Big week for Big Ten commits
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The commitment wave has rolled in this week for many of the Big Ten Conference member schools, which now features nine teams ranked among the top 35 classes in the country, including four of the top 15. Here is a look at the major commitment storylines out of the Big Ten from the last week.
Big Ten rules Midwest
While many of the Big Ten's member institutions have the ability to recruit nationally, the Midwest continues to be the conference's greatest source of talent. Eight of the conference's 14 member institutions have landed commitments from the region in just the last week -- a total of 13 prospects.
Iowa and Wisconsin lead the way with three Midwest commitments over the last week. The Hawkeyes added running backs Toks Akinribade out of Indiana and Barrington Wade out of Illinois while also getting safety Amani Hooker from Minnesota. The Badgers added linebackers Noah Burks and Griffin Grady from Indiana and Ohio, respectively, and taking offensive tackle Patrick Kasl out of Minnesota.
Northwestern has reeled in six commitments from the Midwest in the month of June, with two coming over the last week. Their two latest commitments from the Midwest are from Ohio defensive linemen -- Tommy Carnifax, who committed on June 12, and Jake Saunders who just announced his pledge on Wednesday night.
Michigan all over the map
The last week has seen Michigan and head coach Jim Harbaugh pull in six commitments from four different states. Those six commitments consisted of one Rivals100 prospect, two three-stars and three two-star prospects and gives them 16 total commits in the 2016 class, which is two more than they signed in all of the 2015 class.
Michigan's "Summer Swarm" satellite camp tour has paid dividends for the Wolverines, resulting in six of their 16 commitments. Included in that group is Norco, Calif., quarterback Victor Viramontes, who took part in Michigan's satellite camp stop in Fresno and was the Quarterback MVP at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by Under Armour earlier this month.
The Wolverines earned their biggest commitment the hard way, though, outlasting rivals Notre Dame, Ohio State and Wisconsin for four-star Hartland (Wisc.) Arrowhead offensive tackle Ben Bredeson, the No. 49 player in the 2016 class. Bredeson pledged to the Wolverines on Wednesday and is currently the highest ranked prospect in their class.
Huskers reel in Dismuke
One of the biggest Big Ten commitments of the last week came when Nebraska landed four-star safety Marquel Dismuke just five days after he announced a de-commitment from California, where he had been committed since March. The Cornhuskers beat out a host of Pac-12, SEC and even in-conference foe Michigan to land the No. 19 ranked safety prospect in the class.
Just two days earlier, Nebraska gained a pledge from athletic in-state defensive end prospect Ben Stille, whom they had offered just a month prior. The two most recent additions give the Cornhuskers a total of 19 commitments in the 2016 class.
Spartans capitalize on camp
Few teams across the country can challenge Michigan State's recruiting haul over the last two months. Starting with the commitment of Rivals250 quarterback Messiah deWeaver on April 22, the Spartans have reeled in 17 class of 2016 commitments, including six four-stars, and now have the No. 5 ranked class in the country.
This past Saturday, Michigan State held their one-day elite camp in East Lansing and continued that momentum. They kicked off the 2017 class with a commitment from Ann Arbor (Mich.) Skyline wide receiver Hunter Rison, the son of Spartan great Andre Rison, before the camp concluded. Then, they added another class of 2016 commitment when West Bloomfield, Mich., three-star wide receiver Trishton Jackson accepted the offer he earned at last Saturday's camp after testing and performing well.
Michigan State already had a good nucleus of wide receiver prospects in the 2016 class and are a frontrunner for Rivals100 wide receiver Donnie Corley, but Jackson's meteoric rise this off-season and his performance on Saturday (which reportedly included a 4.41 40-yard dash) made Jackson a player the Spartans could not pass on.
Ohio St., Penn St. remain strong
Maybe as big of a storyline as those schools which have been adding prospects at a feverish pace over the last week is the ones that have not.
Ohio State and Penn State raced out to impressive classes in 2016 and held the top two spots in the conference rankings until just recently. Ohio State remains the No. 1 Big Ten class, and No. 3 overall, while Penn State has been passed by Michigan State and Michigan, but still sits with a Top 15 ranked class nationally.
Ohio State's last commitment came on June 7 from Rivals250 wide receiver Austin Mack of Fort Wayne, Ind. They have 16 commitments in the 2016 class and are off to a great start in the 2017 class as well with six commits, including one five-star and four four-stars.
Penn State got their most recent commit just over a week ago from New Jersey four-star defensive tackle Will Fries, who chose the Nittany Lions over fellow Big Ten programs Michigan, Northwestern and Rutgers. Head coach James Franklin still has plenty of room in the 2016 class with only 10 prospects committed, seven of which are rated as four-stars.