2011 Recruiting

New Michigan commit(s), and this bad boy hits the front page. It was a hectic Signing Day in the Big Ten, so all the action won't be listed here. Last rankings. Barring any unforeseen developments, this will be the last set of rankings for the 2011 class. New rankings:

Big Ten+ Recruiting Class Rankings
Rank School # Commits Rivals Avg Scout Avg ESPN Avg
1 Ohio State 24 5.75 3.71 78.96
2 Notre Dame 23 5.75 3.61 79.09
3 Nebraska 19 5.72 3.42 78.47**
4 Michigan State 21 5.64 3.19 76.80*
5 Michigan 20 5.63 3.30 77.45
6 Iowa 23 5.57 3.00 73.09*
7 Wisconsin 20 5.58 2.85 72.15
8 Penn State 16 5.61 3.25 76.50
9 Illinois 27 5.54 2.70 73.37
10 Northwestern 17 5.54 2.88 76.59
11 Minnesota 22 5.53 2.45 66.26***
12 Indiana 20 5.50 2.62 69.48
13 Purdue 15 5.47 2.60 71.17***

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 - 24 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Curtis Grant LB VA 6.1 5 81
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
Cardale Jones QB OH 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

Ohio State takes the recruiting crown with a good-sized cass of quality players. They're slightly behind Notre Dame in ESPN average, but a big part of that is having a long snapper commit. It sounds like OH OL Chris Carter will sign with Ohio State after all, so I've left him in the chart.

#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
Troy Niklas OL CA 5.8 4 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
Jalen Brown CB TX 5.5 3 78
Matthias Farley CB NC 5.5 3 77
Kyle Brindza K MI 5.4 3 79

The Irish picked up Troy Niklas on Signing Day.

#3 Nebraska - 19 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Aaron Green RB FL 5.9 5 85
Tyler Moore OL FL 5.9 4 78
Todd Peat DT AZ 5.8 4 79
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

The Huskers' class is a small-ish but solid one. A couple of their signees might play minor league baseball instead of enrolling at school.

#4 Michigan State - 21 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
Fou Fonuti DT CA 5.7 3 JC
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's class is high-variance, with a couple highly rated guys (though 5 stars for Lawrence Thomas is an exaggeration for sure), and some low-end guys as well. I have Sparty just a hair ahead of their in-state rivals, and the extra commit for MSU was the tiebreaker.

#5 Michigan - 20 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
Chris Barnett TE TX 5.8 4 78
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
Frank Clark LB OH 5.6 3 77
Thomas Rawls RB MI 5.6 3 76
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 3 73

Wolverines picked up a few new commits, including a big time tight end in Chris Barnett. However, they also missed on a couple prospects of need in MI OL Jake Fisher (Oregon) and MD DT Darian Cooper (Iowa).

#6 Iowa - 23 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
Darian Cooper DT MD 5.7 4 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
Jordan Lomax CB MD 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
Jordan Canzeri RB NY 5.2 3 NR
Marcus Collins LB PA 5.2 2 NR
Damon Bullock RB TX 5.2 2 NR

Iowa dropped a couple commits and picked up a couple new ones on Signing Day. The headliner among newcomers is MD DT Darian Cooper.

#7 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
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
Nate Hammon QB WI 5.2 NR NR

An okay class for Wisconsin, but nothing special. [Ed-M: Hello, I'm Wisconsin.] As usual, success in Madison will be based upon developing the 3-star types.

#8 Penn State - 16 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
Adrian Amos S MD 5.5 3 76
Kyle Carter TE DE 5.4 3 76
Matt Zanellato WR VA 5.3 4 76
Sam Ficken K PA 5.3 2 73

A small class for the Nittany Lions. It's got a couple top-end guys, but top-to-bottom is just okay.

#9 Illinois - 27 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Dondi Kirby S PA 5.8 3 79
Jon Davis TE KY 5.7 4 80
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
Chris Jones DT FL 5.5 3 NR
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
Kenny Nelson DE MI 5.4 2 75
Justin DuVernois K FL 5.4 2 70
Jordan Frysinger WR NY 5.3 2 73
Eaton Spence CB FL 5.3 2 NR

An enormous class for Ron Zook. Can quantity trump quality and help Zook win enough games to stick around another couple years?

#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 2 76
Nick VanHoose DB OH 5.4 3 74
Treyvon Green RB TX 5.3 3 77

Northwestern has their traditional small recruiting class. They're likely to redshirt most of these guys, and focus on development in the system.

#11 Minnesota - 22 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Tommy Olson OL MN 5.7 3 79
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
Michael Amaefula DE TX 5.5 3 NR
Jephete Matilus LB FL 5.5 2 77
Grayson Levine S MN 5.5 2 73
Joe Bjorklund OL MN 5.5 2 75
Ge'Shun Harris WR CA 5.5 2 JC
Devin Crawford-Tufts WR MN 5.5 2 74
Marcus Jones CB NC 5.4 2 74
Thieran Cockran DE FL 5.4 2 NR
Derrick Wells CB FL 5.4 2 NR
John Rabe TE IA 5.4 2 JC

I am wholly unimpressed by Minnesota's recruiting class, a hybrid of Tim Brewster and Jerry Kill. They have more JuCo guys than any other school, and a number of guys they have to hope pan out as sleepers. Note former Wolverine Tim McAvoy's brothers are bound for Minneapolis.

#12 Indiana - 21 Commits
Name Position State Rivals Scout ESPN
Zack Shaw LB OH 5.8 3 76
Shane Wynn WR OH 5.7 3 79
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 MI 5.5 3 76
Mark Murphy S OH 5.5 3 75
Nick Stoner S IN 5.5 3 74
Michael Hunter CB LA 5.5 3 74
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
Peyton Eckert OL IL 5.4 3 75
Gregory Lewis OL FL 5.4 2 NR
Bobby Richardson DT FL 5.4 2 NR
David Kaminsky OL OH 5.2 2 NR
Adarius Rayner DT FL 5.2 NR NR

Indiana loads up on the lines on Signing Day.

#13 Purdue - 15 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
Sterling Carter TE CA 5.4 2 JC
Akeem Shavers RB TX 5.4 2 JC
Kaulana Judd LB CA 5.2 2 JC
Jalani Phillips LB GA 5.2 2 NR

No sugarcoat, this is a terrible recruiting class. It could spell the beginning of the end for Danny Hope.

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.

As usual, new commit means we hit the front page. Action since last rankings:

12-19-10 Iowa loses commitment from Mika'il McCall (false alarm from the recruiting sites).

12-20-10 Illinois gains commitments from Dondi Kirby and Kenny Nelson. Minnesota gains commitments from Grayson Levine and Marcus Jones. Nebraska loses commitment from Tevin Mitchell. Wisconsin gains commitment from Devin Gaulden.

12-22-10 Illinois loses commitment from Tyler Marcordes.

12-24 Michigan gains commitment from Matt Goudis. Minnesota gains commitment from Drayquan Crawford.

Big Ten+ Recruiting Class Rankings
Rank School # Commits Rivals Avg Scout Avg ESPN Avg
1 Ohio State 19 5.76 3.79 79.26
2 Notre Dame 19 5.68 3.47 78.68
3 Nebraska 17 5.69 3.35 78.50*
4 Michigan 15 5.65 3.40 78.40
5 Michigan State 16 5.64 3.25 76.69
6 Wisconsin 20 5.60 2.85 73.75
7 Iowa 18 5.58 2.83 74.82*
8 Illinois 24 5.48 2.50 71.83
9 Indiana 18 5.53 2.67 75.22
10 Northwestern 13 5.54 2.77 76.69
11 Minnesota 18 5.50 2.39 69.71*
12 Penn State 8 5.50 3.13 75.86
13 Purdue 12 5.46 2.17 72.60*

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.