Big Ten Spotlight: Five teams with recruiting buzz
MORE: Buckeyes edge Nittany Lions in late-night thriller | Saturday shine, shame
The Big Ten is coming off two months it would like to do over. From summer scandals to a first month of the season that caused the conference’s star to dim in the national picture, there is not a lot to get excited about. Finding five teams with positive buzz was not easy, but we give it our best shot.
PENN STATE
Penn State lost a heartbreaker to Ohio State Saturday night, but Beaver Stadium reaffirmed itself as one of the Big Ten’s, and nation’s, best atmospheres with a raucous White Out crowd of over 110,000. The Nittany Lions had lined up a star-studded recruiting weekend in anticipation of that atmosphere, and the positive vibes from that night will certainly reverberate throughout the process, despite the loss.
The list of confirmed visitors includes seven five-stars and 10 official visitors. From a recruits’ perspective, who wins and loses a single game does not mean near as much as the future of the program and the atmosphere a team can create. Penn State has the Big Ten’s second-best class in 2019 right now with room to make it even better, and this past weekend will certainly help the Nittany Lions as they try to rally ahead of the signing periods.
MICHIGAN
The month of September did not start well for Michigan. The Wolverines dropped their season-opener to Notre Dame and the general feeling around Ann Arbor was not positive, but they exit September in a much better place than they started it. As we are set to kick off October, Michigan has dispatched it’s last four opponents and, more importantly for this evaluation, landed more 2019 commitments and more 2020 commitments in the month of September than any other Big Ten program.
Their three September 2019 pick-ups included Tulsa safety Daxton Hill, the second five-star in the class for the Wolverines. Michigan now has the Big Ten’s highest-ranked 2019 class heading into the final months before Signing Day, but their 23 commitments is also a conference high. They will have their hands full trying to hold off the likes of Ohio State and Penn State for a conference recruiting title.
OHIO STATE
This Ohio State program is the proverbial phoenix, rising from the ashes of a summer scandal to retake its place atop the Big Ten in both on-field standings and recruiting prowess. The Buckeyes went unscathed through head coach Urban Meyer’s three-game suspension, and won a top-10 match-up with Penn State in his second game back. Then, last Friday, four-star St. Louis wide receiver Jameson Williams ended a commitment drought for the Buckeyes that stretched back to July and preceded the bulk of Ohio State’s situation with fired wide receiver coach Zach Smith.
This 2019 Ohio State class is ranked 16th nationally right now, but their 15 commitments is tied for the fewest among the top-35 ranked classes, so they have plenty of room to raise their ranking. With the summer difficulties behind them, this Ohio State staff is once again geared up to finish with a strong class.
INDIANA
Maybe the biggest positive surprise in the Big Ten after the first month of the 2018 season is Indiana, which pushed its record to 4-1 this past weekend with a win over Rutgers. A commitment from four-star cornerback Tiawan Mullen out of Florida also sweetened the month of September and provided a shot in the arm on the recruiting trail. The Hoosiers continue to show a preference to swing it out with the every team in the country for southeast prospects rather than put up a fight for the best in their backyard. That has led to a slow-developing 2019 class with just 15 commitments thus far, but they have some momentum with which to rally down the stretch. Beating some schools head-to-head, particularly Purdue which has taken the initiative in-state, would be big for 2019 and beyond.
MICHIGAN STATE
The Big Ten took a lot of body shots during the first month of the college football season, and the conference as a whole will wearily answer the October bell. Only Ohio State escapes September without a loss, while problems and concerns - some new and some persisting - plague teams throughout the conference.
Michigan State, though, keeps marching on after surviving off-the-field issues of its own over the last six months. The anomaly that was the 2016 season is long forgotten, and Michigan State is again within striking distance of a 10-win season – which would be the program's seventh in the last nine years. The Spartans' consistency and reliability are particularly valuable in football recruiting, where uncertainty can be fatal. This 2019 class will not be top 10-caliber, but it can be top-25 and infuse the team's roster with talent in key spots.
