Big Ten Spotlight: How Ohio State, Northwestern match up in recruiting

CLASS OF 2019 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position

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It will be Ohio State and Northwestern contending for the Big Ten Championship this Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The two programs come into the contest from very different recruiting backgrounds.

When Northwestern and Ohio State take the field, they will do so with starting lineups that reflect very different recruiting backgrounds. Consider, for example, that Ohio State’s starting 11 on offense features just one three-star prospect – offensive tackle Thayer Munford – and 10 four-star prospects. Northwestern’s starting offense, meanwhile, boasts only quarterback Clayton Thorson who was a four-star out of high school. The remainder of their starters consist of nine three-stars and one two-star former walk-on. Ohio State’s defense has two former five-star prospects, while Northwestern starts three former two-star prospects on defense.

There will not be many players taking the field Saturday who have the experience of being recruited by both schools. Ohio State linebackers Pete Werner and Tuf Borland were the only starters who held offers from Northwestern coming out of high school, while none of Northwestern’s starters held offers from Ohio State. Four of Northwestern’s starters hail from the state of Ohio, while Ohio State has just one starter that hails from Northwestern’s home-state of Illinois. The paths these two programs have taken to Indianapolis started from very different trailheads.

As noted above, Ohio State and Northwestern competed for very few prospects over the last five classes. In the case of linebackers Borland and Werner, though, Northwestern was a strong contender for both before they eventually picked Ohio State. Northwestern was actually the first Big Ten program to extend an offer to Werner, and had him on campus several times during his junior year. Borland, meanwhile, had a top three that consisted of Northwestern, Ohio State and Wisconsin, before eventually selecting the Buckeyes.

The only player on Northwestern’s current roster who was offered a scholarship from Ohio State out of high school is Earnest Brown, a second-string defensive end who has posted 2.5 sacks among 15 total tackles for the Wildcats this season as a true sophomore. Brown held more than 20 scholarship offers from schools like Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. Ohio State never was a particularly strong contender with Brown, and he committed to Northwestern in the spring of his junior year.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have been the undisputed kings of Big Ten recruiting, winning the conference recruiting title in each of the last eight classes. From 2014-18, the years that make up the Buckeyes' current roster, Ohio State has signed 12 five-star prospects, 73 four-star prospects and averaged more than 24 prospects signed per class. In that five-year span Ohio State has finished outside the top three of the national team recruiting rankings just once.

Northwestern, meanwhile, found itself on the opposite end of the spectrum in the 2018 class, finishing 14th and last among Big Ten signing classes. That was the only time the Wildcats have finished last in the past five classes, but their highest effort during that stretch was ninth and they have never finished better than fourth among Big Ten West programs. One difference, though, is that year-in and year-out Northwestern signs one of the Big Ten’s smallest classes due to strong retention rates. Their average number of signees per class from 2014-18 was just 18.4, a full six prospects per class less than Ohio State.

Ohio State’s eight-year recruiting dominance in the Big Ten is in serious jeopardy with this 2019 class. The situation with former assistant coach Zach Smith and subsequent suspension of head coach Urban Meyer stalled the Buckeyes' recruiting efforts and continuing questions about Meyer’s health and future tenure with the program have made it difficult for the Buckeyes to gain momentum. They currently have just 15 commitments, of which none are five-stars, and sit in third place in the conference standings just three points ahead of Nebraska.

Northwestern is once again expected to sign a smaller class in 2019. After leading one of the latest-starting recruiting programs early in his tenure, Pat Fitzgerald changed his approach several years back and Northwestern is now one of the fastest-starting recruiting programs in the Big Ten. Of the Wildcat’s 16 current commitments in 2019, 14 made their pledges before this past summer. There are a couple more spots still available, however, and Northwestern is trying to meet needs at running back and linebacker before the December Signing Period opens. This Northwestern class currently sits 11th in the Big Ten team recruiting rankings and remarkably each of their commitments have either a 5.5 or 5.6 Rivals Rating.