College Football Recruiting 2012: Power Ranking the Classes of the Big Ten

The Big Ten takes a ton of flack for being a slow and un-athletic conference. That's not entirely true. Good athletes come into the conference year-in and year-out, and now that Nebraska is here to stay, Big Ten football will be enhanced.

For this read, I'm going to dive into the power rankings of the Big Ten's recruiting classes. Who's tops in the Midwest right now?

Let's see.

No. 6 to No. 12

12. Illinois

Headliner: Mason Monheim, LB

11. Minnesota

Headliner: Jonah Pirsig, OT

10. Nebraska

Headliner: Tommy Armstrong, QB

9. Indiana

Headliner: Wes Rogers, OC

8. Iowa

Headliner: Greg Garmon, RB

7. Purdue

Headliner: Ryan Watson, OG

6. Penn State

Headliner: Eugene Lewis, WR

5. Michigan State

Mark Dantonio is fresh off a win over Georgia and is trying to finish strong. He did lose 4-star DE Se'von Pittman to Ohio State, though.

However, Sparty has 14 commitments, led by 4-star speedy WR Aaron Burbridge. At 6'1", 180 pounds, Burbridge is sure to be a prime deep threat in East Lansing.

4. Wisconsin

The Badgers are on my "teams that need to finish strong" list, but I have always maintained that I like their class. I just feel they need more depth.

Bret Bielema has 12 pledges and seven are 4-star prospects. OG Dan Voltz, QB Bart Houston and DB J.J. Singleton are the headliners. 

3. Northwestern

Shocking, isn't it? Well the Wildcats, much to the pleasure of Michael Wilbon, have one off the better overall classes in the Big Ten. NU has 20 commitments for 2012 and a clear-cut headliner.

Pat Fitzgerald shook up the conference by finding a way to convince uber-talented and mega-potential 4-star DE/OLB Ifeadi Odenigbo to spurn Ohio State, Northwestern and Stanford for the Wildcats.

2. Ohio State

Urban Meyer has led the Buckeyes' surge into the national Top 10 rankings, as it was iffy whether they'd be in the Top 25 before he was named coach. Meyer has gotten OSU to the 19-commitment level and has four 5-star prospects in the class.

Six other 4-star players are also committed. Headliners include 5-star DEs Noah Spence and Adolphus Washington, DT Tommy Schutt and RBs Warren Ball and Brionte Dunn.

1. Michigan

Brady Hoke has 24 commitments, and 14 of them are 4-stars or higher. This class should rest easy and still finish inside the Top 10. Michigan has the best incoming LB class and a slew of other top prospects.

OT Kyle Kalis, CB Terry Richardson, DE Tom Strobel, OT Erik Magnuson, TE Devin Funchess and DT Ondre Pipkins are other top-tier prospects. Michigan did very, very well this cycle.