Big Ten Recruiting Class Rankings 7-10-11
With more new Michigan commits, we're hitting the front page after a hiatus of a couple weeks. Action since last rankings:
7-5-11 Penn State loses commitment from Jarron Jones.
7-6-11 Minnesota gains commitment from Isaac Hayes.
7-7-11 Minnesota gains commitment from Dominic Twitty. Iowa gains commitment from Jaleel Johnson.
7-8-11 Michigan gains commitment from Jarrod Wilson.
Big Ten+ Recruiting Class Rankings | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | School | # Commits | Rivals Avg | Scout Avg | ESPN Avg | 24/7 Avg |
1 | Michigan | 18 | 3.50 | 3.56 | 3.33 | 3.56 |
2 | Notre Dame | 11 | 3.27 | 3.55 | 3.27 | 3.27 |
3 | Ohio State | 9 | 3.33 | 3.56 | 3.11 | 3.56 |
4 | Penn State | 10 | 3.10 | 2.70 | 3.20 | 3.00 |
5 | Michigan State | 10 | 3.10 | 3.10 | 3.00 | 3.20 |
6 | Wisconsin | 8 | 3.13 | 3.00 | 2.75 | 2.88 |
7 | Northwestern | 12 | 2.33 | 2.42 | 2.33 | 1.92 |
8 | Indiana | 11 | 2.18 | 2.45 | 2.45 | 2.18 |
9 | Minnesota | 12 | 2.08 | 2.08 | 2.36* | 1.92 |
10 | Nebraska | 5 | 3.40 | 3.60 | 3.20 | 3.80 |
11 | Iowa | 6 | 2.50 | 2.50 | 2.50 | 2.50 |
12 | Illinois | 4 | 2.50 | 3.00 | 2.25 | 2.50 |
13 | Purdue | 7 | 2.43 | 1.86 | 2.29 | 1.86 |
*ESPN doesn't rate JUCOs, so Isaac Fruechte is not included in Minnesota's average.
On to the full data, after the jump:
#1 Michigan - 18 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Royce Jenkins-Stone | LB | MI | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
James Ross | LB | MI | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Joe Bolden | LB | OH | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Terry Richardson | CB | MI | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Erik Magnuson | OL | CA | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Jarrod Wilson | S | OH | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Tom Strobel | DE | OH | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Pharaoh Brown | DE | OH | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Blake Bars | OL | TN | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Devin Funchess | TE | MI | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Mario Ojemudia | DE | MI | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Kaleb Ringer | LB | OH | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Matt Godin | DE | MI | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Ben Braden | OL | MI | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Anthony Standifer | CB | IL | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Caleb Stacey | OL | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Allen Gant | S | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
AJ Williams | TE | OH | 3 | 3 | NR | 3 |
Wolverines pick up highly-rated safety Jarrod Wilson. With the most commits and the best average by most services, they have far and away the best class to date.
#2 Notre Dame - 11 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Ronald Darby | CB | MD | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Tee Shepard | CB | CA | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Deontay Greenberry | WR | CA | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Taylor Decker | OL | OH | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
David Perkins | LB | IN | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Nick Baratti | S | TX | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Justin Ferguson | WR | FL | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Mark Harrell | OL | NC | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
CJ Prosise | S | VA | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
John Turner | S | IN | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Scott Daly | LS | IL | 2 | NR | NR | NR |
No change for the Irish.
#3 Ohio State - 9 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Bri'onte Dunn | RB | OH | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Joshua Perry | LB | OH | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Warren Ball | RB | OH | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
De'Van Bogard | S | OH | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Jacoby Boren | OL | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Frank Epitropoulos | WR | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Blake Thomas | TE | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Tyvis Powell | S | OH | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Najee Murray | CB | OH | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Buckeyes pass PSU due to losses by the Nittany Lions, not any gains of their own.
#4 Penn State - 10 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Camren Williams | LB | MA | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
JJ Denman | OL | PA | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Joey O'Connor | OL | CO | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Brent Wilkerson | DE | MD | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Jamil Pollard | DT | NJ | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Brian Gaia | OL | MD | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Anthony Stanko | OL | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Jesse James | TE | PA | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Derek Dowrey | DT | VA | NR | NR | 3 | NR |
Austin Johnson | OL | NJ | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Nittany Lions lose their top-rated commit Jarron Jones, which kills their averages. They're just about even with Wisconsin and Michigan State.
#5 Michigan State - 10 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Se'Von Pittman | DE | OH | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Benny McGowan | OL | OH | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Tyler O'Connor | QB | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Riley Bullough | LB | MI | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Zach Higgins | OL | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Jamal Lyles | LB | MI | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Josiah Price | TE | IN | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Nick Tompkins | RB | GA | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Kyle Kerrick | WR | PA | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Evan Jones | TE | OH | 3 | 3 | NR | 3 |
I put Michigan State past Wisconsin since their averages are higher on three services and they have more commits. HOWEVA, once the Badgers' commits are fully ranked, they'll probably fly back ahead of MSU.
#6 Wisconsin - 8 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Dan Voltz | OL | IL | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Vince Biegel | LB | WI | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Kyle Dodson | OL | OH | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Vonte Jackson | RB | WI | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Bart Houston | QB | CA | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Hugs Etienne | CB | CA | 3 | 2 | NR | NR |
Reggie Mitchell | CB | PA | 2 | NR | NR | NR |
Arthur Goldberg | DT | PA | NR | NR | 2 | NR |
Wisconsin pulls up the rear of the 3-way tie on the basis of fewest commits. They're upwardly mobile with a few "NR"s in the table.
#7 Northwestern - 12 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Adam DePietro | OL | PA | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Dean Lowry | DE | IL | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Kenton Playko | OL | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Jack Schwaba | TE | PA | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Ian Park | OL | PA | 3 | 3 | 3 | NR |
Malin Jones | RB | IL | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Eric Olson | OL | MA | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Connor Mahoney | OL | PA | 2 | 3 | 3 | NR |
Joseph Jones | S | PA | 2 | 2 | NR | NR |
Dan Vitale | S | IL | NR | 2 | 2 | NR |
Mike McHugh | WR | PA | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Chris Fitzpatrick | OL | KY | NR | NR | NR | NR |
There's some disagreement across the recruiting sites (primarily on the part of 24/7 Sports, which you'll see is a bit of a theme) on Northwestern's commit list. Once the new kid on the block gets their act together, the averages will look better.
#8 Indiana - 11 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Nick Mangieri | DE | IL | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Dan Feeney | OL | IL | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Jordan Wallace | LB | IN | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Kevin Davis | WR | IN | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Mike Cotton | LB | IL | 3 | 3 | 3 | NR |
Adam Kranda | TE | IN | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Jacob Bailey | OL | IN | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Tanner Kearns | TE | OH | NR | 3 | 2 | NR |
Alex Todd | OL | OH | NR | 2 | 2 | NR |
Caleb Cornett | WR | IN | NR | NR | NR | 2 |
Dawson Fletcher | S | OH | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Hoosiers picked up steam after a slow start.
#9 Minnesota - 12 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Andre McDonald | WR | MN | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Isaac Hayes | OL | MN | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Philip Nelson | QB | MN | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Dinero Moss | S | FL | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Dominic Twitty | DT | NJ | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Drew Davis | LB | NC | 2 | 2 | 3 | NR |
Maxx Williams | TE | MN | NR | 3 | NR | NR |
Josh Ballesteros | LB | FL | NR | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Scott Ekpe | DT | TX | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Isaac Fruechte | WR | MN | NR | 2 | JC | NR |
Eric Murray | CB | WI | 2 | NR | NR | NR |
Mitch Leidner | QB | MN | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Minnesota's commit list is totally different across the four recruiting sites. Also, 24/7 Sports hasn't a clue what they're doing.
#10 Nebraska - 5 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Paul Thurston | OL | CO | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Greg McMullen | DE | OH | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Michael Rose | LB | MO | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Jordan Westerkamp | WR | IL | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Sam Cotton | TE | NE | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
I moved Nebraska down solely because they have so few commits compared to the schools ahead of them. It's likely they'll move up the list as they pick up more prospects.
#11 Iowa - 6 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Jaleel Johnson | DT | IL | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Maurice Fleming | CB | IL | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Cameron Wilson | WR | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Mitch Keppy | OL | IL | 3 | 2 | NR | NR |
Drew Ott | DE | NE | NR | 2 | NR | 3 |
Connor Kornbrath | K | WV | NR | NR | 2 | NR |
Hawkeyes light on the commits, but they did pick up a new headliner in Jaleel Johnson.
#12 Illinois - 4 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Tajarvis Fuller | LB | FL | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Elliot Faerber | WR | KS | 3 | 3 | 2 | NR |
Cody Quinn | CB | OH | 3 | 3 | NR | 3 |
Jason Robertson | WR | IL | NR | 3 | 3 | 3 |
No change for Illinois.
#13 Purdue - 7 Commits | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | State | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 24/7 |
Jordan Shine | S | IN | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Ryan Morris | TE | NJ | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Austin Appleby | QB | OH | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
BJ Knauf | WR | FL | 3 | NR | 2 | NR |
Paul Griggs | K | NC | 2 | NR | 3 | NR |
Thomas Meadows | K | VA | 2 | NR | NR | NR |
Steffon Martin | LB | AZ | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Purdue is hurt by having lots of unrated guys, and also two kicking specialists early in the class. They have a commit list that is radically different across recruiting services, as well. Scout is the incompetent premium site in Purdue's case.
You say 24/7 doesn't have a clue what they're doing, but they're ratings don't strike me as being that different from the other services. It seems that there's just a few more guys that they haven't gotten around to rating. I suspect thay by fall they will have most of this sorted out. Also, speaking of 24/7, I know they, along with ESPN rate their players out of 100, while Rivals rates their players out of 6.2 or something weird. I wouldn't mind seeing these averages as well. But thanks, as always Tim! It's good to see just how clearly Michigan is dominating.
It's not as much the rankings (or lack thereof) for specific prospects - that's to be expected. The problems are more along the lines of their not having the first fucking clue about who is committed to certain schools.
Looking good, I like that the averages are going up too!
On a side note, does anyone else think Ohio State recruited Frank Epitropoulos just for his name? It seems like too much of a coincidence that as soon as Sanzenbacher graduated, they bring this guy in.
Watch his highlight tape. He is a very good player; Big Ten caliber.
It's nice to see how universally the ratings for this class are high. It confirms what we all believe.
As a point of comparison, last year on Scout, USC had a 26 member class with an average of 3.50 and they were ranked fourth overall. Florida State had a 26 member class with an average of 3.65 and they were second overall. And Auburn had a 25 member class with an average of 3.76 and they were number one overall.
It looks like, if we finish with a 26 member class filled with some of the remaining targets on our board, we will be in the top five (assuming our current players remain committed and don't slip in the rankings). What a nice way to start the new regime!
Not only that, but it's possible that guys like Braden, Standifer and/or Pharaoh Brown get a 4th star on Scout since they're pretty close and are guys who seem to be on the up and up. A few guys getting an extra star would make a huge difference in your average as well.
EDIT: To clear up the math: Every extra star a prospect gets raises our star average by .04 for a class of 25.
Looking good for us! Also I don't really understand the hate for 24/7...
I don't understand the hate for 247 either, I actually like that site the most at this point.
EDIT: I understand why Tim gets frustrated with 247 because he's calculating averages and it's harder to do that when a site has a handful of unrated guys. However, if you look at who they haven't rated, it's almost always guys that other sites haven't rated either (rarely are they the only site not to rate a guy) and if other sites have rated him, it's usually a 2 star. So it's not like 247 is missing on any of the guys whose rankings are important.
Maybe a NR should go into the system, by default, as a 2 star, since nobody is ranked lower than that, and if they aren't ranked at this point, they won't be more than one star higher than that anyway. That will help preserve the averages for the schools with NR players.
Although I'm used to seeing this by now, could you imagine being say... a Wisconsin fan and comparing these recruiting classes. I would be quite sad. Now that we have our bases covered I'm looking forward to some 4* WRs and top flight recruits like Diamond, Kalis, Wormley, Pipkins, etc. to wrap this class up and put a bow on it.
shut yo mouth!
I'm just talking bout Shaft.
Great pick-up for Minnesota...Isaac Hayes will bring some serious street cred to the Gophers.
I haven't been paying attention to much recruiting thus far, do we have any 5*'s that could possibly end up in this already awesome class?
It depends on the service - Kalis and Diamond are both 5 stars on Scout and many feel good about our chances with those guys. Washington is a longer shot, but still a possibility and he's a 5 star on Scout as well. Bri'onte Dunn also has 5 stars on Scout.
Rivals, OTOH, doesn't give as many 5 stars out at the beginning, and then gives out more as the season goes. Magnuson and Kalis are both on the cusp of 5 stars on Rivals.
Shittu, who is still a possibility, is a 5 star.
Magnuson is borderline and could get bumped to 5 stars like Shittu did as well.
Kyle Kalis, an OSU decommit comes to mind. He's a 5-Star to Scout and the 18th best player nationally for Rivals. He's been high on UofM for a while.
I've thought of another way to look at rankings, and I'd be curious to see what the MGoCommunity thinks.
What about aggregating the rankings (by stars) for each service? My inspiration being ESPN and how they rank their fantasy football players each week based on the aggregate rankings of the experts.
For instance, Michigan would have the following ranks, based on the average stars of each commit from each of the seperate services:
- Rivals: (1)
- Scout: (2)
- ESPN: (1)
- 24/7: (2)
Giving Michigan an average aggregate ranking of 1.5. This would be best in the conferance, with Nebraska a close second with a 1.75 aggregate ranking. This aggregate measure does a good job of measuring recruit quality, but fails to account for class size. But over time, as the class sizes fill, this becomes less of an issue.
Thoughts?
Here's the entirety of the aggregate rankings, with aggregate average in parenthesis:
- Michigan (1.5)
- Nebraska (1.75)
- Ohio State (3)
- Notre Dame (3.5)
- Michigan State (5.5)
- Penn State (5.75)
- Wisconsin (6.25)
- Iowa (8.75)
- Illinois (8.75)
- Indiana (10)
- Northwestern (10.75)
- Minnesota (11.5)
- Purdue (12)
An even better way to rank the recruits would be on a point system where the number of stars from each service determines the recruit's point value. For instance, Ross would be worth 16 points since he is a 4-start recruit to all services (4+4+4+4), while Strobel would be worth 15 points since he is a 4-star to three services and a 3-star to one (4+4+4+3). This covers the issue of both quality and quantity simultaneously.
Magnuson would be our best bet for a move up from a 4 to a 5.
I never thought I would be able to say this, but we actually have a realistic chance for a top 5 class. At this point, I would even say it's probable. Keep it up, Hoke.
There really is a decent chance. To be a top 5 you have to have 5 star prospects. With scout, Kalis, Diamond, and Washington are all 5 stars already. Rivals has Kalis as the highest ranked 4 star in the nation (kind of like Dee Hart was last year until the end), and Magnuson has an outside shot at a fifth star. And the only three stars I see us taking at this point are if we take a FB, a QB, or we strike out on our receiver targets and take a lesser rated one. Good way to start the Hoke years.
Looks like Tim is going to have to update this post to include Kalis.
[Eric Cartman voice]
Sweet.
[/Eric Cartman voice]
Kalis
Kalis
Kalis
Kalis
Kalis
Kalis
I don't know how to input charts, but I real quick added Kalis to a copy-and-pasted chart and updated our averages, given that Kalis is a 4* per Rivals, 247, and ESPN and a 5* per Scout:
Rivals- 3.53 (before Kalis was 3.5)
Scout- 3.63 (3.56)
ESPN- 3.37 (3.33)
247- 3.58 (3.56)
so in your system probably wont grade out very high. I never thought using number of recruits as a ranking factor made much sense, but that's the way most do it.
Well, you're likely to see Nebraska's average stars stay very high, as they will be very picky about recruiting such a small class.
I wonder how much are averages are going to go up now that he committed.
thing is ESPN has us listed as having 20 verbal commits. Hey somebody do a reality check
not pay walled
They added Clark and Kalis to their list never mind
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