Big Ten Football Weekly Recruiting Roundup: Score a Few for the Little Guys

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

This week, there wasn't a ton of action from the "big names" of the conference; traditional powerhouses Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska and Penn State all were quiet, as were reigning division champs Michigan State and Wisconsin.

Still, the Big Ten got some work done, as five of the remaining six programs notched at least one commitment over the past week.

Commits

Indiana's class is starting to take shape with the commitment of tight end Danny Friend from Morris (Ill.) Community High, per the Indiana Daily Student. Friend had offers from numerous mid-major programs as well as Minnesota and Purdue (but we repeat ourselves), plus apparently Oregon. He's a top-30 tight end on both Scout and Rivals and a solid 3-star prospect. Nice get for Indiana.

Iowa also added a tight end, securing a verbal from Dowling Catholic (West Des Moines, Iowa) QB/TE Jon Wisnieski, per the Des Moines Register. Wisnieski is 6'5" and 215 pounds, which fits the mold of athlete that Iowa likes to bring in. He probably projects as a 240-pound TE, although depending on how much weight he can put on, DE and even OT aren't totally out of the question.

Minnesota beefed up its defensive interior by getting a verbal from junior college DT Jordan Hinojosa, per Scout.com. Hinojosa had committed to Minnesota two years ago, but couldn't qualify; he looks to be good on that front now. Miami (Fla.) and Penn State both offered Hinojosa this time around, but evidently true love waits. Minnesota will need Hinojosa's presence up front as it seeks to replace Ra'Shede Hageman next year.

A pair of linebackers in Brett Walsh and Anthony Walker Jr. committed to Northwestern this week, per Lake The Posts. Walker was a longtime Northwestern lean, especially without a better offer out there (no offense, Buffalo), and Northwestern was the best team to offer Walsh as well. Both linebackers are smallish (~205 pounds) 3-star prospects with good speed and tackling instincts, and should project as starters down the road. 

Purdue also picked up a pair of commitments. Per the Huntsville Times, DE Parker Cothren committed on Tuesday. He's a big body with a big motor, though his offer list was rather stunted for someone who's that big, that productive (70 tackles) and that smart (4.0 GPA). Purdue beat out Tulane, Troy and a host of FCS schools for Cothren.

Also, wideout Myles Norwood of Arlington, Texas committed last Thursday, according to ESPN.com. Like Cothren, Norwood's offer list isn't outstanding and is mainly FCS-based, but he's got a good frame at 6'2" and 175 pounds and he's certainly fast enough to play ball. It is still just the middle of July, though, and plenty of productive BCS-level players didn't have more than one FBS offer by mid-July. So don't sweat the short offer sheets too much, Purdue fans.

Decommits

No decommits to speak of, though Michigan had a bit of a scare recently when lineman David Dawson became a little unclear as to what "committed" means and set up a visit to camp at Florida. The independent camps are fine, of course—Dawson looked good at the Rivals Five-Star Challenge and The Opening—but at other schools, no es bueno. Michigan's coaches put a stop to that and Dawson reaffirmed his commitment, and all is well in Ann Arbor.

News and Rumors

Michigan was put on "commit watch" recently by David Dawson, which led Brian at MGoBlog to believe that WR Laquon Treadwell was about to pull the trigger. That could also mean a 2014 prospect, of course—there are just a few more open spots there—but either way Michigan's got so few offers out there at this point that whoever's going to commit is probably going to be a pretty good one.

DT Devyn Salmon wants to commit to Michigan State without visiting, according to a Q&A with SpartanTailgate ($), but says he'd be "very hurt and disappointed" if Mark Dantonio wants Salmon to visit in September first. Word to Dantonio: "very hurt and disappointed" usually doesn't stick around two more months in the recruiting process.

WR/S Taivon Jacobs is set to choose between Ohio State, West Virginia and Maryland on Thursday, per Rivals.com ($). Alex at Eleven Warriors doesn't have a sense of where this commitment's going to go, which probably doesn't bode well for the Buckeyes. Also, hang on: is Randy Edsall really getting the job done recruiting at Maryland? What's going on here?