Big Ten Recruiting: Where Each School Stands Ahead of National Signing Day
On Wednesday, college football fans can come out from hibernation and enjoy all-day coverage of national signing day and see where the top recruits in the nation will play next season and beyond.
For the Big Ten, a good showing on Wednesday could go a long way in terms of the conference's reputation after poor showings from Michigan State and Iowa in the New Year's Six bowl games, along with a 5-5 overall bowl record for the conference to end last season.
However, the B1G is really starting to make waves with Urban Meyer's dominance at Ohio State and Michigan hiring former Wolverines quarterback Jim Harbaugh to take the helm in Ann Arbor.
Meyer's Buckeyes defeated national power Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, while Harbaugh's Wolverines crushed Florida in the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Day and finished off a wonderful 10-3 season with a couple of tight losses along the way.
With the next crop of blue-chip prospects awaiting to announce their future intentions, here's a full look for each school in the Big Ten before national signing day.
Michigan State Spartans
1 of 14
Last Season: 12-2 (7-1), lost to Alabama in Cotton Bowl
2015 Recruiting Class: 20 total recruits, 22nd in Rivals.com rankings
The reigning Big Ten champions are in position to keep their success going, despite losing starting quarterback Connor Cook.
There's a lot to be settled, but Michigan State ranks 10th on the Rivals.com rankings board for 2016 with 20 total recruits so far.
There are no 5-star recruits as of now with the Spartans, but they do have 11 4-star recruits coming to East Lansing next season, including Messiah deWeaver, a 6'4", 215-pound quarterback from Huber Heights, Ohio.
It's never been the quantity of players at Michigan State. It's been the quality of players who have played for head coach Mark Dantonio.
Sporting News named Michigan State the "biggest overachiever" in terms of recruiting since 2012. The Spartans haven't had a class ranked higher than 22nd in that time frame and have finished No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6 the past three seasons.
From Joe Rexrode of the Detroit Free Press:
"Dantonio and his staff are still making a run at a few prospects in the late stages. MSU gave Detroit Cass Tech lineman and longtime Michigan commitment Michael Onwenu a late offer and got him to visit. He has set an announcement for tonight.
Detroit King cornerback Lavert Hill will decide Wednesday between MSU, U-M and Penn State. Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy defensive end/offensive tackle Prince Sammons will choose between MSU and Auburn. Philadelphia Charter Prep defensive end Karamo Dioubate has MSU, Temple, Ohio State and South Carolina in pursuit.
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Ohio State Buckeyes
2 of 14
Last Season: 12-1 (7-1), def. Notre Dame in Fiesta Bowl
2015 Recruiting Class: 27 total recruits, ninth in Rivals.com rankings
Like many of the premier programs across college football, the Ohio State Buckeyes don't rebuild.
They reload.
And that's exactly what they're doing in year five of Meyer's tenure.
According to the rankings at Rivals, the Buckeyes have the top class in the country with 23 signees, including 5-star recruits Nick Bosa—the younger brother of Joey Bosa—and linebacker Keandre Jones from Olney, Maryland.
Since Meyer arrived in Columbus, the Buckeyes have had a top-10 recruiting class (according to Rivals) every year since they hired Meyer at the end of the 2011 season.
As for this class, the Buckeyes are in the running for a number of the top uncommitted recruits, including ESPN's top overall prospect Rashan Gary. The 6'4", 286-pound defensive tackle from Paramus, New Jersey, is getting interest from Clemson, Auburn, Ole Miss, the Buckeyes and Ohio State's biggest rival, Michigan.
From Matt Brown of SB Nation's Land-Grant Holy Land on whether or not OSU's archrival can pass it in the recruiting rankings:
"Michigan is also a possibility, mostly because it appears they can take several more players than Ohio State. The fluidity of their recruiting class makes things a little hard to predict (they could still see some decommits), but the Wolverines are still the odds on favorite to land the top ranked player in the country, Rashan Gary. I'm not sure Michigan is likely to pass Ohio State unless the Buckeyes fail to sign any other blue chip players and the Wolverines sign Gary and get to 28-ish kids in their class, but it could happen.
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Michigan Wolverines
3 of 14
Last Season: 10-3 (6-2), def. Florida in Citrus Bowl
2015 Recruiting Class: 14 total recruits, 50th in Rivals.com rankings
Speaking of those Wolverines, what's that Harbaugh guy up to nowadays?
Other than inviting Ric Flair, Derek Jeter, Migos and Tom Brady to Michigan's recruiting party, not a whole lot.
Harbaugh has made some negative headlines for some decommitments leading into national signing day and recruiting tactics, but the second-year coach hasn't hid from the reports.
"We're very much out there, we don't hide how we operate and with what we do," Harbaugh said, per Nick Baumgardner of MLive Media Group. "It's a meritocracy. In everything we do in our program. It's going to continue to be that."
Despite some rumblings of his style, Harbaugh's program is trending nowhere but up heading into year two. The Wolverines have Rivals' fifth-ranked class heading into Wednesday and are one of the legitimate players (Clemson being the other) in the Rashan Gary sweepstakes.
Gary's mother, Jennifer Coney, reportedly told Brian Dohn of Scout.com that Gary will choose either Clemson or Michigan on Wednesday.
Hail to the recruiting ranking champions?
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Iowa Hawkeyes
4 of 14
Last Season: 12-2 (8-0), lost to Stanford in Rose Bowl
2015 Recruiting Class: 21 total recruits, 59th in Rivals.com rankings
It's probably tough for Hawkeyes fans to think about football still.
Iowa got the full Christian McCaffrey experience on one of the main stages of college football, as Stanford embarrassed it in the Rose Bowl after the Hawkeyes' superb season in the Big Ten West.
But Iowa got some good news after the 45-16 loss to the Cardinal.
All-American cornerback Desmond King announced he would return for his senior season, which makes the Iowa defense that much more dangerous in 2016.
As for this year's recruiting class, the Hawkeyes are pretty much done, racking up 24 total recruits.
Two of the premier recruits in this year's class are Kyle Taylor, a 6'2", 220-pound linebacker from Washington and 6'5" tight end Noah Fant from Omaha, Nebraska. Both players committed to the Hawkeyes last summer.
(Related to Hawkeyes football: SB Nation's Black Heart Gold Pants managing editor Adam Jacobi wrote a piece on the tragic death of former Iowa defensive back Tyler Sash and the findings of Sash's death from this past September. It's worth the read.)
Penn State Nittany Lions
5 of 14
Last Season: 7-6 (4-4), lost to Georgia in TaxSlayer Bowl
2015 Recruiting Class: 25 total recruits, 15th in Rivals.com rankings
Similar to a few other coaches on this list, Wednesday could go a long way in terms of which coaches keep and lose their jobs in the future.
James Franklin is on that list.
Franklin has led Penn State to back-to-back 7-6 seasons in his first two years in Happy Valley, but despite the issues of the past for the program, how long is Franklin's leash? He's 6-10 in the Big Ten in the two seasons.
But, heading into Wednesday, Franklin has a solid class lined up.
Franklin has signed six 4-star recruits, including Miles Sanders, a 5'11", 200-pound running back from Pittsburgh. The Nittany Lions are deep at the running back position with Saquon Barkley in line to get the bulk of the touches, but Sanders' ability as an all-purpose back piqued some interest across the country.
Greg Pickel of PennLive.com summed up this year's recruiting class for Franklin, the program and beyond:
"In less than 24 hours, Penn State will sign its latest crop of freshmen. How the class is viewed likely depends on whether one prefers to see the glass as half full or half empty.
It's a bit of a ridiculous notion, what with Penn State's class as it is currently comprised ranked No. 16 according to the 247Sports composite (a recruiting industry average), an average star-rating that would have it right on the heels of No. 6 Michigan with an equal number of commitments, and more four- and five-star players than four programs ahead of it nationally.
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Wisconsin Badgers
6 of 14
Last Season: 10-3 (6-2), def. USC in Holiday Bowl
2015 Recruiting Class: 20 total recruits, 37th in Rivals.com rankings
2015 wasn't the same Wisconsin that has finished near the top of the Big Ten in recent years, and the Badgers still won 10 games and beat USC (who had Rivals' top recruiting class in 2015) in their bowl game.
That's not a bad start for Paul Chryst heading into his second year at the helm in Madison.
Heading into Wednesday, the Badgers are riding just on the border of a top-30 class (according to Rivals) and have three 4-star hard commits, per 247Sports.
The group is led by Cole Van Lanen, a 6'5", 280-pound offensive lineman. At 247Sports, Lanen is the second-ranked player in the state of Wisconsin for this 2016 class.
The Badgers will have some competition in the Big Ten West with Iowa and Northwestern, but Wisconsin appears to be gaining some of that old momentum back from the Bret Bielema era.
Minnesota Golden Gophers
7 of 14
Last Season: 6-7 (2-6), def. Central Michigan in Quick Lane Bowl
2015 Recruiting Class: 24 total recruits, 52nd in Rivals.com rankings
2015 was a rough year for the Minnesota program in more ways than one.
Not only did Minnesota lose Jerry Kill to retirement, but the Gophers lost six of their eight Big Ten games.
But the Gophers took momentum into 2016 with a bowl win over MAC power Central Michigan and have two 4-star commits for this class.
Carter Coughlin, a 6'4", 220-pound linebacker from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and Dredrick Snelson, a 6'0" wide receiver from Pembroke Pines, Florida, have both committed to the Gophers.
On top of the incoming class, the Gophers wasted little time on locking up Kill's successor last season. Minnesota signed coach Tracy Claeys to a three-year deal, which appeared to be the right move after coaching the Gophers to two tough losses against Michigan and Ohio State in his first two games.
Northwestern Wildcats
8 of 14
Last Season: 10-3 (6-2), lost to Tennessee in Outback Bowl
2015 Recruiting Class: 20 total recruits, 56th in Rivals.com rankings
Northwestern got off to its usual start.
Through five weeks, the Wildcats were 5-0, including a win over eventual Pac-12 and Rose Bowl champ Stanford in their season opener.
Then, the wheels fell off in Ann Arbor in a 38-0 beatdown by the Wolverines and then in a 40-10 blowout the next week to Big Ten West champ Iowa.
However, the Wildcats would bounce back and win five straight games to end the season. The bowl game was a flashback to their midseason slump in a 45-6 decimation by Tennessee on New Year's Day, but the Wildcats still won 10 games for just the fourth time in program history.
Will that lead to a solid 2016 recruiting class?
The Wildcats only have one 4-star recruit, according to Rivals—Roderick Campbell, a cornerback from St. Louis, Missouri—but Pat Fitzgerald has done quite well without the blue-chip prospects coming to his program.
SB Nation's Josh Rosenblat of Inside NU had a really good breakdown of Northwestern's 2016 class, specifically on how Northwestern's lack of big names won't hurt the process.
Illinois Fighting Illini
9 of 14
Last Season: 5-7 (2-6)
2015 Recruiting Class: 24 total recruits, 46th in Rivals.com rankings
Has anyone committed to the Illini for 2016?
Anyone?
Bueller?
Believe it or not, the Illini have been on a roll in the last couple of days.
Illinois has received six verbal commitments since the start of February after losing four commits in a two-week span toward the end of January.
It's been tough on second-year head coach Bill Cubit since former Illini head coach Tim Beckman was fired just a week before the start of last season. Illinois fired Beckman because of the allegations that he pressured players to play while hurt, per Brian Bennett of ESPN.com.
On Monday, the Illini got arguably their best recruiting news of the entire process with the commitment of 3-star De'le Harding from Elkton, Maryland. Harding will be able to contribute in filling the void left by regular starting linebacker T.J. Neal, who had 109 total tackles last season.
Purdue Boilermakers
10 of 14
Last Season: 2-10 (1-7)
2015 Recruiting Class: 26 total recruits, 68th in Rivals.com rankings
Well, at least the basketball team is showing promise this season.
2015 was a nightmare for Purdue head coach Darrell Hazell and his Boilermakers, losing seven of their eight games on the Big Ten slate.
When your school resides in the state of Indiana, Notre Dame to the north or Indiana to the south will likely outdo you.
Winning over in-state recruits has been a problem for the Boilers, on top of losing 30 of 36 games under Hazell since he took over in 2013.
Hazell will likely be coaching for his job this season after Purdue announced he would return as head coach. He still has three years left on his deal. If Purdue fired Hazell after last season, the school would have owed him a buyout package of $6.6 million, per Jesse Temple of ESPN.com.
Purdue's struggles continued on the recruiting trail, signing just six 3-star recruits to this year's class, according to Rivals.
It's tough to recruit when you've won just five Big Ten games in the last four seasons.
Indiana Hoosiers
11 of 14
Last Season: 6-7 (2-6), lost to Duke in Pinstripe Bowl
2015 Recruiting Class: 22 total recruits, 49th in Rivals.com rankings
The 2015 season felt like a what-if season for the Indiana Hoosiers.
The Hoosiers started 4-0 and hosted Ohio State, Iowa and Michigan in Big Ten play.
They lost all three games by a combined 22 points, and that's not including a three-point home loss to Rutgers in a shootout and their heartbreaking loss to Duke in the Pinstripe Bowl on the final play of the game.
The Hoosiers have been one of those strange teams in the Big Ten that finds ways to compete with the best the conference has to offer and then loses to a team like Rutgers at home.
As for 2016, Indiana will look to shore up the defensive side of the ball. In 2015, only seven teams gave up more yards per game than the Hoosiers did.
Commitments like 3-star defensive tackle Jerome Johnson from Bassfield, Mississippi, should be able to help Kevin Wilson tighten things up on the defensive end. Johnson's commitment marked the sixth defensive player heading to Bloomington in 2016.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
12 of 14
Last Season: 6-7 (3-5), def. UCLA in Foster Farms Bowl
2015 Recruiting Class: 20 total recruits, 31st in Rivals.com rankings
Many moons ago, the Nebraska Cornhuskers were the cream of the crop in college football.
But this isn't 2001, and these aren't Tom Osborne's Cornhuskers that ran roughshod through the sport in the 1980s and 1990s.
After seven straight nine-win seasons, Nebraska fired Bo Pelini before last season, and former Oregon State head coach Mike Riley got the call to take over one of college football's blue bloods.
A 6-7 record wasn't exactly what the Cornhuskers faithful was looking for with the new hire.
However, in Riley's first recruiting period, Nebraska is flirting with a top-20 class and has four 4-star recruits heading to town, including quarterback (and potential heir apparent to Tommy Armstrong) Patrick O'Brien from San Juan Capistrano, California, and athlete Lamar Jackson from Elk Grove, California.
It's a process, but Nebraska just might be on the right track with Riley heading into year two.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
13 of 14
Last Season: 4-8 (1-7)
2015 Recruiting Class: 25 total recruits, 53rd in Rivals.com rankings
One word to describe the 2015 season for Rutgers football would be "turbulent."
Former head coach Kyle Flood was suspended three games for violating a university compliance policy, and seven Rutgers players were arrested on different charges.
Rutgers would fire Flood after finishing the season at 4-8.
The mess in New Jersey has carried over to the recruiting trail, where the Scarlet Knights have just 14 commits for the 2016 season heading into Wednesday.
According to Rivals, Rutgers has the lowest-ranked class out of all the Big Ten programs.
New head coach (and former Ohio State safeties coach) Chris Ash was a great hire for a program that's in a downward spiral to nowhere, but Ash will have his work cut out for a team that fell off since Greg Schiano's departure after the 2011 season. Coincidentally, Schiano will be Ohio State's defensive coordinator starting this season.
Maryland Terrapins
14 of 14
Last Season: 3-9 (1-7)
2015 Recruiting Class: 18 total recruits, 54th in Rivals.com rankings
Randy Edsall is out, and former Michigan defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin is in at Maryland.
Durkin's first class with the Terrapins doesn't look too bad. As of now, Maryland has 19 recruits, including four 4-star recruits, per Rivals.
Fun fact of Maryland's class: Four of their top five recruits are not only from the same city—Hyattsville, Maryland—all four players are from the same high school.
Talk about cleaning house, right?
The prize recruit of the bunch is one of the Hyattsville Four. Terrance Davis, a 6'4", 307-pound offensive lineman committed at the beginning of the year—a month after Durkin accepted the Maryland job.
The Terps are looking for the same success they found under former head coach Ralph Friedgen, and Durkin could be the guy for the job.
The 38-year-old Durkin coached one of the country's best units last season in the Michigan defense, and a fresh face could be what the Maryland program needs.
Michael Whitlow is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. You can find the rest of Michael's work here, or you can follow him on Twitter: @MAWhitlow.
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