I don’t blame you in the slightest for feeling like college football’s first Early Signing Period was a failure.
After all, Ohio State missed out on five-star offensive tackle Jackson Carman; watched as four-star commits Emory Jones and Jaiden Woodbey flipped to Florida and Florida State, respectively; and was leapfrogged by Georgia for the top spot in the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings.
But in spite of all of that, the Buckeyes still managed to sign 21 prospects on Wednesday. And with another signing day to go, this year’s class could easily surpass last year’s haul, which was dubbed the best pound-for-pound class of all time.
Not bad for a head coach that’s supposedly on the back end of his career, a defensive line coach that’s rumored to be retiring this offseason and a program that “doesn’t ever win big games,” huh?
Tell that to the rest of the Big Ten, which watched as Ohio State hoisted the conference championship trophy in Indianapolis earlier this month. Those programs would love nothing more than to recruit at the same level as the Buckeyes, who once again finished the Early Signing Period atop the conference standings.
So, how does the rest of the Big Ten stack up? Let’s find out.
NOTE: Teams are listed in order of conference finish with 247Sports national ranking in parentheses.
PENN STATE (4)
Penn State signed 22 prospects, including three five-star recruits in defensive end Micah Parsons, all-purpose back Ricky Slade and wide receiver Justin Shorter. With Parsons in the fold, the Nittany Lions have now landed the top-ranked player in the state in each of the last three seasons — marking the first time that's happened in three-straight seasons since 2004-06.
MICHIGAN (14)
Michigan added 19 players during the three-day signing period, but failed to add a single five-star prospect. The highlight of the Wolverines' haul was Mustapha Muhammad — who is widely considered the second-best tight end in the class behind Ohio State's Jeremy Ruckert — and a defensive end from Germany named Julius Welschof, who flipped from Georgia Tech on Wednesday.
MARYLAND (19)
With the addition of 24 student-athletes, Maryland has put itself in position to land back-to-back Top 25 classes for the first time in school history. Terrapins head coach D.J. Durkin has done a stellar job keeping the top talent home, as evidenced by the 16 players who attended high school in the DMV — Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
MICHIGAN STATE (25)
Michigan State had all 20 signatures faxed in before 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, meaning a relatively drama-free day for head coach Mark Dantoni. And while most of them were overlooked three-star prospects, nine are from Ohio — including Pickerington Central tight end Trenton Gillison and defensive back Xavier Henderson, Dublin Coffman's Jeslord Boateng and Chardon's Chase Kline.
MINNESOTA (30)
Following his first season as head coach, Minnesota's P.J. Fleck has already secured the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history. The Gophers signed 26 players, including two massive offensive linemen in 6-foot-4, 368-pound Curtis Dunlap and 6-foot-8, 400-pound Daniel Faalele and Vic Viramontes, who was widely considered the country's top-rated junior college quarterback.
IOWA (35)
Iowa thrives on developing less-heralded recruits, so it's not a surprise to see all but one of their 18 signees are considered three-star prospects. The Hawkeyes did an excellent job in keeping Des Moines four-star defensive end John Waggoner home, but weren't able to hold off Michigan from flipping long-time tight end commit Ben VanSumeren just days before the Early Signing Period.
WISCONSIN (38)
In similar fashion, Wisconsin landed signatures from 19 prospects on Wednesday morning, most of which have been overlooked or passed over by the nation's top programs. Four-star linebacker Jack Sanborn is the Badgers' highest-rated commit at No. 337 overall, while Cincinnati St. Xavier three-star quarterback Chase Wolf might be the hidden gem of the class.
NEBRASKA (42)
Though new head coach Scott Frost has been pulling double duty by helping his former team, UCF, prepare for the Peach Bowl, Nebraska was able to sign 14 players this week. He's only been on the job for two weeks, but the Cornhuskers managed to flip four-star quarterback Adrian Martinez from Tennessee, while three-star wide receiver Justin McGriff and three-star tight end Katerian Legrone followed him from Orlando.
INDIANA (43)
With 23 signatures on Wednesday, head coach Tom Allen has already wrapped up the highest-rated recruiting class in the history of Indiana football. The class includes players from 10 different states and is led by Tampa three-star quarterback Michael Penix, who turned down a late offer from Florida State to play for the Hoosiers.
RUTGERS (44)
Though it holds commitments from 22 prospects, Rutgers interestingly signed only 19 players during the Early Signing Period — it's unclear at this time why three didn't sign. Nevertheless, the class is spearheaded by former Miami four-star quarterback commit Artur Sitkowski, who becomes the highest-rated signal caller to choose the Scarlet Knights since Tom Savage in 2009.
ILLINOIS (49)
Illinois hit the state of Florida hard this recruiting cycle, with 10 of its 18 signees hailing from the Sunshine State. The Illini's biggest coup, however, came in the form of Chicago native Verdis Brown, a four-star lineman who played his senior season at IMG Academy and was committed to Florida State until head coach Jimbo Fisher left for Texas A&M.
PURDUE (50)
Of the 22 players who signed with Purdue this week, 14 live within a three- to four-hour radius from West Lafayette. That includes Hilliard Bradley three-star wide receiver Kory Taylor, Avon three-star offensive tackle Jimmy McKenna and Cincinnati three-star tight end Jack Cravaack, each of whom turned down offers from ACC and Mid-American Conference programs to play for the Boilermakers.
NORTHWESTERN (53)
With limited scholarships available, Northwestern signed the smallest class in the Big Ten at 16 prospects. The Wildcats stocked up on defensive line, though, with the headliner being four-star end Devin O'Rourke, who is considered the second-best player in the state of Illinois.
