Big Ten Breakdown: Players exceeding recruiting rankings

On each team there are players who out-perform their high school ratings. This week we take a look across the Big Ten and pick one player from each program who has most exceeded expectations.

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Recruitment: Turner had few offers available to him when he committed to Illinois before the start of his senior season, though Vanderbilt did come through with one that fall. An injury took away most of his junior season, which resulted in the late start to his recruitment and slow offer movement.

College: There is no question Turner is the primary receiving target in the Fighting Illini’s offense, as he has triple the number of catches and nearly five times as many receiving yards as the next closest receiver. He has started 22 games over his career and still has another year of eligibility left.

Recruitment: Ball’s nine scholarship offers primarily came from Group of Five schools, though West Virginia joined Indiana for his Power Five offers. He took official visits to see the Hoosiers as well as Middle Tennessee State and Tulane, deciding on National Signing Day for Indiana.

College: Ball did not enroll early, yet still secured a starting position as Indiana’s “husky” linebacker before the start of the season and is the Hoosiers' third leading tackler through seven games. Head coach Kevin Wilson raves about his freshman defender, calling him a “ball junkie” and praising his potential.

Recruitment: Cornerback Desmond King is the poster boy for “underrated” prospects, but he was a mid three-star and nationally ranked at his position. Jewell did not receive a scholarship offer from Iowa until three days before National Signing Day and his only other offer was from Northern Iowa.

College: King entered the 2016 season as a permanent captain after earning second team all-Big Ten and academic all-Big Ten honors following the 2015 season. He's the Hawkeyes' leading tackler this fall and still has another year of eligibility left if he wants to use it.

Recruitment: Hills was missed by coaches during the immediate post-junior season rush of quarterback recruiting, landing a handful of Group of Five and FCS offers. It was not until he camped with Maryland the June before his senior season that his first Power Five offer came, and Hills immediately accepted.

College: Hills’ college career got off to a quick start when he started seven games of his true freshman season before tearing his ACL. That injury would cause him to redshirt as a sophomore and he only saw spot starts since, but in 2016 Hills is once again the starter and the Terrapins have been outstanding when he is on the field.

Recruitment: Offers came in primarily from FCS programs, while Ivy League schools reportedly offered him opportunities and Big Ten programs extended preferred walk-on spots. Michigan was one of those schools that offered a walk-on spot, and Glasgow decided to accept and join his older brother, Graham, in Ann Arbor.

College: Glasgow is the starting defensive tackle and a leader on a Michigan team that ranks first in total defense. He has started a total of 27 games in his Michigan career and is expected to follow in his older brother’s footsteps, going from walk-on to NFL Draft pick next spring.

Recruitment: Kieler saw the majority of his offers come from the Mid-American Conference, but he did have Minnesota and Purdue on that list before Michigan State offered a scholarship shortly before his senior season that Kieler immediately jumped on.

College: Kieler is Michigan State’s starting left tackle this season and has started 26 total games at both right and left tackle for the Spartans during his career. He also was being considered to fill a gap at center before the season started, and that versatility will help when he presents his resume to the NFL after this season.

Recruitment: Celestin was a true under-the-radar prospect coming out of Georgia. Minnesota was the only FBS school to offer him a scholarship, and the Gophers likely only saw him because they were recruiting his teammate, Rodney Smith. They committed to the Gophers the same weekend and are both leaders on the 2016 team.

College: Minnesota threw Celestin into the fire right away as a freshman, and he responded by earning his stripes on special teams. His role on the Gophers' defense has steadily grown since, and this season he leads the defense in tackles from his linebacker position.

Recruitment: This was another case of a primarily Big Ten battle for a Florida-based prospect, though it did not start out that way. Jones initially committed to South Florida the summer before his senior year. He switched that to Purdue shortly after his senior season ended, then flipped again to Nebraska in January.

College: Jones arrived in Lincoln immediately ready to help the Cornhuskers. He played in all 12 games as a freshman, mostly on special teams, then has been a starter at cornerback in each of the last two seasons. This year Jones leads the Nebraska defensive in passes defended and is tied for second in interceptions.

Recruitment: For a prospect projected to go in the first two rounds of next April’s NFL Draft, Walker was not highly thought of in his home state of Florida coming out of high school. Only Florida International offered, while Northwestern was one of three Big Ten schools to make a play for his services.

College: After redshirting his true freshman season, Walker quickly became a defensive leader for the Wildcats. He ascended to the starting middle linebacker job midway through his redshirt freshman season. The 2015 season, his second in the role, saw Walker earn first team all-Big Ten honors.

Recruitment: Big Ten schools Indiana, Northwestern and Purdue offered, as did several Mid-American Conference schools. Elflein was originally told by Ohio State that they were not going to offer, but a few days later they changed their minds and he jumped at the opportunity.

College: The Buckeyes are poised to challenge for another national championship, and while many of their star players were highly rated coming out of high school, not all were. Elflein was not even ranked in the state of Ohio for the 2012 class, but now he is the highest-ranked center prospect for next year’s NFL Draft.

Recruitment: Considering the current timetable on which the recruiting process operates, Schwan was an extremely late-to-emerge prospect. Almost all his offers came after a senior season in which he tallied 17 sacks. Penn State offered just days before Signing Day, and Schwan jumped at it.

College: Schwan was one of the heroes in Penn State's upset of Ohio State Saturday, coming up with the sack of J.T. Barrett to seal the game. He has gradually increased his level of play over the last four years and now as a defensive end starter for the Nittany Lions he is second on the team in sacks this season.

Recruitment: After watching not one, but three brothers sign with Indiana ahead of him, the youngest Replogle decided to go to rival Purdue, naturally. One reason he did not pick Indiana is because the Hoosiers did not offer him a scholarship prior to his Purdue commitment.

College: Even though it is not a banner year for the Boilermakers, there are a couple candidates from this team. Replogle gets the nod because he is a potential first round NFL Draft pick after coming out Ohio as a low three-star in the 2013 class. Now 6-foot-5 and 290 pounds, Replogle is a Bednarik and Outland candidate this season.

Recruitment: Besides Rutgers, Morris’ only FBS offers in high school came from Mid-American programs Buffalo and Ohio. The offer from the Scarlet Knights came just before the start of his junior season, and he immediately jumped on the offer. Rutgers had an in because Morris was coached by alum Aaron Brady.

College: After standing out on special teams as a true freshman, Morris earned the starting linebacker spot in the offseason and has not disappointed. Through the first eight games of his sophomore season he leads the team in solo tackles (36) and total tackles (63).

Recruitment: There are recruits every year who seem to change their mind daily, and in the 2014 class that was Tindal. Several teams held places atop his interest list at different points in the process and he made two commitments. The first was to Indiana. The second was to Wisconsin just over a week before Signing Day, and it stuck.

College: The Wisconsin defense has been one of the stoutest in the nation this season, and on the back end that is due in part to Tindal’s breakout campaign at cornerback. The third-year player leads the Badgers in both interceptions and pass break ups this season, and is regularly tasked with checking the opposing team’s top receiver.