Big Ten Football Weekly Recruiting Roundup: Nebraska and Wisconsin Double Up

Every week here at The Big Ten Blog, we will update you on the latest commits, decommits and rumors in the recruiting world.

Commits

As reported last Thursday, Penn State landed 3-star linebacker Brandon Bell. Bell is a New Jersey prospect with offers from a good portion of the ACC and Big East, and if his size were a little more ideal (currently 6'1" and 224 pounds), he'd probably be more highly recruited. His skill level and athleticism aren't in doubt, though; check out the highlights below. Penn State got a good one.

As we mentioned on Monday, Wisconsin added two recruits, OL Hayden Biegel and WR Jazz Peavy. Biegel's recruitment is especially interesting, as he had offers from several other Big Ten programs. That Wisconsin beat the Big Ten for a lineman prospect isn't surprising, but it is worth noting that Wisconsin only gave Biegel a grayshirt offer, meaning he won't join the team until after the 2013 season.

Biegel didn't seem especially put off by that fact, acknowledging to the Wisconsin State Journal that he had to put weight on to play line at Wisconsin anyway (true), but if Wisconsin can beat the Big Ten in recruiting with grayshirt offers, the balance of power is shifting long-term here. 

As for Peavy, he's a tall, thin wideout from nearby Kenosha with room to fill out and speed to burn. His offer sheet wasn't great, according to Rivals, and his highlight video on Hudl.com shows better change of velocity than outright agility or precise route-running, but given time to develop, he could be a starter down the road.

Nebraska's class grows ever larger with the addition of long-snapper Gabriel Miller and, per KSFY, athlete Nathan Gerry. According to Stu Whitney of the Argus Leader, Gerry committed to Nebraska over Iowa, citing a better relationship with the coaches and the promise of playing safety.

Minnesota doubled its recruiting class in one fell swoop this week. Count von Count, you mind telling everyone what that brings Minnesota's commit count to now?

"One! Two! Two commits! Ah, ah, ah!"

Well, maybe this class is just a late bloomer. Anyway, Alex Mayes is now on board, per his Twitter feed; he's a 6'6", 275-pound road grader with the frame to easily top 300 pounds and be an anchor at tackle at this level. His offer sheet included Colorado, Kansas and Kansas State, and don't be surprised if more schools needing line help come calling late in the process.  

Decommits

Caleb Benenoch was a soft verbal to the Michigan State Spartans, but as his recruiting profile rose, so did the attention from other programs, and evidently, it proved too much for the Spartans to take, as Benenoch tweeted that a letter from MSU OL coach Mark Staten "broke [his] heart" before decommitting hours later, per 247Sports.com.

While Benenoch told 247Sports.com that Michigan State will continue to recruit him, the fact that the Michigan State coaches appeared to have set this split in motion leads us to believe that MSU's recruitment of Benenoch is effectively over.

News and Rumors

PA linebacker recruit (and former Ohio State commit) Alex Anzalone talked to Buckeye fan site Eleven Warriors and refuted reports that Notre Dame and Florida were in the lead for his services; he's still considering Ohio State, Penn State and other non-Big Ten schools.

It'd be a shame for Ohio State to permanently lose Anzalone over the Charles Eric Waugh situation, considering the school basically couldn't have handled it any better. But if the family still feels weirded out, there may just be nothing Ohio State can do to repair the situation. Let's hope it's not that bad, though.

Maryland, which has turned from "legitimate program" into "three-alarm dumpster fire" in 18 months under Randy Edsall, shocked the recruiting world by landing a pair of 4-star recruiting targets in teammates Yannick Ngakoue and Derwin Gray, per Victory Bell Rings. Penn State had been high on both, and while the Nittany Lions' class will still be third or so in the Big Ten, this development stings.

Michigan is holding a recruiting camp this week, per MGoBlog, even with its 2013 recruiting class nearly full. This is more for scouting the classes of 2014 and beyond, though, and a list of attendees accrued by Touch The Banner shows a litany of high-profile 2014 prospects. Keep an eye out for WR Corey Holmes (FL), CB Damon Webb (MI) and WR Dominique Booth (IN) to potentially get offers coming out of the camp.