The 15 Worst College Football Recruiting Classes in the BCS Conferences

We've given you the best, now we'll give you the worst. 

Most college football fans who regularly follow the recruiting scene are probably aware of which schools rank among the top classes for 2011, but few can name the bottom dwellers that are way behind the pack. 

We're not talking about the Utah States, the Middle Tennessees, or the New Mexicos either—we're talking BCS conference teams.

It's easy to pick on the small schools that don't have the exposure or attraction that comes with playing in one of college football's six biggest conferences, so we'll leave them be in this analysis.

But that same mercy won't be given to the schools of the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and Pac-10.

Here are the 15 worst 2011 recruiting classes of the BCS conferences. 

15. Penn State

Commitments: Four

Penn State is actually the only school you'll find on this list that's been able to secure a single 4-star recruit so far. In fact, they've received commitments from two 4-star prospects, offensive guard Angelo Mangiro and defensive end Shawn Oakman.

But that's pretty much where their class begins and ends. For a school that produced the 10th ranked recruiting class in 2010, that's unacceptable. 

14. Duke

Commitments: 21

The Blue Devils find themselves near the end of the list rather than at the head due to numbers, but those same numbers could eventually be their doom when the 2011 recruiting season comes to a close.

Unlike the other programs on the list, they don't have a lot of room left to improve. So when you're class consists of six 3-star recruits, 14 2-star recruits, and a single unranked recruit, there's not too much to have hope for at Duke. 

13. Minnesota

Commitments: 13

Minnesota's class has a bright spot to it that could be of a lot of benefit to the team down the line. Quarterback Max Shortell is actually one of my favorite 3-star prospects, and he should be a great fit for this team. 

But there really isn't too much talent coming aboard with him when you consider that the remainder of the Gophers' 2011 class consists of five 3-star recruits, six 2-star recruits, and one unranked recruit. 

12. Purdue

Commitments: Five

Purdue has at least been consistent in its limited recruiting efforts to this point. All five of the Boilermakers' commitments have earned a 3-star grade, but the truth is, these players are borderline talents. 

Any of them could easily have been 2-star players, and none rank above 40th at their respective positions besides Robert Kugler, the No. 25 tight end. And if you follow recruiting well, you know it's much easier to rank in the top 25 at that position than pretty much any other. 

11. Wisconsin

Commitments: Eight

Wisconsin isn't known as a team that recruits well, but rather one that developed undervalued talent into quality players. But we're not here to predict how well the coaching staff will be able to maximize the talents of the Badgers class. 

There's a simple rule of thumb to recruiting. If a prospect receives less than a 3-star grade, it's very unlikely they become a star collegiate player. Considering only four of the Badgers eight prospects have a 3-star grade, the odds of finding a whole lot with this class are low. 

10. Syracuse

Commitments: 10

Believe it or not, Syracuse's 2011 recruiting class has actually improved dramatically over the last couple months. Before June 11, the Orange had just one recruit on the books, 2-star tight end Louie Addazio.

Since then he's been joined by three 3-star recruits, five other 2-star recruits, and two unranked recruits. That's still not good, but when you keep it relative to the Orange's situation through May, it's not really bad either. 

9. Oregon State

Commitments: Nine

It was close call between Oregon State and Syracuse for the No. 9 spot. Both schools have three 3-star prospects and six 2-star prospects committed for 2011, but the Orange have two unranked prospects compared to only one for the Beavers.

This isn't the best list, where a tie is decided by the best individual recruit. This is the worst list, so there's no point in arguing which middle of the pack recruit is better than another. Here, numbers matter more. 

8. South Florida

Commitments: Nine

Since bringing in the 25th ranked recruiting class in 2009, things have steadily gone downhill for South Florida on the recruiting trail. In 2010, the Bulls ranked 52nd, and so far, the outlook isn't good in 2011. 

South Florida has three 3-star recruits and six 2-star recruits committed to this point, and while there's still hope to land a few more middle-of-the-pack prospects, don't expect a sudden turnaround any time soon. 

7. Wake Forest

Commitments: Eight

Wake Forest didn't exactly have much success recruiting in 2010, ranking 62nd nationally. But they're actually off to a worse start this time around.

By this time last year, the Demon Deacons had seven 3-star recruits and four 2-star recruits. Their 2011 recruiting class consists of three 3-star prospects and five 2-star prospects. So at this point, the goal should be to at least match their production from last season. 

6. Arizona State

Commitments: Three

Now we're starting to get into the really nitty gritty stuff.

It's actually surprising to see Arizona State this high in the rankings after a very successful recruiting class in 2010. They ranked 26th in the country and brought in quite a few high-profile prospects. 

The going has been much tougher this time around though, with just two 3-star recruits and one 2-star recruit committed to the school for 2011. 

5. Iowa State

Commitments: Five

Iowa State is usually a team that gets going late in the recruiting process, essentially cleaning up the leftovers from the other programs of the Big 12. It's rare that their recruiting classes begin to take form before July, so we're pretty much at the time where things should pick up. 

At least that's the hope for the program considering right now they only have a single 3-star recruit, three 2-star recruits, and an unranked recruit committed to this point. 

4. Colorado

Commitments: Four

Luckily for the Buffaloes, their move to the Pac-10 should help pick up recruiting in the next couple of years. But it definitely hasn't taken effect yet if you examine their 2011 class as an indicator. 

Colorado's lone 3-star prospect is quarterback Brock Berglund, who actually has a decent amount of upside and potential. But join him with three 2-star prospects and call it a class, and you don't really have much to say for yourself. 

3. Connecticut

Commitments: Five

We've reached the end of 3-star prospects. Here in the top thee, we're dealing solely with 2-star and unranked prospects. 

You would've expected more from UConn considering they're a darkhorse to win the Big East and a team that generated a lot of positive press over the last few months. But it seems the high school kids haven't been hearing the same buzz us recruiting folks have. 

2. Vanderbilt

Commitments: Three

It should come as no surprise to many that Vanderbilt is in this position when you take into account that they place last in SEC recruiting year-in and year-out. The Commodores just simply aren't strong in the recruiting department. 

They'd been doing better the last few years, though. Going from 87th to 74th to 72nd to 54th over the last four seasons. But they look to be taking a step backwards in 2011, with just three 2-star recruits to make up their newest class.  

1. N.C. State

Commitments: Four

NC State is in unfamiliar territory right now. This is a school that generally ranks in the high 20's to low 50's in recruiting each year, but maybe the fact that they haven't had a winning season since 2005 is finally catching up with them. 

Right now, the Wolfpack would be lucky to rank in the top 100 2011 recruiting classes. To this point, they've only been able to secure commitments from two 2-star prospects and two unranked prospects.

This is shaping up to be the school's worst recruiting class in a very, very long time.