The Big Ten is coming off a strong class of 2016 recruiting cycles and has carried that momentum into 2017 with eight programs ranked in the Top 20 classes nationally. We take a look at the conference’s early class of 2017 recruiting efforts now with a focus on position groups.
Big Ten's best classes by position group
Quarterback: Michigan
Running Back: Michigan
Wide Receiver/Tight End: Nebraska
Offensive Line: Wisconsin
Defensive Line: Maryland
Linebacker: Ohio State
Defensive Back: Ohio State
Illinois Fighting Illini
Top Position in 2017: Wide receiver
Comments: Last week, Lovie Smith landed his first two commitments since taking over as head coach of the Illinois program in March. They came from in-state three-star wide receivers Ricky Smalling and Kendall Smith. Both prospects rank in the state of Illinois’ Top 15 for the 2017 class, with the 6-foot-1, 198-pound Smalling also ranking as the No. 56 wide receiver prospect overall. The new additions combine with three-star Florida running back Mike Epstein, who committed to the program last summer.
Indiana Hoosiers
Top Position in 2017: Safety
Comments: The highest-rated commitment in Indiana's three-man class is in-state, three-star safety Bryant Fitzgerald. He is joined by fellow Hoosier State prospect Britt Beery and Florida three-star offensive lineman Tyler Knight. The biggest news of this class thus far is that four-star Ohio athlete Lynn Bowden decommitted from the Hoosiers last weekend.
Iowa Hawkeyes
Top Position in 2017: Defensive end
Comments: After starting the class by landing four of the top seven prospects in-state before the first of the year, the Hawkeyes hit on the big one when Rivals100 legacy prospect A.J. Epenesa pledged on Jan. 17. The No. 28 player in the 2017 class heads a defensive end group that also includes in-state three-stars Levi Duwa and Coy Kirkpatrick. Three-star defensive tackle Juan Harris, the No. 1 ranked prospect in Iowa, rounds out their defensive line class. Iowa’s 10 commits account for the Big Ten’s No. 3 recruiting class.
Maryland Terrapins
Top Position in 2017: Defensive line
Comments: Maryland’s class received a big boost when five-star defensive end Josh Kaindoh, the No. 4 player in the 2017 class, committed this past weekend. That addition moved Maryland from outside the nation’s Top 30 recruiting classes into the Top 15. Kaindoh is joined by four-star defensive tackle Camaron Spence and gives the Terrapins a formidable defensive line duo early in the class. Quarterback commit Kasim Hill, the No. 12 pro-style quarterback and the No. 242 player overall in the 2017 class, is the other four-star prospect in the class. Cornerback, linebacker, offensive tackle and tight end are also represented in the Terrapin’s seven-man class.
Michigan Wolverines
Top Position in 2017: Quarterback
Comments: Running back would also be a good pick for top position thus far in the Wolverines' 2017 class because they currently have four committed, including two four-stars. However, at most two running backs can play at one time and when you have a Rivals100 prospect at the most important position on the field, that is significant. In Dylan McCaffrey, the Wolverines have the class of 2017’s No. 2 dual-threat quarterback and No. 39 ranked player overall. Michigan is also adding depth and talent at linebacker, offensive line and defensive back in a class that ranks eighth nationally and second in the Big Ten.
Michigan State Spartans
Top Position in 2017: Wide receiver
Comments: Michigan State was already hit with the decommitment bug in 2017 when legacy wide receiver Hunter Rison rescinded his pledge, but the son of former Spartan great Andre Rison is already back in the fold, re-pledging his services in April. He joins fellow in-state three-star Cody White to form a strong two-man receiver class. The Spartans are also adding talent at offensive line, where four-star Kevin Jarvis headlines, as well the offensive backfield as they look to pull in a second straight Top 20 class.
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Top Position in 2017: Offensive line
Comments: Offensive line is the position of strength for Minnesota in the 2017 class because it is the only position they have commits at thus far. The Golden Gophers were commit-less until April 9 when the No. 1 ranked prospect in Minnesota, offensive tackle Blaise Andries, announced his pledge to the home-state school. Andries commitment was followed a week later by a commitment from three-star Eric Abojei, the No. 4 ranked player in the state of Minnesota’s 2017 class.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Top Position in 2017: Wide receiver
Comments: The Cornhuskers spend more time in California than any other Big Ten school, and it is paying off in 2017 as two four-stars from the Golden State have pledge to Nebraska. The big name is Rivals100 quarterback Tristan Gebbia, but Rivals250 wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson Jr. teams with fellow four-star Jaevon McQuitty to form the Big Ten’s best wide receiver class in the early stages of 2017. Add to that three-star tight end Austin Allen, the highest ranked in-state prospect, and the Cornhuskers have surrounded Gebbia with talented receivers.
Northwestern Wildcats
Top Position in 2017: Defensive end
Comments: Pat Fitzgerald and staff used to be known as slow starters on the recruiting trail, but those days are long past. The Wildcats' 12-man class ranks second only to Ohio State in number of total commits, and accounts for a Top 20 class in 2017. Depth is being added across the board, but especially at defensive end where Northwestern landed the top-ranked prospect in Kansas, Trevor Kent, as well as a pair of Texas three-stars in Earnest Brown and Sam Miller.
Ohio State Buckeyes
Top Position in 2017: Defensive back
Comments: The Buckeyes raced out to a lead in the overall class rankings for 2017 and remain No. 1, almost 250 points ahead of No. 2 Oklahoma. In the Big Ten that points lead is more than 600 ahead of their closest contender. The headliners of the class are five-stars Josh Myers and Shaun Wade, the latter of which joins with four-stars Marcus Williamson and Isaiah Pryor to give the Buckeyes the Big Ten’s best class at that position. Linebacker is also strong with four-stars Antjuan Simmons and Brendon White, who is listed as an athlete but likely to play in the front seven for Ohio State.
Penn State Nittany Lions
Top Position in 2017: Offensive line
Comments: Although Penn State does not have one of the conference's best position groups early in the recruiting process, they do have a very talented class that ranks Top 20 nationally coming out of April. Four-star quarterback Sean Clifford is the headliner, but the Nittany Lions also have four-star commitments from defensive end Yetur Matos and offensive guard C.J. Thorpe. Thorpe is joined by high three-star offensive guard Michael Miranda, the offensive line MVP at Rivals Camp Series Columbus, and three-star New Jersey offensive guard Robert Martin in the class.
Purdue Boilermakers
Top Position in 2017: Quarterback
Comments: The Boilermakers are off to another slow recruiting start under head coach Darrell Hazell. They have finished last or second-to-last in the conference recruiting rankings each of his three full classes with the program. Quarterback is their top position in 2017 thus far because that is the position their sole commit in the class plays. That commit, though, has a very familiar name to Boilermaker fans: Griffin Alstott, the son of Purdue great Mike Alstott.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Top Position in 2017: Offensive line
Comments: New head coach Chris Ash is off to a solid start in his first, full recruiting class, and he is building the base of that class in-state. All eight of the Scarlet Knights' class of 2017 commits are Garden State natives, including their two most recent commits: running back Jonathan Taylor and quarterback Johnathan Lewis. Four-star offensive tackle Micah Clark, the No. 178 ranked player overall in 2017, is joined by three-star Jamaal Beaty to form the strongest position currently on Rutgers’ commitment list, but they also have a pair of wide receivers and a pair of athlete prospects in the fold early.
Wisconsin Badgers
Top Position in 2017: Offensive line
Comments: Paul Chryst has put a wall around the state of Wisconsin, with the top four prospects in-state each having committed to the Badgers already and five total in-state prospects on their commitment list. Add in recent transplant Kayden Lyles, who moved to the Badger State after pledging to Wisconsin last fall, and the next update of the state rankings are going to be very pro-Badger. Lyles and Tyler Beach are both four-star offensive linemen. Add in high three-star Logan Bruss, the No. 15 offensive guard prospect in 2017, and offensive line is definitely the strength of the class position-wise.
