If you want to be a force in college football, you have to dominate on the field and in the living room. How are the Big Ten's teams faring in this cycle?
The Big Ten added 18 new commitments in July, but there were two decommitments. What does all of that mean? After the math is settled (and the calculator thrown across the room) the conference currently has 212 commitments.
Let's see where the teams now stand in the rankings.
NO. 14 PURDUE • 9 COMMITMENTS • 111.62 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 14
Number of decommits: 1
Number of new commits: 1
Highest rated new commit: OLB Rickey Smith (Not Ranked)
Trending: Down. Jeff Brohm and the Boilermakers continue to fall behind the back of the Big Ten bottom pack. Three-start ATH Byron Threats of Dulbin Coffman rescinded his commitment to Purdue on the 18th of July.
The addition of unranked OLB Rickey Smith on Wednesday (7/28) was not enough to keep the Brohm squad from losing 12.3 power ranking points this cycle. Looks like it's onward and downward in West Lafayette.
| PURDUE'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| OLB Yanni Karlaftis ★★★★ // RB Cam'Ron Valdez ★★★★ // OT Joshua Sales ★★★ |
NO. 13 INDIANA • 11 COMMITMENTS • 130.76 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 11
Number of new commits: 1
Highest rated new commit: ATH Jordan Grier (Not Ranked)
Trending: Down. Tom Allen has traveled far and wide for this year's class. Grier is Allen's second commit from Georgia. Also in the 2020 class are three verbals from Florida and one from Australia. A shame those middling ranked kids are traveling so far to get their asses handed to them in the Big Ten East.
*Note*OT Joshua Sales committed yesterday (8/1) only players from July are included in this update.
| INDIANA'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| ATH MJ Daniels ★★★ // OT Joshua Sales ★★★ // SDE Robert Jackson ★★★ |
NO. 12 MICHIGAN STATE • 12 COMMITMENTS • 136.87 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 12
Number of new commits: 1
Highest rated new commit: TE Jake Renda (.8410)
Trending: Down. OLB Jamari Buddin of Michigan was one of the Spartans' top targets last month. Mel Tucker wasn't able to keep the in-state prospect as Buddin committed his talents to Penn State. Tucker did land 3-star TE Jake Renda, but his commitment barely moved the needle with the power ranking points.
Tucker and MSU get the trending down moniker because they now trail Illinois.
| MICHIGAN STATE'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| RB Donvan Edwards ★★★★ // OG Geno VanDeMark ★★★★ // OC Michael Myslinski ★★★ |
NO. 11 ILLINOIS • 14 COMMITMENTS • 144.59 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 13
Number of decommits: 1
Number of new commits: 5
Highest rated new commit: OC Josh Kreutz (.8466)
Trending: Up. Lovie Smith has been hitting the trail hard the past two months. The non-bearded one added eight new players in the two summer months starting with "J". Yes, all of the players are 3★ caliber, but the new additions are enough for the Illini to rank as the best of the worst in the conference.
| ILLINOIS' TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| SDE Zeiqui Lawton ★★★ // WR Cameron Bonner ★★★ // WR Jimmy Valsin ★★★ |
NO. 10 NORTHWESTERN • 14 COMMITMENTS • 170.39 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 9
Number of new commits: 1
Highest rated new commit: WR Jacob Gill (.8465)
Trending: Slightly Down. The Wildcats had improved in the rankings the past two months, however that trend is now dead. On the positive side for Pat Fitzgerald and Northwestern is that they have been able to secure all four of their top targets. It appears the ceiling for this class is 8th in the Big Ten.
| NORTHWESTERN'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| TE Jordan Dingle ★★★ // ATH Matthew Langlois ★★★ // WDE Isaiah Henderson ★★★ |
NO. 9 NEBRASKA • 14 COMMITMENTS • 177.92 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 10
Number of new commits: 4
Highest rated new commit: WR Latrell Neville (.8791)
Trending: Like a Yo-Yo. The Cornhuskers continue their up and down ride in the rankings. They fell fell three spots in May, went up two in June, down a spot in July and now they're up again. If Nebraska stays true to the trend they will drop a spot or two next month.
The additions Neville, ATH Marques Buford, and cornerbacks Lardarius Webb Jr. and Malik Williams gave the Scott Frost's class a boost of 28.06 points in the power rankings.
| NEBRASKA'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| TE Thomas Fidone ★★★★ // TE Dametrious Crownover ★★★★ // SAF Sirad Bryant ★★★ |
Respect my decision! @GregSchiano @RUCoachFran @RossDoug21 @CoachNunz pic.twitter.com/W0DA9hv6b5
— ShawnDdo Munnerlyn (@Shawndadonn1) July 18, 2020
NO. 8 Rutgers • 21 COMMITMENTS • 182.95 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 7
Nummber of decommits: 1
Number of new commits: 1
Highest rated new commit: ATH Shawn Munnerlyn (.8265)
Trending: Steady. Although the Scarlet Knights fell a spot, they are where they should be, some might argue higher than they should be. It also appears Greg Schiano's time in Columbus generated some ties as he added ATH Shawn Munnerlyn of Independence to the class on the 18th of July.
| RUTGERS' TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| DT Tywone Malone ★★★★ // OG Geno VanDeMark ★★★★ // RB Audric Estime ★★★★ |
NO. 7 PENN STATE • 13 COMMITMENTS • 191.92 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 8
Number of new commits: 1
Highest rated new commit: OLB Jamari Buddin (.8970)
Trending: Worrisome. The highest James Franklin's 2020 class has been in the conference rankings is sixth. You read that correctly, sixth. Will the Nittany Lions stay in this state of ranking limbo? No, but we are getting later in the game and Penn State has not made a push.
That surge might becoming soon after Rocco Spindler makes his decision on August 8th. By the time this class is officially in the books, Franklin should have another top 3 class of the Big Ten.
| PENN STATE'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| OT Nolan Rucci ★★★★★ // OG Rocco Spindler ★★★★ // SAF Derrick Davis Jr. ★★★★ |
NO. 6 MINNESOTA • 15 COMMITMENTS • 194.65 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 6
Number of new commits: 0
Highest rated commit: CB Avante Dickerson (.9487)
Trending: Up. Remember when Minnesota had the second best recruiting class in the conference? Yeah, May was a long time ago. After a couple of months of market correction, Minnesota has steadied itself at the six-spot.
PJ Fleck has not had a commitment since May, but that bodes well for the Gophers. How is that a good thing? Because Minnesota has remained at sixth in consecutive months without a new verbal. The boat took on a few holes in recent months, but it appears the ship has steadied itself.
| MINNESOTA'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| OT Rod Orr ★★★ // SDE Davon Townley ★★★ // ATH MJ Daniels ★★★ |
WHATS POSSIBLE IS REVEALED ONE DAY AT A TIME. #BolierUp @JeffBrohm @BrianBrohm NEW BEGINNINGS pic.twitter.com/zLr8pHGZbQ
— Sam Jackson (@jackson5ive_) June 11, 2020
NO. 5 MARYLAND • 18 COMMITMENTS • 203.67 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 5
Number of new commits: 2
Highest rated new commit: OLB Bam Booker (.8635)
Trending: Steady. For the third straight update, Locksley and the Terps are locked in at fifth. This cycle, OLB Bam Booker of Ohio and SAF Corey Coley Jr. of Florida committed to Maryland.
Putting a fence around Washington D.C. and Maryland continues to pay off for Locksley. Two out of every three players in this class is from D.C. or Maryland. With the right additions, the Terps might finish in the B1G's top 5.
| MARYLAND'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| OT Tristan Leigh QB ★★★★★ // WR Jalil Farooq ★★★★ // WR Malcolm Johnson Jr. ★★★★ |
No. 4 IOWA • 17 COMMITMENTS • 204.77 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 4
Number of new commits: 0
Highest rated commit: OT David Davidkov (.9406)
Trending: Steady. Like, Maryland, this is the third consecutive month for Iowa to land in the four spot. It appears Kirk Ferentz is going to escape the recent controversy with his job. With his Ferentz's job secure, will the recruits return to committing to the Hawkeyes? If not, Maryland might jump Iowa in the next update.
| IOWA'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| TE Thomas Fidone ★★★★ // OC Michael Myslinski ★★★ // WR Skyler Bell ★★★ |
NO. 3 WISCONSIN • 15 COMMITMENTS • 207.93 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 3
Number of new commits: 0
Highest rated commit: OT JP Benzschawel (.9430)
Trending: Bouncy Ball. Wisconsin fell three spots in May and June, then bounced up five places in July. This month, the Badgers appear to have settled into third position.
However, Iowa and Maryland are a recruit or player rating adjustment from surpassing Paul Chryst's class. As the recruiting war rages on, this has turned into a fun race to follow.
| WISCONSIN'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| OT Nolan Rucci ★★★★★ // WR Skyler Bell ★★★ // DT Marquise Brunson ★★★ |
NO. 2 MICHIGAN • 21 COMMITMENTS • 251.36 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 2
Number of new commits: 2
Highest rated new commit: WR Xavier Worthy (.9256)
Trending: Up. Since April 1, the Wolverines have added 16players to their 2021 class. Those players span from sea to shining sea. Worthy is the third Michigan commit from California. Other hot spots for Harbuagh in this class are Florida, Massachusetts and Michigan with three verbals each.
| MICHIGAN'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| RB Donovan Edwards ★★★★ // OG Rocco Spindler ★★★★ // CB Ceyair Wright ★★★★ |
NO. 1 OHIO STATE • 19 COMMITMENTS • 305.47 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 1
Number of new commits: 1
Highest rated new commit: CB Jordan Hancock (.9649)
Trending: Elite. Jordan Hancock became the 19th member of Ryan Day's 2021 class on July 19th. Hancock will join Suwanee natives Cameron Heyward and Bradley Roby as the only Buckeyes from the city in Georgia.
Since rating recruiting classes became a thing in 2000, only two Ohio State classes have had a higher power rating of 305.47. The 2018 class is the best with 317.06, followed by 2017's 312.14. Buckle up, if Day can finish this group with a bang it has a chance of becoming the best in school history.
For those wondering, the 2010 Florida class has the highest rating in history with 324.62. If all three of Ohio State's top targets (listed below) commit to the good guys, the Buckeyes will climb to a power rating of 323.75.
| OHIO STATE'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| SDE JT Tuimoloa ★★★★★ // WR Emeka Egbuka ★★★★★ // OT Tristan Leigh ★★★★★ |
1000% COMMITTED
— jordan hancock (@jordanhancock_7) July 19, 2020
I AM A BUCKEYE FOR LIFE pic.twitter.com/VKGkvXxDfu
| JULY RANK | TEAM | AVG. COMP. RATING | CHANGE | COMMITS | NEW COMMITS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OHIO STATE | 9577* | +6 | 19 | 1 |
| 2 | MICHIGAN | 8976* | +1 | 21 | 2 |
| 3 | PENN STATE | 8914* | +6 | 13 | 1 |
| 4 | WISCONSIN | 8876 | +0 | 15 | 0 |
| 5 | IOWA | 8783 | +1 | 17 | 0 |
| 6 | MINNESOTA | 8777 | +2 | 15 | 0 |
| 7 (+1) | MARYLAND | 8705 | -11 | 18 | 2 |
| 8 (-1) | NEBRASKA | 8671 | -64 | 14 | 4 |
| 9 (+1) | NORTHWESTERN | 8599 | -10 | 14 | 1 |
| 10 (-1) | INDIANA | 8578* | -64 | 11 | 1 |
| 11 | PURDUE | 8531 | -19 | 9 | 1 |
| 12 | RUTGERS | 8507* | -2 | 21 | 1 |
| 13 | MICHIGAN STATE | 8499 | -9 | 12 | 1 |
| 14 | ILLINOIS | 8420* | -27 | 14 | 5 |
| B1G AVERAGE | 8744 | -12 | 213 | 20 |
*Kickers, Long Snappers and Punters are not included in the average composite rating.
