FL 5.6 2 79
Robert Kugler TE PA 5.5 3 78
Armstead Williams LB PA 5.5 3 78
Brandon Cottom LB PA 5.5 3 76
Akeem Hunt RB GA 5.5 3 75
Michael Rouse DT IL 5.5 2 73
Randy Gregory DE IN NR 2 NR
Doug Gentry RB TX 5.5 2 76
Shane Mikesky WR IN 5.5 2 73
AJ King WR FL 5.5 2 75
Sterling Carter TE CA 5.4 2 JC
Akeem Shavers RB TX 5.4 2 JC

Some services are saying Armstead Williams is no longer committed to the Boilermakers, so keep an eye out for that next week.

Comments

DutchWolverine

January 30th, 2011 at 7:30 PM ^

Our average rankings aren't that bad.  Better than the three schools ahead of us.  Hopefully we can get a few more commits to get the numbers up and we will be right there with Neb.

Starko

January 30th, 2011 at 7:33 PM ^

I've always wondered how  you compare two teams with different numbers of recruits.  On one hand, it seems more important that you have a higher concentration of top players, but on the other hand, all other things being equal, and extra 3-star is a good thing.

I've always thought that just totalling points is a bad way to do it; a lot of schools could pile on more three stars if they wanted to.  I'm sure there's a way to do it using math, but i don't know much math.  I was thinking, maybe you take the smallest number of recruits that any team has (in this case 14), then take the top (in this case 14) players from each team and take the average ranking, with additional commits being a tie breaker. 

macuom

January 30th, 2011 at 7:45 PM ^

Michigan should easily be 4th according to these rankings, what is this?  Michigan is higher than Sparty in Scout and ESPN avg ratings, and barely below sparty in Rivals.  This makes absolutely ZERO sense to me.

The Borg

January 30th, 2011 at 8:59 PM ^

I suspect Tim will consider our angst regarding his rankings as first time poster nonsense, but the fact is I used to appreciate the insights provided by his blog postings, dating back to his pre-MGOBLOG affiliation. You can do better Tim, and you have a track record that proves it. Please seriously review your methodology and if it still makes sense to you, so be it. 

Tacopants

January 30th, 2011 at 11:35 PM ^

Well because Tim said that our theoretical class is below Wisconsin's, WE ARE DOOMED TO BE IN 7TH PLACE IN THE BIG TEN.

Until Tim publishes his BCS like algorithm, you can pick it apart for flaws.  Until then, it's just a good overall picture of the B1G + ND.  Subjectively, I think there's no way you can say that Michigan's class is shaping up better than Notre Dame or OSU.  Spots 3-8 are pretty much up for debate, then you clearly sink another tier starting with Illinois's parade of 3 and 2* recruits.

I mean, there's nothing completely insanely wrong with it, so lighten up.

Skunkeye

January 30th, 2011 at 7:48 PM ^

Seems like ND should be above OSU from looking at Rivals and ESPN rankings.  With Scout, OSU has the edge.  If you take into account all three, I'd say ND edges in front.

 

MI Expat NY

January 30th, 2011 at 10:35 PM ^

Rivals ranks based on their total points colum which takes into account each players rating as well as number of commitments.  I believe their formula values higher rated players more than a formula that simply averages ratings for all commitments.  Thus, Michigan gets many more points for having five guys rated 5.8 or above compared to State's two.  I also suspect that this explains why Iowa, with their four 5.8 rated players, is also above State.

Edit:  I don't know whose method is better (rival's complicated system or Tim's simple average, but I think when all is said and done, I wouldn't mind seeing a chart with all the big ten classes based on the respective recruting site's class rankings as opposed to simple averages.  I feel the rating sites probably are more adept at using their own individual ranking systems than someone on the outside.  Not that I don't appreciate Tim's effort.  Looking at all the individual player rankins is a great way to judge for yourself how teams are doing.

Tim

January 30th, 2011 at 8:26 PM ^

The rankings are mostly done on the eyeball test. There's no "fair" way to do it mathematically, because it's impossible to avoid over- or under-valuing commit numbers, depending on the different situations.

The Borg

January 30th, 2011 at 8:48 PM ^

So what you're saying is you have an ocular issue which skews your vision which results in a most nonsensical ranking. Come on Tim, exactly what's fair about your "eyeball test"? Frankly, your analysis doesn't pass the eyeball test. Combined with Brian's meltdown two weeks ago, this blog needs a serious vacation if it wants to be taken seriously again. Here's to hoping you will revisit whatever statistical tool(s) you use - beyond the reproachable eyeball test - and recognize it's not serving you well. How about recognizing that the three services you do use incorporate both qualitative and quantitative data in their analyses and then incorporate them properly into your rankings. There is no way any analyst worth a grain of salt could rank Michigan as low as you do, given the data from Scouts, Rivals and ESPN. 

somewittyname

January 30th, 2011 at 9:12 PM ^

are you so angry about this? This is not a science. To be really accurate someone would have to research exactly what each team needed and how the recruits fit their needs while taking into account rankings and total number of recruits. Besides, if Tim put us at dead last what would it matter? Make your own conclusions from the numbers. I don't see how you could come up with something much different. Move Michigan one spot up ahead of Wisconsin?

bronxblue

January 30th, 2011 at 8:26 PM ^

A nice little class here.  I long ago stopped caring how the rankings worked out because teams that pull in "nice" classes - looking at you, Zook - don't always translate to results on the field.  I just hope that the staff closes on one or two more big names and the class finishes around 20 kids.

Salinger

January 31st, 2011 at 8:30 AM ^

Other threads in the past few weeks have sung the praises of ND, so I won't go all the way there, but Brian Kelly is a pretty smart guy.  They did not play well at the start of last year, fair enough, but they are going to improve.  He has made every single school he's been at a better football program.  He will do the same for ND, I promise you that.  

teldar

January 30th, 2011 at 9:11 PM ^

New screen names apparently need to be banned. We have 3 newbies who come on simply to complain about Tim's work. Too bad the point system is currently broken.

turd ferguson

January 30th, 2011 at 10:58 PM ^

first off, tim, thanks for doing this.  it's always nice to see all of the big sites' rankings together like this.



for what it's worth, though, i think there are major problems with the way you're using averages.  (i've always thought this, but since people are talking about it now, why not?)  for example, consider what would happen if a team signed rivals' top player in the country (DE jadeveon clowney), top fullback in the country (hunter joyer), and top kicker in the country (taylor bertolet).  clowney has a 6.1 from rivals, joyer has a 5.7, and bertolet has a 5.5.  if those were the only three guys in your class, you'd have a mean of 5.77, which, while good, wouldn't come close to representing what a stellar group you've assembled.



it's not just about positions, either.  let's say a team grabs the #1 QB in the country (jeff driskel; 6.0) and a three-star QB it happens to really like (say russell bellomy; 5.5).  then you're looking at a 5.75 rating for its QBs, which again doesn't come close to accurately representing the quality of the class at that position.



i'd have to think some more about a better way to do this (e.g., placing more weight on highly rated guys or on top guys at their positions), but there must be a way.