At long last, ESPN released their 2014 rankings, which means I no longer have an excuse to not put this together. With a new recruiting cycle comes some changes to the rankings:
- Between the addition of two teams (Rutgers and Maryland) to these rankings in the past year, the Irish falling off the schedule after 2014, and reading the same damn comment every week, it's settled... to hell with Notre Dame.
- Gone is the rudimentary points system. In its place, I'm using the 247 Composite Rankings, which combines data from all four recruiting services into, well, composite rankings. This not only gives an unbiased and comprehensive overview of each team's standing in the conference, but by adding the national ranking we get an idea of where the teams stand in the bigger picture and where the largest gaps are between teams in the conference.
- Using the 247 Composite Rankings again, I've added columns in the top table for the number of five-, four-, and three-star prospects in each team's class.
If you've got any suggestions, please leave a comment or send me an email. Without further ado...
Chart? Chart:
| Big Ten+ Recruiting Class Rankings | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 247 Comp. Rank (Ovr) | School | # Commits | 5* | 4* | 3* | Rivals Avg | Scout Avg | 24/7 Avg | ESPN Avg | Avg Avg^ |
| 1 (6) | Michigan | 8 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 3.50 | 3.50 | 3.75 | 3.75 | 3.63 |
| 2 (9) | Ohio State | 7 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3.43 | 3.71 | 3.86 | 3.43 | 3.61 |
| 3 (18) | Rutgers | 8 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2.63 | 2.63 | 2.88 | 2.50 | 2.66 |
| 4 (19) | Penn State | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3.17 | 3.33 | 3.33 | 3.33 | 3.29 |
| 5 (20) | Michigan State | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3.17 | 3.33 | 3.50 | 3.00 | 3.25 |
| 6 (25) | Wisconsin | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3.50 | 4.00 | 3.75 | 3.50 | 3.69 |
| 7 (30) | Northwestern | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3.00 | 2.80 | 3.40 | 2.60 | 2.95 |
| 8 (39) | Iowa | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3.33 | 3.00 | 3.67 | 3.33 | 3.33 |
| 9 (46) | Minnesota | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.33 | 2.33 | 2.92 |
| 10 (48) | Illinois | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 2.67 | 2.92 |
| 11 (62) | Maryland | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.50 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 2.50 | 3.00 |
| 12 (72) | Nebraska | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 2.00 | 2.75 |
| 13 (74) | Purdue | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 2.50 |
| 14 (NR) | Indiana | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
^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 - 8 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | 24/7 | ESPN |
| 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 |
| Ian Bunting | TE | IL | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Juwann Bushell-Beatty | OT | NJ | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Wilton Speight | QB | VA | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Maurice Ways | WR | MI | 3 | 3 | 3 | NR |
Michigan debuts at the top after picking up three commits in the span of a week. With Drake Harris on the verge of five-star status on a couple of the sites and guys like Bunting, Bushell-Beatty, and Ways expected to get a bump in future rankings, their already-impressive star average (3.63) may go up soon.
| #2 Ohio State - 7 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | 24/7 | ESPN |
| Kyle Berger | LB | OH | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Damon Webb | CB | MI | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Kyle Trout | OL | OH | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Parris Campbell | RB | OH | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Sam Hubbard | LB | OH | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Marcelys Jones | OL | OH | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Dylan Thompson | DE | IL | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Interesting to note, considering the conversation surrounding both programs' recruiting strategy in the last year, that five of OSU's seven commits come from Ohio, while Michigan's eight commits hail from seven different states.
| #3 Rutgers - 8 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | 24/7 | ESPN |
| Joshua Hicks | RB | FL | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Justin Nelson | LB | NJ | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Sidney Gopre | LB | NJ | 3 | 3 | 3 | NR |
| David Njoku | WR | NJ | 3 | 3 | 3 | NR |
| Tyler Wiegers | QB | MI | 3 | 3 | 3 | NR |
| Zack Heeman | OL | NJ | NR | NR | 3 | 3 |
| Jacquis Webb | OL | NY | NR | NR | 3 | NR |
| Saquan Hampton | S | NJ | NR | NR | 2 | 3 |
As usual, Rutgers is building a solid but unspectacular class around local talent. Detroit Country Day QB Tyler Wiegers (you may know him as "hey, who's that guy throwing to Moe Ways?") could be an early sleeper pickup for them.
| #4 Penn State - 6 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | 24/7 | ESPN |
| Chris Godwin | WR | DE | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Troy Apke | WR | PA | 3 | 4 | 3 | NR |
| De'Andre Thompkins | WR | NC | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Troy Reeder | LB | DE | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Mark Allen | RB | MD | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Nick Scott | WR | VA | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Ditto for Penn State, though they should be able pack a little more quality into a smaller class.
| #5 Michigan State - 6 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | 24/7 | ESPN |
| Deon Drake | LB | MI | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Chris Durkin | QB | OH | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Byron Bullough | LB | MI | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Enoch Smith Jr. | DT | IL | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Chase Gianacakos | OL | IL | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Brian Allen | OL | IL | 3 | 3 | 3 | NR |
MSU is quietly setting the foundation for a decent class, and could get a boost from four-star Southfield DE Lawrence Marshall, who may decide soon and appears ticketed for East Lansing if he does.
| #6 Wisconsin - 4 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 |
| George Panos | OL | WI | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Conor Sheehy | DE | WI | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Clearly, Gary Anderson's staff has focused first and foremost on locking up top in-state talent, and in that regard they've done quite well.
| #7 Northwestern - 5 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | 24/7 | ESPN |
| Clayton Thorson | QB | IL | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Jordan Thomas | S | TX | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Cameron Queiro | LB | NJ | 3 | 3 | 3 | NR |
| Solomon Vault | RB | MD | 3 | NR | 3 | NR |
| Ben Oxley | OL | OH | NR | 3 | 3 | NR |
After getting four-star QB Matt Alviti in the 2013 class, Northwestern already has a four-star signal-caller in place for 2014 in Clayton Thorson.
| #8 Iowa - 3 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 |
| Lucas LeGrand | OL | IA | NR | NR | 3 | NR |
Like Wisconsin, except not as good.
| #9 Minnesota - 3 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | 24/7 | ESPN |
| Jeff Jones | RB | MN | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Dimonic McKinzy | QB | KS | 3 | 3 | 3 | NR |
| Steven Richardson | DT | IL | NR | NR | 3 | NR |
Dimonic McKinzy is your early frontrunner for Big Ten Recruit Name of the Year.
| #10 Illinois - 3 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | 24/7 | ESPN |
| Nick Allegretti | OL | IL | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Tito Odenigbo | DE | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Mike Dudek | WR | IL | 3 | 3 | 3 | NR |
Not a particularly strong start for Illinois, perhaps because there were legitimate calls for Tim Beckman's job after his disastrous 2-10 first season in Champaign.
| #11 Maryland - 2 Commits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | 24/7 | ESPN |
| William Ulmer | QB | DC | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Jared Cohen | OL | MD | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Slow start, but there's plenty of talent in the surrounding area to fill out a class.
| #12 Nebraska - 1 Commit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | 24/7 | ESPN |
| Luke Gifford | S | NE | 3 | 3 | 3 | NR |
Nebraska tends to make a late push in recruiting, and they'll undoubtedly move up from here over time.
| #13 Purdue - 1 Commit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | 24/7 | ESPN |
| Brandon Garner | LB | TX | 2 | NR | 3 | 3 |
Not a surprise that Purdue has a lone commit considering (1) they have a new coach and (2) it's Purdue.
#14 Indiana - 0 Commits
:-(