Important weekend ahead for McMillan, BuckeyesThe Big Ten welcomes six new football pledges this week. The upper half of the conference continues to distance itself from the conference bottom dwellers. They'll look to catch up in the next few months before National Signing Day.
Indiana, Nebraska, Penn State and Purdue all added 2014 recruits in the past seven days. The Nittany Lions and Hoosiers each landed two pledges.
With the latest commitments, we saw some movement in our B1G football recruiting rankings. Penn State jumped Michigan State for fifth and Indiana is up to 11.
This past weekend, the Buckeyes hosted five-star Thomas Holley and it is shaping up to be another Meyer vs O'Brien battle for his commitment. With the Nittany Lions headed to town for a primetime game, the staff has lined up a big recruiting weekend for the Buckeyes. Raekwon McMillan is the biggest name headed to Columbus for an official visit, but there are others that are expected to join him. While no commitments are expected this week for the Buckeyes, this weekend will be key.
Now, on to the rankings:
14. Minnesota
Jerry Kill's health issues have caused many fans and media members to wonder if it was time for him to step down. Some players and recruits took to twitter to show their support for Kill. It's obvious that he has built strong relationships with his player and recruits. What is he doing during his leave of absence? During the past 24 hours, coach Kill has been calling recruits to tell them he is going nowhere.
Commitments: No new commitments this week.
Visitor news: The biggest visitor this weekend will be Jerry Kill. He is expected to be in attendance while his Gophers take on the Huskers, but not in a coaching role.
13. Purdue
A 1-6 record and the second worst recruiting class in the Big Ten isn't what I expected from Darrell Hazell's first season as head coach. It's hard to rebuild with lackluster recruiting, leaving the future looking cloudy in West Lafayette.
Commitments: Three-star receiver Simmie Cobbs only waited a week to accept a scholarship offer from Purdue. The 6-foot-4-inch prospect chose the Boilermakers over an offer from Eastern Illinois.
Visitor news: Purdue has a bye week, so their coaches will be hitting the recruiting trail.
12. Illinois
Illinois falls a spot in our rankings after Indiana picked up two recruits. The gap between the top Big Ten teams and the lower half is growing. While their 2014 class has struggled, the Illini have been pushing hard for many '15 prospects. Illinois recently hosted Miles Boykin, Anthony McKee, Darrin Kirkland Jr, Kraig Howe, among others.
Commitments: No new commitments this week.
Visitor news: The Illini will host Michigan State, this weekend. Expect quite a few underclassmen to be in attendance.
11. Indiana
Indiana has been moving up in the rankings over the past few weeks. They fell under .500 on the gridiron, but the offense has shown promise. Defense has been terrible and it desperately needs an influx of talent on that side of the ball.
Commitments: Kevin Wilson and his staff was active on the recruiting trail during the past seven days. Indiana tapped into the Ohio hotbed to land three-star running back Devine Redding (Glenville) and three-star linebacker Airius Moore (Beavercreek). Redding's only offer was from Indiana, but an injury has made him fly under-the-radar. Airus Moore had offers from Illinois, Cincinnati and pretty much the entire MAC.
Visitor news: Indiana will be on a bye week, so expect to hear about the Hoosier coaches hitting the roads to recruit.
Five-star Damian Prince trending toward Maryland10. Maryland
Maryland lost a commitment from three-star running back Jonathan Thomas, when he flipped to Penn State, yesterday. Randy Edsall is still looking to grab up to ten more commitments for this class. Despite losing Thomas, things are looking good for Maryland. They could land five-stars Damian Prince and Jalen Tabor.
Commitments: No new commitments this week.
Visitor news: The Terrapins will host Clemson, Saturday. There was some rumors floating around that Damian Prince and Jalen Tabor could make the trip, but that hasn't been confirmed. Regardless, this weekend will be a big one for Maryland.
9. Iowa
Things have been pretty quiet in Iowa City. After losing their top lineman commitment to Alabama, Kirk Ferentz has pushed hard for All-American Brian Wallace. He consistently lists Iowa amongst his top schools and some even think they are the favorites.
Commitments: No new commitments this week.
Visitor news: Iowa returns home to take on Northwestern. The Hawkeyes don't currently have any official visits scheduled, but that could quickly change. Visitor lists are always fluid and sometimes visitors are discovered by the media at the last minute.
8. Nebraska
The Cornhuskers' staff spent their bye week going after some of the top guys left on their board. Four-star receiver Dallis Todd got some love from their staff. The current Oklahoma commitment has two crystal ball predictions to Nebraska since committing to the Sooners.
Commitments: Nebraska added their first commitment in a while with the addition of three-star safety Josh Kalu. The Texas native had offers from Colorado, Houston, Rice, SMU, Wake Forest, Washington State and others.
Visitor news: Nebraska will be heading to Minnesota to take on the Gophers. No visitors this weekend.
Ohio's JJ Pinckney leaning towards Michigan State7. Northwestern
Just a few weeks ago, there was a lot of hype around the Northwestern football team. That hype has quickly disappeared and there is no real success on the field or recruiting trail to show for it. It has been a while since the Wildcats have last landed a commitment.
Commitments: No new commitments this week.
Visitor news: The Wildcats will travel to Iowa, therefore they won't be hosting any visitors.
6. Michigan State
The Spartans fall a spot after being passed by Penn State. Ohio's JJ Pinckney visited this past weekend and he remains on commit watch for MSU. The three-star receiver has narrowed his list down to MSU and Kentucky, with a decision possibly coming when he visits for the Michigan game, Nov. 2.
Commitments: No new commitments this week.
Visitor news: Michigan State will be traveling to Champaign, this weekend. The Spartans take on Michigan the following weekend, which should draw plenty of recruits.
5. Penn State
Hats off to Bill O'Brien for the great job he is doing on the recruiting trail. Despite the sanctions, he has PSU recruiting at a pretty high level. The momentum could continue, with Syracuse's three-star linebacker commitment Jason Cabinda trending towards Penn State on the crystal ball. The Nittany Lions and Badgers are basically tied for the fourth spot in the rankings, with Rutgers only being third because of the size of their class.
Commitments: O'Brien landed two big commitments this week. He beat Urban Meyer for Mike Gesicki's commitment, Thursday. The Ohio State staff was confident about landing his commitment, but O'Brien pulled it off. The second commitment flipped from Maryland. Three-star running back Jonathan Thomas committed to Penn State over offers from Maryland, Arkansas, Boston College and others.
Visitor news: The Nittany Lions are traveling to Columbus for a night game, so they'll be quiet on the recruiting trail.
4. Wisconsin
The Badgers are on pace for a huge finish and appear to be the favorite to finish third in the Big Ten rankings. Gary Andersen is expected to fit in around 30 commitments into this class, many of the JUCO variety. Five-star Joe Mixon is a realistic possibility for Wisconsin. The star running back named a top two of Wisconsin and Oklahoma after his recent visit to Madison.
It doesn't look like anyone in Madison is missing Bert.
Commitments: No new commitments this week.
Visitor news: Wisconsin will be on a bye week. Gary Andersen and staff will look to hit the roads to recruit, this week.
Da'Shawn Hand leaning towards Michigan as decision nears3. Rutgers
Rutgers' class is sitting at 24 commitments, but it appears they are still looking for at least a few more commitments. Dec. 6 is shaping up to be a big recruiting weekend for the Knights. Four-star Isaiah McKenzie, and three-stars Kendrick Edwards, Kevin Bronson and Marcus Applefield are all expected to take their official visits that weekend.
Commitments: No new commitments this week.
Visitor news: The Scarlet Knights finally return home to take on Houston. It has been a while since their last home game, so I'm sure there will be quite a few prospects visiting.
2. Michigan
Da'Shawn Hand is deciding, Nov. 14, and all signs point to him committing to Michigan. Four-star Malik McDowell also appears to be a heavy Michigan lean, despite Ohio State and others still pursing the Michigan product. The Wolverines are running tight on scholarships, so it is unclear who else is still in the picture for their 2014 class.
Commitments: No new commitments this week.
Visitor news: Michigan's staff will hit the roads to recruit since they are on a bye week. Hand and quite a few 2015 prospects will receive visits. I wouldn't be surprised if Glenville drew a stop from the coaches.
1. Ohio State
The Buckeyes received some bad news with Mike Gesicki committing to Penn State. It's unclear whether or not Ohio State plans to target another tight end after missing out on Gesicki.
Meyer and the staff will be busy, this weekend, with quite a few of their targets coming to town for the night game. No commitments are expected, but it's a very important visit for five-star Raekwon McMillan. The visitor list is slowly coming together, but much of it is highly tentative. Some of the visitors have been labeled as long shots, but the staff should have a better feel where they stand after this weekend.
We'll have more on Ohio State recruiting throughout the week.
Commitments: No new commitments this week.
Visitor news: The Buckeyes will be hosting a big recruiting weekend for the Penn State game. McMillan is the biggest name expected to be in attendance. However, there are quite a few other 2014 prospects expected to be in attendance, including four-stars Trevion Thompson, Josh Malone and Jamal Adams. Stay tuned to 11W for more on the big recruiting weekend.
Rankings Overview
| No. | School | Commits | Scout ★ AVG | Rivals ★ AVG | 247 ★ AVG | ESPN ★ AVG | Overall ★ Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | 18 | 3.72 (6) | 3.61 (3) | 3.89 (2) | 3.72 (10) | 3.74 |
| 2 | Michigan | 16 | 3.56 (13) | 3.47 (17) | 3.44 (9) | 3.86 (6) | 3.58 |
| 3 | Rutgers | 24 | 2.92 (20) | 2.83 (22) | 2.92 (22) | 3.17 (18) | 2.96 |
| 4 | Wisconsin | 16 | 3.20 (26) | 3.00 (32) | 3.19 (28) | 3.20 (36) | 3.15 |
| 5 | Penn State | 14 | 3.29 (28) | 3.21 (28) | 3.36 (29) | 3.43 (25) | 3.21 |
| 6 | Michigan State | 16 | 3.13 (25) | 3.13 (35) | 3.40 (32) | 3.29 (39) | 3.26 |
| 7 | Northwestern | 13 | 3.08 (39) | 3.08 (46) | 3.31 (41) | 3.31 (NR) | 3.20 |
| 8 | Nebraska | 13 | 3.08 (45) | 3.00 (45) | 3.15 (46) | 3.23 (38) | 3.12 |
| 9 | Iowa | 15 | 2.73 (47) | 2.73 (51) | 2.80 (49) | 3.07 (NR) | 2.83 |
| 10 | Maryland | 11 | 3.00 (52) | 2.91 (55) | 3.00 (48) | 3.36 (NR) | 3.07 |
| 11 | Indiana | 14 | 2.86 (51) | 2.64 (60) | 2.71 (60) | 3.00 (NR) | 2.80 |
| 12 | Illinois | 14 | 2.62 (70) | 2.69 (62) | 2.62 (65) | 3.00 (NR) | 2.73 |
| 13 | Purdue | 10 | 2.90 (66) | 2.70 (71) | 3.00 (68) | 3.00 (NR) | 2.90 |
| 14 | Minnesota | 8 | 3.00 (68) | 2.88 (74) | 3.14 (78) | 2.86 (NR) | 2.97 |
Number in parentheses is national rank
