2011 Big Ten Conference: Recruiting Updates for Every Team

There have been a lot of top prospects who have either verbally committed or scheduled visits to schools in the Big Ten Conference over the past week. Even the Indiana Hoosiers made a big splash last week by picking up one of the nation's most coveted prospects.

Other prospects have not chosen a school yet, but announced there are many Big Ten schools still in the running for their services.

Here is a slideshow with updates for every team in the Big Ten.

Zach Dirlam is a Big Ten Columnist for the new website Sports at Work. Check out his blog, Dirlam’s Dirty Dugout Sports Blog, which features this story along with other articles and video reports on the major sports. You can also follow his blog on Twitter, @DirtyDugoutBlog, which will provide you with the latest updates about what will be posted on the blog!

Illinois Fighting Illini

Tyler Cameron (Jupiter, Fla.), who is the No. 6 dual-threat quarterback in the country according to Rivals.com, will decide where he will continue his football career on Tuesday. The Jupiter High School star will choose between South Florida, LSU, Purdue, and Illinois. I see him winding up in South Florida, but anything is possible.

Three-star wide receivers Jeremy Glinton (Oakland Park, Fla.) and Bobby Walker (Fruit Cove, Fla.) will make official visits to Illinois this fall.

"The schools that are sticking out right now are Illinois, Florida State, Georgia, and Vanderbilt," Glinton told Sam Estes of OrangeandBlueNews.com Saturday. "Illinois is a long way from my home, so it isn't that easy to just come up for a visit. I'm going to come up there for an official in the fall. 

Glinton will most likely make a decision on his future in the first third of his senior season at Northeast High School.

"I don't want to wait too long to make my decision," Glinton said. "I think I'll be ready to announce prior to the third game of my high school season. As of now, that's my plan."

Meanwhile, the only major conference schools who have offered Walker a scholarship are Illinois, NC State, Rutgers, and Ole Miss. Walker has not officially announced a leader but said last Thursday he has more than a moderate interest in joining the Fighting Illini.

"I love Illinois," Walker told Estes. "I haven't had a chance to visit them yet, but I'm planning on getting up there for an official visit next season."

Indiana Hoosiers

The Hoosiers picked up arguably the most highly coveted prospect in their program's history last week when Gunner Kiel (Columbus, Ind.), who is the No. 1 pro-style quarterback and No. 19 overall prospect according to Rivals.com, committed to Indiana. 

Many have questioned Kiel's decision, but he feels he has a great future ahead of him at Indiana.

"It was a great fit," Kiel told Rivals.com recruiting analyst Mike Farrell last Wednesday. "The guys at IU  have a chip on their shoulders because they have been down in football for so long and they feel they will get it done." 

Click here to read more about Kiel's shocking commitment.

Iowa Hawkeyes

It has been fairly quiet on the Iowa recruiting front the past week. The only newsworthy happening for the Hawkeyes as of late was the commitment of 3-star athlete Michael Malloy (Sioux City, Iowa) last Monday.

"I committed," Malloy told Blair Sanderson of Rivals.com. "Everything I saw and did today impressed me."

The Hawkeyes now have eight verbal commitments in their 2012 class and two of them are 4-star prospects.

Iowa also made the top six list of 4-star defensive tackle Danny O'Brien (Flint, Mich.), which the No. 222 overall prospect and No. 17 ranked player at his position revealed on Friday. 

Michigan Wolverines

The Wolverines picked up a commitment from fullback Sione Houma (Salt Lake City, Utah) last week and hosted their biggest unofficial recruitment event, the Barbecue at the Big House, Sunday afternoon.

For a detailed list of who attended the event click here!

The only target who was supposed to attend, but ended up not being able to make the trip was 3-star receiver Monty Madaris (Cincinnati, Ohio).

Also, 3-star defensive end Chris Wormley (Toledo, Ohio) has committed to Michigan, which is not surprising considering he has been leaning toward committing to the Wolverines for over a month. This leaves just one scholarship available on defense for Michigan, which will go to a defensive tackle.

Five-star wide receiver and No. 8 overall prospect Stefon Diggs (Olney, Mary.) narrowed his list of potential suitors down to 15 on Sunday. Both Michigan and their arch rival Ohio State made the cut along with numerous SEC and ACC schools and California from the Pac-12 Conference.

Diggs is a former teammate of cornerback Blake Countess, who is battling for a starting job in the Wolverines secondary for the 2011 season, which will help the Wolverines pursuit of the elite receiver.

Michigan State Spartans

Four-star wide receiver Aaron Burbridge (Farmington Hills, Mich.) and 3-star safety Jermaine Edmonson (Canton, Ohio) both committed to Michigan State on Thursday.

Click here for all of the details on both of their commitments!

Minnesota Golden Gophers

he No. 3 player in the state of Minnesota and 3-star offensive tackle prospect Jonah Pirsig (Blue Earth, Minn.) gave his verbal commitment to the Minnesota Golden Gophers coaching staff on Saturday.

The 6'9" and 300-pound prospect chose the Golden Gophers over Big Ten rivals Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Illinois, and Indiana.

Nebraska Cornhuskers

Five-star defensive end Jonathan Bullard (Shelby, N.C.) will make an official visit to Lincoln this fall to see the Cornhuskers in action. 

Additionally, 4-star offensive tackle Evan Goodman (Lakeland, Fla.) told HuskerOnline.com he plans on making an official visit as well.

"If I don't visit during the summer, I'm going to take an official visit there," Goodman said. "They're definitely [going to get] visits, I just don't know when."

Goodman plans on narrowing his list down to five or six schools soon and from the sounds of his comments, the Cornhuskers will make the cut. I think Arizona State is the favorite at this point because Evan's brother, Devin Goodman (Lakeland, Fla.), signed a national letter of intent in February and will play for the Sun Devils this season.

Due to limited access to the Cornhuskers Rivals.com recruiting updates, I do not have much information on Nebraska at this time. I am doing my best to find other sources to keep up with Nebraska's recruitment news. If you know any good sources please comment and let me know!

Northwestern Wildcats

Wildcat running back target Toneo Gulley (Kenosha, Wisc.) told Rivals.com recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt on Wednesday he will not make a decision about his future until after his senior season.

"I'm just trying to keep it level right now and look at all the options," Gulley said. "I'm still doing my research and talking to the coaches. I will take official visits, I just don't know where yet."

Ohio State Buckeyes

Despite the Buckeyes losing out on the Wormley sweepstakes this weekend, they did get some good news from wide receiver Roger Lewis (Pickerington, Ohio).

"I'll be going Monday or Tuesday," Lewis told BuckeyeGrove.com about visiting Ohio State this week. "I talk to coach (Stan) Drayton almost every day. I haven't talked to coach Fickell yet but he talks to my head coach and we're just trying to pick a day that works for everybody. They really want me to get down there."

Lewis does not have a star rating on Rivals.com, and has a substantial amount of offers from MAC schools, but has also garnered offers from Arizona, Cincinnati, and West Virginia. Lewis will likely make a decision in two or three weeks so check back routinely for updates!

Penn State Nittany Lions

The Nittany Lions received an unofficial visit from 4-star running back Bri'onte Dunn (Canton, Ohio), who is the No. 11-ranked running back and No. 124 overall prospect according to Rivals.com, last Thursday. Dunn is currently committed to Ohio State and said the visit went well, but reaffirmed he still wants to be a Buckeye. 

"Right now I'm still committed to Ohio State," Dunn told Ryan Snyder of BlueWhiteIllustrated.com.

Dunn will make an official visit to Happy Valley for Penn State's game against Alabama on September 10th.

Purdue Boilermakers

Three-star inside linebacker Andy Garcia (Hialeah, Fla.) verbally committed to Purdue on Friday, which now gives the Boilermakers nine commits in their 2012 recruiting class. Garcia chose Purdue over Vanderbilt, Indiana, and Kentucky, and others.

The Boilermakers will also receive an official visit from 3-star tight end Caleb Smith (Renton, Wash.) this fall. 

"I have stayed in contact with (Purdue) and set up an official (visit) for the end of September," Smith said last Monday. "It's a night game when they play Notre Dame."

Additionally, 3-star defensive end Langston Newton (Carmel, Ind.) told Kyle Charters of GoldandBlack.com that Purdue will not be hurt by jumping into the mix for him late in his recruiting process.

"They didn't know how much interest I had in Purdue and they were really trying to make sure that they evaluated me and wanted to make sure I had an interest in their program," Newton said Thursday. "I'm definitely interested in Purdue."

Wisconsin Badgers

Badger fans and recruiting analysts believed Wisconsin would not pursue another running back after receiving a commitment from 4-star prospect Vonte Jackson (Kenosha, Wisc.) back in March, but apparently the coaching staff is making a play at 3-star running back Tevin Coleman (Oak Forest, Ill.).

"Wisconsin is coming after me a little bit," Coleman told Tom Lea of BadgerBlitz.com last Monday. "They're looking at me at running back."

Coleman has 13 offers at the moment and will likely trim his list down in the coming weeks. Wisconsin and Indiana seem to be in good shape to make the first cut.

Finally, the Badgers are firmly established in the chase for 4-star defensive end Faith Ekakitie (Lake Forest, Ill.). 

"I really like Boston College, Wisconsin, and Georgia Tech," Ekakitie said on Sunday. "There are a couple others. I'm really interested in about eight schools. It just comes down to taking official visits and seeing what happens."

Ekakitie is the No. 7 ranked strongside defensive end and No. 100 overall prospect according to Rivals.com.