What the Big Ten's Recruiting Rise Means for College Football
Three years ago, Urban Meyer took the podium at Big Ten media day for the first time as Ohio State's head coach.
In retrospect, his words might wind up being prophetic.
Meyer was both a stranger and expected savior—not just for a Buckeyes team coming off its first losing season in 23 years, but a conference that was struggling to maintain national relevance. A two-time national champion at Florida, Meyer had played a key role in turning the SEC into the country's premier conference.
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And on that July 2012 afternoon in Chicago, reporters wanted to know how Meyer's new league could do the same.
"The SEC, the last few years, is kind of the kingpin with the success they've had in the BCS," Meyer said in response to a question about the perception of the Big Ten. "The one thing about college football, it's very cyclical. And the Big Ten for many, many years was without question the No. 1 conference in America. Right now, we're not, but there's a lot of coaches and players right now very intent on making it the best conference in America."
Some of the coaches have since changed and the Big Ten isn't quite there yet, but if the past six months have shown anything, it's that Meyer was offering more than just coachspeak at the time.
As first pointed out by Rivals.com recruiting analyst Marc Givler on Twitter, recent recruiting rankings prove as much, with the Big Ten laying claim to eight of the top 30 classes in Rivals' team rankings for the 2016 class.
The Big Ten's big showing holds true for the 247Sports.com composite rankings as well, where eight teams are also ranked in the top 30, including four in the top 14.
| Ohio State | 2 | 7 |
| Michigan State | 6 | 22 |
| Penn State | 12 | 14 |
| Michigan | 14 | 38 |
| Minnesota | 26 | 63 |
| Maryland | 27 | 48 |
| Nebraska | 28 | 31 |
| Northwestern | 30 | 53 |
| Rutgers | 42 | 56 |
| Iowa | 44 | 59 |
| Wisconsin | 49 | 35 |
| Illinois | 67 | 47 |
| Purdue | 71 | 65 |
| Indiana | 85 | 51 |
For comparison's sake, the Big Ten possessed just three top-30 classes in 2015, four in 2014, three in 2013 and two in 2012. In 2011, Ohio State's last pre-Meyer recruiting class, four Big Ten teams ranked in 247Sports' top 30, three of which were ranked 16th or lower with the Buckeyes touting the highest-ranked class in the league at No. 7.
There's still more than seven months to go until national signing day, but should the Big Ten maintain its momentum, 2016 could mark the conference's most impressive recruiting haul since 247Sports began keeping track of recruiting rankings in 1999.
Recruiting and on-field performance have always shared a reciprocal relationship, as it's hard to win without recruiting quality players and it's hard to recruit quality players without winning.
It's not quite like asking whether it was the chicken or the egg that came first, as wins on the field don't always result in victories on the recruiting trail, but it's hard to ignore the success that a strong recruiting showing can bring.
For proof, one must look no further than the Buckeyes, who bounced back from their losing campaign in 2011 to reel off a 38-3 record in their first three years under Meyer, including last season's run to the national championship.
It's not a coincidence that Ohio State's first three classes under Meyer each ranked in the nation's top five, something that the three-time national champion head coach admitted he takes note of on a yearly basis.
"We do pay attention to that," Meyer said in 2013. "There is a correlation between how teams do, where your team is ranked, recruiting class is ranked."
If that's true—and further evidence presented by AthlonSports' Braden Gall would suggest it is—then the Big Ten could be in line for a historic run.
Not only are Ohio State (No. 2), Michigan State (No. 6), Penn State (No. 12), Michigan (No. 14), Minnesota (No. 26), Maryland (No. 27), Nebraska (No. 28) and Northwestern (No. 30) all on pace to add significant talent to their respective rosters next winter, but the reputation of the once-downtrodden league has already begun to shift.
The Buckeyes' run through the College Football Playoff has obviously played a big role in that process, which has also been aided by the Wolverines' hiring of Jim Harbaugh and major bowl wins for both the Spartans and Wisconsin in the past year.
Add in bowl wins for Rutgers and Penn State in 2014, and it appears the Big Ten's recent recruiting rise could help create a perfect storm of sustained success.
"There was a perception out there," Meyer said this past spring. "I’m a believer that there’s only one way to eliminate perception, and that’s to get better. I think Michigan State has done a lot to help the Big Ten Conference. They won the Rose Bowl the year before and then they won a big bowl game this year.
"I think Ohio State’s done our share. We did not win a bowl game [in 2013]. Wisconsin beating Auburn. Obviously it’s a one-year cycle and we've got to do this for a while, where the SEC had a seven-year cycle going. So there’s a lot of pressure on the Big Ten to keep it rolling because it certainly did help change the perception."
As Meyer mentioned, his new conference has still yet to recreate the magic that his old one did, when four SEC programs won every national title from 2006-2012.
But 2014 was certainly a start, and if the recruiting rankings are any indication, it could be the start of something special as the Big Ten continues to close the gap on the league that is still considered the country's best.
The Big Ten and the SEC? Comparisons between the two don't seem as laughable as they did just three years ago—especially not to the head coach who may have helped jump-start a dynasty in each.
"Oh, very comparable," Meyer said this spring of the Big Ten and SEC. "I think [the Big Ten East Division] is kind of ridiculous right now as far as the quality of teams in it. And you can see how they did in bowl games.
"And the future too, I see a bunch of good recruiting going on on our side of the conference as well."
In more ways than one, Meyer's not alone.
Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.
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