Take Two: How will the Big Ten's scandals impact recruiting?
Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and an expert from the Rivals.com network.
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THE STORYLINE
This offseason has been particularly harsh in the Big Ten when it comes to scandals and controversies as Ohio State and Maryland have dealt with the two highest-profile situations and then Wisconsin and Rutgers have had issues as well.
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer has been suspended three games after an independent counsel investigated his handling of domestic abuse allegations against now-former receivers coach Zach Smith. Maryland coach D.J. Durkin was put on leave after reports of a “toxic culture” within the program and as an investigation continues into the death of former offensive lineman Jordan McNair.
At Rutgers, eight players are reportedly facing charges for a credit card scam. At Wisconsin, receiver Quintez Cephus has been charged with second- and third-degree sexual assault and receiver Danny Davis was suspended for the first two games for his involvement in the alleged assault.
It’s still in the early stages of this recruiting cycle but no Big Ten team is currently in the top 10 of the team rankings. Michigan is No. 11, Penn State is No. 13 and Ohio State sits at No. 17. The last time a Big Ten squad didn’t finish in the top-10 of the team recruiting rankings was in 2011 when the Buckeyes finished No. 11.
Have these scandals and controversies hurt recruiting conference-wide and will there be carryover heading into the season?
FIRST TAKE: JOSH HELMHOLDT, MIDWEST RECRUITING ANALYST
“I don’t buy any suggestion that the recent spate of scandals hitting Big Ten schools suggests a lack of institutional control associated with the conference as a whole. The issues at Michigan State did not beget the Smith situation at Ohio State or the tragic death of McNair at Maryland.
"However, I do believe the succession of issues that have occurred at Big Ten programs this offseason has heightened the media intensity on each subsequent story. I say that as a precursor to answering the question regarding recruiting impact.
"Does it change recruits' perceptions of the conference and member institutions? Does it change their parents’ or coaches’ perceptions? You’d have a hard time selling me on that being the case. Individual programs that have been affected by scandal are likely to see some impact in recruiting, but much of that is associated with uncertainty around coaches’ job security.
"I could see a slight dip in conference recruiting due to the immediate effects at those specific schools, but expect a quick rebound once the uncertainty about coaches’ jobs is settled.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, NATIONAL RECRUITING DIRECTOR
“I don’t think it’s going to influence recruiting conference-wide. The power programs like Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State will still recruit well and the programs that struggle to keep kids in-state like Maryland and some others will still struggle.
“It’s going to hurt the weaker programs because the allure of the conference has dipped a little bit, but it won’t affect the top of the board.”