Big Ten Championship: Recruiting breakdown
Penn State and Wisconsin are heading into the 2016 Big Ten championship game with a lot on the line and a College Football Playoff Committee to impress. In preparation for Saturday’s showdown, we view the game through the recruiting lens, starting with a prospect both teams remain in contention for in the 2017 class.
MORE: Nittany Lions flip Hansard | What we learned from Wisconsin's win over Minnesota
TOP PENN STATE VS. WISCONSIN RECRUITING BATTLE
A Rivals250 prospect from the Dayton, Ohio area, Davis lists both Penn State and Wisconsin in his final five. He was originally scheduled to take an official visit to Madison this past weekend, but the Badgers are tight on scholarship numbers and may be in a juggling act with their final spots down the stretch. Penn State hosted Davis as an unofficial visitor for their big home win over Ohio State in October. The other three schools in his top five are Kentucky, Oregon and West Virginia, and all official visits remain available to the four-star receiver.
PENN STATE BREAKDOWN
HIGHEST-RANKED IMPACT PLAYER
The highest-ranked prep prospect who has played for the Nittany Lions this season is freshman running back Miles Sanders, the No. 39 ranked player in the 2016 class, but as he has been a backup all season to 2015’s Big Ten freshman of the year Saquan Barkley, Sickels gets the nod. Just missing the Rivals100 in the 2013 class, Sickels has been a stalwart at defensive end in his fourth season, leading the team in both tackles for loss (12.5) and sacks (6.0).
MOST UNDERRATED IMPACT PLAYER
Schwan has been the starter at defensive end throughout the 2016 campaign for the Nittany Lions and is tied for the team lead in sacks with six heading into the Big Ten championship game. Coming to State College in the 2012 class as a two-star prospect, Schwan did not immediately impact and paid his dues over the previous four seasons before ascending to a permanent starting role. His size, skill set and senior season performance could give him a shot at the NFL.
TOP CLASS OF 2017 COMMIT
Penn State’s highest-ranked commitment in their 2017 class is also the prospect they most recently received a pledge from. Hansard announced Sunday that he was flipping his commitment to the Nittany Lions after having been committed to Florida since August. He took his official visit to Penn State this past weekend and saw the Nittany Lions' regular season finale against Michigan State.
BIGGEST REMAINING TARGET
A Big Ten championship game win and possible College Football Playoff berth could be a huge shot in the arm for a Penn State staff that is in on several big-time prospects down the stretch of the 2017 class. Although there are prospects bigger in stature, there are none higher-ranked that Wade, and the feeling around State College is that Penn State is far and away the leader in this recruitment. The state of Pennsylvania’s highest-ranked 2017 prospect took his official visit to State College the weekend of Nov. 5.
WISCONSIN
HIGHEST-RANKED IMPACT PLAYER
Now in his fifth season after coming out of high school as a Rivals100 player, Biegel has lived up to his high billing during his collegiate career. He has earned second team and third team all-Big Ten honors in past years as well as several academic all-Big Ten accolades. He was eligible to return for a fifth season despite playing a pair of games in his true freshman season because he was granted a medical redshirt due to a foot injury.
MOST UNDERRATED IMPACT PLAYER
This was the same player we used earlier in the season, and Tindal remains our pick for Badger who is most outplaying his prep rating. Now in his third season, Tindal has started a majority of games during his career and established himself as one of the Big Ten’s lockdown cornerbacks. In 12 games this season he has totaled 27 tackles, 11 pass break ups and three interceptions while also forcing a fumble.
TOP CLASS OF 2017 COMMIT
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum from Penn State, Wisconsin’s highest-ranked commitment in the 2017 class is the first prospect to pledge. Lyles committed to Wisconsin during his junior football season when he was still living in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Badgers already had a commitment from his brother, Kare’ Lyles, and the family has since moved to Wisconsin, where Kayden is playing out his senior year of high school.
BIGGEST REMAINING TARGET
Wisconsin’s 2017 class was always going to be small from a numbers standpoint, and their current total of 15 commits may not grow by much before National Signing Day. Although not the highest-rated prospect on the board Wisconsin has a shot with, Nelson is the player they appear to be going after the hardest at this stage of the process. A two-way player, Wisconsin is targeting Nelson for the safety position in college and Iowa appears to be its biggest competition.