Big Ten Recruiting Class Rankings 1-23-11

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:

1-15-11 Michigan loses commitment from Jake Fisher. Illinois loses commitment from Carl Williams.

1-16-11 Indiana gains commitment from Bernard Taylor. Indiana loses commitment from Shafer Johnson.

1-17-11 Ohio State gains commitment from Ejuan Price. Notre Dame gains commitment from Chase Hounshell. Penn State gains commitment from Bill Belton. Illinois gains commitment from Eaton Spence.

1-18-11 Notre Dame loses commitment from Stephon Tuitt. Minnesota gains commitment from Steven Montgomery.

1-19-11 Notre Dame gains commitment from Stephon Tuitt. Michigan State gains commitment from Matthew Ramondo.

1-20-11 Penn State gains commitment from Deion Barnes. Minnesota loses commitment from Tamani Carter. Michigan gains commitment from Tamani Carter. Minnesota gains commitment from Joe Bjorklund. Nebraska gains commitment from Ameer Abdullah.

1-21-11 Indiana loses commitment from Jalen Schlachter. Michigan State gains commitment from Juwan Caesar.

1-22-11 Michigan gains commitments from Keith Heitzman, Raymon Taylor, and Matt Wile. Purdue gains commitment from Frankie Williams. Northwestern gains commitment from Jordan Perkins.

Big Ten+ Recruiting Class Rankings
Rank School # Commits Rivals Avg Scout Avg ESPN Avg
1 Ohio State 21 5.76 3.76 79.19
2 Notre Dame 23 5.73 3.57 78.96
3 Nebraska 17 5.71 3.41 78.25*
4 Michigan State 19 5.63 3.21 76.84
5 Iowa 20 5.62 3.05 76.79*
6 Wisconsin 20 5.60 2.95 73.75
7 Penn State 15 5.63 3.27 76.53
8 Michigan 14 5.61 3.14 77.43
9 Illinois 26 5.50 2.58 73.19
10 Indiana 16 5.54 2.88 75.13
11 Northwestern 15 5.54 2.87 76.53
12 Minnesota 21 5.54 2.48 69.94****
13 Purdue 14 5.51 2.57 73.58**

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).

Full data after the jump.

#1 Ohio State - 21 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

Buckeyes pick up linebacker Ejuan Price.

#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

Irish trade former Gator commit Chase Hounshell for Stephon Tuitt, then convince Tuitt to stay committed after all.

#3 Nebraska - 16 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
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
Aaryn Bouzos CB CA 5.4 2 76

Running Back Ameer Abdullah selects the Huskers.

#4 Michigan State - 19 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Lawrence Thomas LB MI 5.9 5 80
Donavon Clark OG 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

Spartans pick up defensive tackle Matt Ramondo.

#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, but updated rankings see them pass Wisconsin.

#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

No change.

#7 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

Nittany Lions pick up Pitt decommit Bill Beltonas well as instate DE Deion Barnes. Sam Ficken is now rated by all three services.

#8 Michigan - 14 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
Kellen Jones LB TX 5.7 4 79
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
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

Big week for the Wolverines, as they grab four new commits. Their numbers have gone up to a reasonable level, but averages have taken a hit. Those should also improve before Signing Day.

#9 Illinois - 26 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Dondi Kirby S PA 5.8 3 79
Clint Tucker DT IL 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
Henry Dickinson LB TN 5.5 2 75
Jeremy Whitlow WR OH 5.5 2 74
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 NR 73
Eaton Spence CB FL 5.3 NR NR

Illinois takes a big hit as Michigan and Penn State pass them on the basis of "quality over quantity." Illini lost LB commit Carl Williams this week, as well.

#10 Indiana - 16 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
Donte Phillips DE WI 5.4 3 74

I did quite a bit of searching to figure out who should and shouldn't be included as an Indiana commit, as there was a lot of disagreement among the recruiting services. I think the current list is just about right.

#11 Northwestern - 14 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
Matt Frazier OL IL 5.6 3 75
Jordan Perkins RB CA 5.5 2 70
Max Chapman DE FL 5.6 2 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

Wildcats grab running back Jordan Perkins. Their class is almost exactly the same as Indiana's, but I gave the Hoosiers the benefit of the ranking because they have one more commit, and a slightly better average to Scout (mostly because NU commit Xavier Youngblood is not ranked on that service).

#12 Minnesota - 21 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
Josh Campion OL VA 5.6 2 NR
Drew Goodger TE KS 5.6 2 NR
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
Devin Crawford-Tufts WR MN 5.5 2 74
Grayson Levine S MN 5.5 2 73
Joe Bjorklund OL MN 5.5 2 NR
Ge'Shun Harris WR CA 5.5 2 JC
Junior Osunde CB TX 5.5 2 JC
Marcus Jones CB NC 5.4 2 74
John Rabe TE IA 5.4 2 JC

Minnesota has a pretty big class, but it's also a really bad one, despite the numbers. The Gophers might see a mini-bump on ESPN when their final three commits are ranked.

#13 Purdue - 13 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Frankie Williams WR FL 5.7 3 77
Taylor Richards CB FL 5.6 3 77
Robert Kugler TE PA 5.5 3 78
Armstead Williams LB PA 5.5 3 78
Russell Bellomy QB TX 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 NR 75
Sterling Carter TE CA 5.4 2 JC
Akeem Shavers RB TX 5.4 NR JC

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

Comments