Ohio State Football Recruiting: Ranking Each Big Ten Class Since Meyer's Hiring

If you haven't been paying attention to college football recruiting, you really should start.

Urban Meyer has recently accepted the job to become the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Since taking over, he is really putting together one of the top recruiting classes in the country for Ohio State.

But how is the rest of the Big Ten doing?

Here are the power rankings of each Big Ten team and their recruiting class since Meyer took over for the Buckeyes.

Note: This only includes commits since Nov. 28, 2011 when Meyer officially became the head coach.

Michigan State

Michigan State has a solid recruiting class, as they've already received 14 commitments and majority of them are solid players of three stars or more.

But since Meyer has taken over at Ohio State, the Spartans don't have one commitment yet. Although they do have a ton of quality prospects considering them, Michigan State has to land a few to move up this list.

Penn State

With everything that has been going on at Penn State, they have put together a decent recruiting class so far.

The problem is, a lot of those players are leaving, and the Nittany Lions haven't been able to land a top recruit in quite some time.

They have received three verbal commitments, including one from linebacker Cameron Williams, but we all know how verbal commitments work. 

With Urban Meyer now in this conference, the Nittany Lions could be in even more trouble.

Nebraska

Nebraska has probably the worst recruiting class in the conference, with only seven commitments and three of those being 4-star recruits.

They've only added one player since Meyer has become the head coach, and that was middle linebacker Thomas Brown. 

The Cornhuskers have a lot of work to do if they expect to compete next year in this improving conference.

Illinois

Illinois is another team that doesn't have a great recruiting class, but they've landed two prospects since the Meyer hire—including a verbal commitment from linebacker Keith Davis, who is one of the top linebacker prospects in the country and one of the best out of the state of Florida.

Linebacker Mason Monheim is the other player who has committed.

Northwestern

The Wildcats have done a great job at bringing in a balanced recruiting class, but they are another team that hasn't done much in the last month.

They did pick up Andrew Scanlan, who is a wide receiver with great ball skills. Only one signing leaves Northwestern in the lower half of the conference, though.

Indiana

Indiana has commitments from 20 players, and have two of those players were added when Meyer was hired.

Defensive end Justin Rayside and defensive tackle Raphael Green have committed, and although they aren't exactly top recruits, they do add depth to a talented recruiting class. 

Indiana is doing a great job this season in recruiting so far.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin has a great recruiting class overall, but hasn't done much since Meyer joined the Buckeyes.

They did earn a verbal commitment from offensive tackle Kyle Dodson, but that's about it.

The Badgers do have a deep recruiting class that features quite a few big-name players, but they have to keep up with Michigan and Ohio State.

Purdue

Purdue has one of the worst recruiting classes in the Big Ten so far, but they were able to add talented quarterback Bilal Marshall. Marshall is a dual-threat quarterback with a lot of upside and could help the Boilmakers sooner than later.

They may have only one commitment in the last month, but it was a valuable one.

Michigan

The Michigan Wolverines have one of the top overall recruiting classes, but they haven't added much since Meyer joined Ohio State.

In fact they've only gotten one commitment, and that was wide receiver Amara Darboh, who is a top 30 wide receiver in this year's class.

Other than that, the Wolverines haven't done anything.

Losing running back Bri'onte Dunn doesn't look good either since he went with the rival Buckeyes.

Minnesota

Minnesota has landed three recruits since Meyer took over for the Buckeyes, and two of them turned down quite a few schools to become a Golden Gopher.

Linebacker Antonio Johnson and cornerback Martez Shabazz turned down quite a few offers to add to the defensive depth of this team. Defensive end Alex Keith is the other player to have committed recently to Minnesota. 

Iowa

While the Hawkeyes are in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten as far as overall recruiting is concerned, they have done a fabulous job since Meyer has become head coach.

Iowa has added a top defensive end in Faith Ekakitie, who had offers from several big-time schools. Cornerback Kevin Buford, safety Anthony Morgan and wide receiver Tevaun Smith are the other three players to hop on board. 

Iowa has been very busy this season and is putting together a surprisingly solid bunch of players.

Ohio State

Who knew Meyer could just walk into the Big Ten and point out whichever recruit he wants? He has to be breaking some type of rule or something, because he's destroying the competition.

In the month that he's been head coach, Meyer has landed the No. 1 defensive end in Noah Spence. He was also able to convince both defensive tackle Tommy Schutt and running back Bri'onte Dunn to become Buckeyes. Both were considering other schools, and Dunn refused to play in a spread offense.

Other notable players include Adolphus Washington and Se'Von Pittman.

I think it's safe to say the Buckeyes are back.

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist who covers college football and the NFL. You can follow him on Twitter or email [e-mail].