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USA Today Sports Media Group

Sport

Pete Fiutak

Big Ten Recruiting Rankings, Stars, 3 Other Things That Matter From 2019 National Signing Day

How did all of the Big Ten teams do this recruiting season? Here are the rankings after National Signing Day, along with the stars, and three other things that matter.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews

– 5 Teams That Crushed It This Recruiting Season
– 5 2nd Year Guys Who Came Up Big
– 5 Coaches Who Needed To Have A Big NSD

4. Nebraska Has Taken Off
3. Where’s The Talent?
2. Big Ten Recruiting Rankings
1. 2019 All-Big Ten Recruiting Team

5. Ohio State’s weird class

The 2002 Ohio State recruiting class was fantastic.

As you’d expect, it was good enough to be among the best in college football, and it was big. Without a ton of scholarships to give up, the 2003 class – despite things rocking and rolling under Jim Tressel – was stunningly weak, to the point of being among the bottom half of the Big Ten.

And then came 2004, and everything was back to normal.

Tressel went through all of his issues after the 2010 season, leading to the coaching change to Luke Fickell in 2011, and then the move to Urban Meyer in 2012. Did the recruiting take a step back? Not a chance.

The 2011 class was among the best in the country, the 2012 version was even better, and the machine ramped up to a whole other level as Meyer did his thing.

The point? Coaching changes haven’t meant much to recruiting at OSU. The program brings in the talent no matter what. Which makes this season’s yawner a class a tad puzzling.

Granted, getting Justin Fields from Georgia was better than landing any prep player coming into the college football world this year, but overall, this is a mediocre haul of talent.

Is there ever a blip at Alabama? How about at Georgia now? Or even USC or Oklahoma? Nah. But Ohio State’s 2019 class is barely top 20-worthy, and it’s well behind Michigan and Penn State.

To be fair, the 2018 class was a whopper with both quality and quantity. There weren’t a ton of scholarships to offer – Illinois was the only Big Ten team to sign fewer players – but the five-star types weren’t rolling in to make up for the lack of quantity.

Boo hoo – at least 100 other schools would dream of this class. And double boo hoo – Ryan Day and the Buckeyes are already putting together a whopper for 2020.

But for this year, it’s the minor step back the rest of the Big Ten has to somehow take advantage of.

4. Nebraska Has Taken Off
3. Where’s The Talent?
2. Big Ten Recruiting Rankings
1. 2019 All-Big Ten Recruiting Team

NEXT: Nebraska has taken off

4. Nebraska has taken off

There were plenty of nice parts to the 2019 Big Ten recruiting puzzle.

Wisconsin busted out of the recruit-to-a-type thing a bit by landing QB Graham Mertz and OT Logan Brown – players the other big boy programs wanted.

Purdue absolutely crushed it with Jeff Brohm sticking around and having a whole lot of time to work. The receivers being brought in were fantastic.

Iowa was Iowa – it came up with roughly the same class it brought in for the last ten years. Minnesota’s and Northwestern’s classes are better, but for them – they aren’t exactly national killers. And Illinois had just 13 signees.

That means the opportunity might have just opened up for Nebraska to make a massive leap up in the West.

The Huskers were mediocre at this whole recruiting thing for a long, long time, and then Scott Frost stepped in and changed all of that.

His first class was a whopper, but that was partly helped by bringing in a slew nice recruits from Florida he was working on for UCF.

This year, worked on a national class with 27 signees from 16 different stats – and a grand total of zero from Florida.

It’s not just the offensive guys. The weapons for the attack are easy, but Frost is going after the defensive side, and that’s where the strong linebacker prospects in this class come in.

Combine the best talent level brought in by anyone in the West over the last two seasons to go along Frost’s offensive scheme, and something big is building.

5. Ohio State’s Weird Class
3. Where’s The Talent?
2. Big Ten Recruiting Rankings
1. 2019 All-Big Ten Recruiting Team

NEXT: Where are the superstar talents?

3. Where are the superstar talents?

This is the problem when Ohio State is having a down recruiting year – the Big Ten isn’t getting enough of the talented prospects.

Granted, the league has been able to survive just fine with all of the recruit-to-a-type teams, but the talent gap continues to grow wider and wider.

Michigan had the best recruiting season in the Big Ten, and in terms of overall upside and prospects, its class is no better than around the fifth or sixth best among the SEC teams.

Penn State failed to get a whole slew of the superstars of superstars, and Ohio State – again – didn’t have its normal array of sure-thing NFL prospects.

You could make a reasonable case that the Kentucky class – pushing to stay out of the bottom among the SEC teams this recruiting season – would be around the fifth-best in the Big Ten.

But that’s the SEC.

The Big Ten recruiting classes – at least in terms of prospects and upside – compare well with the ACC. Clemson, Florida State, Michigan and Penn State all have classes with roughly the equal talent level.

Again, when the SEC is rocking and rolling, that’s not a good thing.

From the Pac-12, Oregon’s class is as good as any in the Big Ten, and USC and Washington put up classes that would easily be in the top five among the Big Ten programs.

Oklahoma and Texas had better classes than anyone in the Big Ten, but that’s where it stops in the Big 12.

This is nothing new, of course, for the Big Ten.

Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan State have been more than fine over the years by getting the players that fit.

But imagine what the league would be like if – for just a year or two – it could finally crush the SEC in the recruiting season.

5. Ohio State’s Weird Class
4. Nebraska Has Taken Off
2. Big Ten Recruiting Rankings
1. 2019 All-Big Ten Recruiting Team

NEXT: 2019 Big Ten Recruiting Rankings

2. 2019 Big Ten Recruiting Rankings

No, really. How good were the Big Ten classes this 2019 recruiting season?

14 Illinois Fighting Illini

It’s a really, really, really small class of just 13 recruits, but there’s a whole lot of quality starting with QB-to-be-WR Isaiah Williams to go along with the speed Marquez Beason. There were so many young parts already in the program that there wasn’t much room, but the pressure is on – at least half of this class has to hit for it to work.
– Illinois Recruiting 2019 Final Thoughts: Talent Is There, Bulk Isn’t

13 Maryland Terrapins

The nightmare off the field and the coaching transition led to a weak overall recruiting class, but WR Isaiah Hazel was still a big recruit and Mike Locksley was able to come up with a few ideas on National Signing Day. Landing QB Lance Legendre should be a sneaky-good get for the depth with Kasim Hill transferring.
– Maryland Recruiting 2019 Final Thoughts: Just Wait Until 2020

12 Rutgers Scarlet Knights

It’s not that bad considering all of the recent problems. The four-star prospects might not be there, but this will turn into a productive class. The running backs are there in Kay’Ron Adams and Aaron Young, and the receiving corps got a big upgrade.
– Rutgers Recruiting 2019 Final Thoughts: Slow, Steady Improvement

11 Northwestern Wildcats

With all of the positives now kicking in – the great facilities, the Big Ten West title – the recruiting class was among the strongest in a while under Pat Fitzgerald. The defensive side got most of the talent, especially in the secondary.
– Northwestern Recruiting 2019 Final Thoughts: It’s All Coming Together

10 Minnesota Golden Gophers

It’s not dogging the program for saying it’s really good class – for Minnesota. PJ Fleck is going after the quarterbacks with Jacob Clark and Cole Kramer added on to the current pile of options. The D line got a huge boost.
– Minnesota Recruiting 2019 Final Thoughts: ROWpher19 Underway

9 Michigan State Spartans

Ehhhhh, it’s okay. The offensive line picked up some future starters in Spencer Brown and Devontae Dobbs, and there are plenty of skill players to throw at the problem, but there’s little star power. It would be nice to get a few more of the guys that others really want.
– Michigan State Recruiting 2019 Final Thoughts: Mark Dantonio Gets Offensive

8 Iowa Hawkeyes

It’s about as Iowa as a recruiting class can get. The program knows what it is, and it gets the right players to fit exactly what Kirk Ferentz and the program needs. The offensive line got the bulk, but LB Jestin Jacobs was the big grab. Now that Iowa is becoming Tight End U., it wasn’t a problem getting a few nice prospects.
– Iowa Recruiting 2019 Final Thoughts: Exactly What You’d Expect

7 Indiana Hoosiers

It’s a very, very quietly strong class with a few stunning upper-level gets. RB Sampson James and DE Beau Robbins were just a few of the great prospects Tom Allen was able to keep in-state. The secondary got a giant boost.
– Indiana Recruiting 2019 Final Thoughts: The Best Hoosier Class In A Long Time

6 Purdue Boilermakers

Head coach Jeff Brohm stuck around, and it showed in the recruiting class that came up with a serious haul of receivers. Milton Wright, TJ Sheffield and David Bell form the nucleus of what should be a terrific passing game for the next few years.
– Purdue Recruiting 2019 Final Thoughts: Brohm’s Booming Class

5 Wisconsin Badgers

It’s not a huge class, but it’s fantastic for what Wisconsin does. Along with the recruit-to-a-type types, Paul Chryst landed Graham Mertz – arguably the most talented high school quarterback talent to come to Madison in two decades. Stealing OT Logan Brown from the Michigan schools was sweet, too.
– Wisconsin Recruiting 2019 Final Thoughts: Bucky’s Best Class

4 Nebraska Cornhuskers

Kaaaaa-boom. This is the best class Nebraska has had in a long time, with Scott Frost showing what he could do with a year to operate. He needed defense, and he got it with LB Nick Henrich and DE Ty Robinson just a few of the excellent gets to build things up. More than anything else, the class is about speed and more speed.
– Nebraska Recruiting 2019 Final Thoughts: The Class The Huskers Have Been Waiting For

3 Ohio State Buckeyes

The Buckeyes will be back up to their ridiculously high level next year. It was a year of transition, but it was still a stunningly mediocre haul for the program. It’s hardly awful, but the superstars – DE Zach Harrison and OT Harry Miller – would just be along for the ride in other OSU classes. However, all that really matters is getting the 2018 No. 1 prospect transferring in – Justin Fields.
– Ohio State Recruiting 2019 Final Thoughts: Lost In Transition

2 Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State just missed out on the No. 1 spot after missing out on a really, really, really big Micah Parsons-like superstar get. However, it’s a rock-solid class with RBs Devyn Ford and Noah Cain and LB Brandon Smith all future key starters.
– Penn State Recruiting 2019 Final Thoughts: Talent Keeps Rolling In

1 Michigan Wolverines

Michigan had a strong class, but it’s here partly because Ohio State took a year off from dominating the recruiting world. It’s a big class for the infrastructure, starting with stealing defensive tackle Chris Hinton from Georgia. The secondary is loaded – Daxton Hill is going to be a special safety.
– Michigan Recruiting 2019 Final Thoughts: Shhhhh, It Was A REALLY Good Class

5. Ohio State’s Weird Class
4. Nebraska Has Taken Off
3. Where’s The Talent?
1. 2019 All-Big Ten Recruiting Team

NEXT: 2019 All-Big Ten Recruiting Team

1. 2019 All-Big Ten Recruiting Team

These are the right answers. These are the guys everyone wanted, and these are going to be the ones who’ll get analyzed years from now as the booms or bust from the 2019 Big Ten recruiting season. They’re the best and the brightest prospects.