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 27 new commitments in June, but there were four decommitments. However, one of the players to rescind on his verbal pledged to another B1G school. What does all of that mean? After the math is settled (and the calculator thrown across the room) the conference currently has 196 commitments.
Let's see where the teams now stand in the rankings.
NO. 14 PURDUE • 9 COMMITMENTS • 123.92 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 12
Number of new commits: 1
Highest rated new commit: QB Sam Jackson (.8927)
Trending: Down. Jeff Brohm and the Boilermakers were able to flip QB Sam Jackson from Minnesota, but it wasn't enough to keep Purdue from dropping two spots to the bottom of the rankings. dropped two places in the rankings all of their committed players had their rating improve by at least 41 points.
| PURDUE'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| WDE Kyran Montgomery ★★★ // OLB Yanni Karlaftis ★★★★ // OT Joshua Sales ★★★ |
NO. 13 ILLINOIS • 10 COMMITMENTS • 124.53 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 14
Number of new commits: 4
Highest rated new commit: WR Patrick Bryant (.8519)
Trending: Up. Lovie Smith started last month with six players, his class is now up to double digits. The three other players joining Bryant are: SAF Joriell Washington, ATH Theodore Lockley and ILB Dylan Rosiek. The Illini are less than one point ahead of Purdue, will they be able to hold the Boilermakers off?
| ILLINOIS' TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| ILB Kendrick Blackshire ★★★★ // SDE Zeiqui Lawton ★★★ // WR Cameron Ball ★★★ |
NO. 12 MICHIGAN STATE • 11 COMMITMENTS • 129.26 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 10
Number of new commits: 0
Trending: Down. MSU fell four spots and has now lost five positions in the last two updates. Mel Tucker has some work to do to make sure the Spartans don't finish in the bottom third of the conference rankings.
| MICHIGAN STATE'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| RB Donvan Edwards ★★★★ // OLB Jamari Buddin ★★★★ // OG Geno VanDeMark ★★★★ |
NO. 11 INDIANA • 10 COMMITMENTS • 130.76 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 13
Number of new commits: 3
Highest rated new commit: QB Donaven McCulley (.8949)
Trending: Up. With the additions of the 6'5" McCulley, ATH Trenten Howland (.8607) and SAF Aubrey Burks (.8593), Tom Allen's climbed two positions.
| INDIANA'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| TE Mitchell Evans ★★★ // OT Joshua Sales ★★★ // SDE Robert Jackson ★★★ |
NO. 10 NEBRASKA • 10 COMMITMENTS • 149.86 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 9
Number of new commits: 3
Highest rated new commit: OLB Will Schweitzer (.8713)
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 and now they're down again. If Nebraska stays true to the trend they will rise a spot or two next month.
| NEBRASKA'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| TE Thomas Fidone ★★★★ // OG Geno VanDeMark ★★★★ // SDE Davon Townley ★★★ |
NO. 9 NORTHWESTERN • 13 COMMITMENTS • 164.94 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 11
Number of new commits: 5
Highest rated new commit: SDE Barryn Sorrell (.8593)
Trending: Up. For the second straight month, Pat Fitzgerald and the Wildcats improved their rank by two positions. Two of the five commits were RB Anthony Tyus III and TE Lawson Albright, both were listed last month as Top Prospects for NU. If the 2021 Northwestern class stays hot they could bypass Penn State the next time we check in. That's a big if...but it could happen.
| NORTHWESTERN'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| TE Jordan Dingle ★★★ // S Mitch Leigber ★★★ // OT Jack Leyrer ★★★ |
#COMMITTED pic.twitter.com/6NQzEhtiJY
— Barryn Sorrell (@bjsorrell_) June 3, 2020
No. 8 PENN STATE • 12 COMMITMENTS • 182.31 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 6
Number of new commits: 0
Trending: Down. ATH Lonnie White Jr. had a nice spike in his rating (+296), but Franklin and the Nittany Lions still fell from the six-spot. Penn State will likely move into the Top 3, it's just a matter of when.
| PENN STATES' TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| OT Tristan Leigh ★★★★★ // OT Nolan Ricci ★★★★★ // OG Rocco Spindler ★★★★ |
NO. 7 RUTGERS • 19 COMMITMENTS • 183.03 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 7
Number of new commits: 1
Highest rated new commit: OT Tyler Needham (.8581)
Trending: Steady. Schiano and the Scarlet Knights remain in the seventh spot. Can Rutgers remain in this spot in February?
| RUTGERS' TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| DT Tywone Malone ★★★★ // OG Geno VanDemark ★★★★ // RB Audric Estime ★★★★ |
NO. 6 MINNESOTA • 15 COMMITMENTS • 194.41 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 3
Number of new commits: 0
Number of decommits: 3
Trending: Sinking. Two months ago, Minnesota was second in the B1G Power Rankings. Since then, the Gophers have lost ground in consecutive months. With the losses of ATH Sam Jackson (.8927), OLB D'Marion Alexander (.8540) and CB Tamarion Crumpley (.8477), PJ Fleck and company have a couple of holes to fill in the boat.
| MINNESOTA'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| WDE Kelvin Gilliam ★★★★ // OT Rod Orr ★★★★ // SDE Davon Townley ★★★ |
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 • 16 COMMITMENTS • 196.48 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 5
Number of new commits: 1
Highest rated new commit: WDE Terrance Butler (.8540)
Trending: Steady. Locksley and the Terps are trying to get things done with local talent. 12 of the 16 players in the 2021 class are from Maryland or Washington DC. The strategy currently has Maryland in a good spot.
| MARYLAND'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| QB Caleb Williams ★★★★★ // OT Tristan Leigh QB ★★★★★ // WR Jalil Farooq ★★★★ |
No. 4 IOWA • 17 COMMITMENTS • 204.72 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 4
Number of new commits: 2
Highest rated new commit: QB Joey Labas (.8537)
Trending: Slightly Up. Kirk Ferentz added two players, but Labas and CB Jordan Oladokun are the lowest rated players in the class. Their additions "improved" the Hawkeyes' power ranking by 6.41 points.
| IOWA'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| TE Thomas Fidone ★★★★ // TE Gunnar Helm ★★★ // OT Joe Alt ★★★ |
NO. 3 WISCONSIN • 15 COMMITMENTS • 207.85 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 8
Number of new commits: 4
Highest rated new commit: WDE TJ Bollers (.9355)
Trending: Bouncy Ball. After falling three spots in consecutive months, Wisconsin bounced back up 5 positions. The addition of Bollers, the Badgers highest rated defensive commit (and a Top Prospect last month), helped bolster the boost.
As the recruiting war rage on, it will be fun to watch the jockeying of positions between Wisconsin, Iowa and Maryland.
| WISCONSIN'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| OT Nolan Rucci ★★★★★ // CB Robert Regan ★★★ WR Skyler Bell ★★★ |
NO. 2 MICHIGAN • 19 COMMITMENTS • 243.49 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 2
Number of new commits: 3
Highest rated new commit: SDE Quintin Somerville (.9348)
Trending: Up. Since April 1, the Wolverines have added 14 players to their 2021 class. Those players increased Michigan's points from 86.83 to 243.49.
| MICHIGAN'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| RB Donovan Edwards ★★★★ // OG Rocco Spindler ★★★★ // TE Thomas Fidone ★★★★ |
NO. 1 OHIO STATE • 18 COMMITMENTS • 298.06 POWER RANKING
Rank last month: 1
Number of new commits: 0
Number of decommits: 1
Trending: Elite. On June, 25 Devonta Smith became the first Buckeye to decommit in this class. The defensive back from Cincinnati committed to Alabama four days later. Adding more salt to the wound was the flip was after OT JC Latham chose the Tide over Ohio State.
A commitment from WR Emeka Egbuka, or any of Ohio State's top prospects, will help put this great class back on track.
| OHIO STATE'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| DT JT Tuimoloa ★★★★★ // WR Emeka Egbuka ★★★★★ // OT Tristan Leigh ★★★★★ |
Three-star cornerback Devonta Smith, a senior from Cincinnati La Salle, has decommitted from Ohio State. https://t.co/5noOyxflbl
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) June 25, 2020
| JULY RANK | TEAM | AVG. COMP. RATING | CHANGE | COMMITS | NEW COMMITS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OHIO STATE | 9571* | +37 | 18 | 0 |
| 2 | MICHIGAN | 8975* | +15 | 19 | 3 |
| 3 | PENN STATE | 8908* | +26 | 12 | 0 |
| 4 | WISCONSIN | 8876 | +5 | 15 | 4 |
| 5 | IOWA | 8782 | -39 | 17 | 2 |
| 6 (+1) | MINNESOTA | 8775 | +28 | 15 | 0 |
| 7 (-1) | NEBRASKA | 8735 | -41 | 10 | 3 |
| 8 | MARYLAND | 8716 | -5 | 16 | 1 |
| 9 (+1) | INDIANA | 8642 | +48 | 10 | 3 |
| 10 (-1) | NORTHWESTERN | 8609 | -29 | 13 | 5 |
| 11 (+1) | PURDUE | 8550 | +47 | 9 | 1 |
| 12 (-1) | RUTGERS | 8509* | -4 | 21 | 1 |
| 13 | MICHIGAN STATE | 8508* | +9 | 11 | 0 |
| 14 | ILLINOIS | 8447 | -45 | 10 | 4 |
| B1G AVERAGE | 8754 | +15 | 196 | 27 |
*Kickers, Long Snappers and Punters are not included in the average composite rating.
