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2018 B1G Recruiting: May's Rankings, Commitment Board and More 5/1/2017

Matt Gutridge's picture
May 1, 2017 at 9:27pm
80 Comments
 
Feb. 2018

Volume 4 brings 35 new players to the Big Ten.

P.J. Fleck picked up where he left off last month by adding five recruits to his 2018 class. The Gophers currently lead the Big Ten with 14 commits.

Nebraska and Mike Riley matched Minnesota with five verbals. CB Brendan Radley-Hiles of California was the highest-rated commit in the Big Ten this cycle. Riley and his staff are taking advantage of a perceived weak Big Ten West and are bringing quality players to Lincoln.

James Franklin and the Nittany Lions had an up and down recruiting cycle. Everything hit the fan on back-to-back days. April 22nd was the day they lost OT Chris Bleich, but added a pair of offensive tackles. Nana Asiedu (.958) and Antwan Reed (.888) might have influenced Bleich's decision to play elsewhere.

A big blow happened to the Blue and White the next day when Micah Parsons, who is the nation's No. 1 weak-side defensive end, decommitted. Larry Johnson and the Buckeyes are in the running lead to get the talented defensive player.  

Speaking of Ohio State, Urban Meyer is closing the composite ratings gap on Penn State. The Scarlet and Gray added four 4★ players this month and should be on the top of the composite list by the end of July...if not sooner. Having three players go in the First Round of the NFL Draft (seven players overall) is just another selling point for the Ohio State coaching staff.

This piece has information on:

  • 247's B1G Rankings
  • Comprehensive Stars Chart
  • Top B1G committed players by position and Ohio State's top offers
  • Charting the B1G's 2018 average player ratings
  • Charting Ohio State's committed players
  • Committed players by school
  • Open commit/decommit board in the comment section

The 2018 Composite Team Rankings as of 4/30/2017 according to 247

Penn State remains the top team in the Big Ten, but Ohio State is one commit away from becoming king of the hill. Imagine the tears in Happy Valley if Micah Parsons commits to the Buckeyes and he puts Ohio State on top of the comp. average ratings.

Other teams making noise this cycle were Maryland and Nebraska. The Terps made the largest jump by leaping over four teams and landing at 8th. Aided by the addition of Brendan Radley-Hiles and two more California wide receivers, the Cornhuskers climbed three spots and are now fifth.

As teams go up, other teams must go down. This month, Michigan State and Wisconsin fell the furthest. The Badgers did not add a commit and dropped from fourth to seventh. Mark Dantonio received a verbal from Edward Warinner, but it wasn't enough to keep Sparty from slipping down three spots to 8th.

The separation from the top of the league to the bottom is still large, but strides have been made. Last month nine teams were below the conference average, this month proper number of seven teams are below the cut-off line. Look for Maryland, Michigan State and Wisconsin to flirt with the average line as the recruiting season plows on.

247 B1G RANKINGS
B1G RANK TEAM COMP. RATING change
1 PENN STATE 220.60 - 6.10
2 OHIO STATE 212.95 + 77.39
NORTHWESTERN 154.37 + 21.87
4 (+1) MINNESOTA 154.40 + 45.22
5 (+3) NEBRASKA 150.40 + 87.50
6 (+1) MICHIGAN 133.48 + 63.12
7 (-3) WISCONSIN 112.82 + 3.36
  B1G AVERAGE 105.49  
8 (+4) MARYLAND 89.90 + 78.13
9 (-3) MICHIGAN STATE 83.91 + 11.89
10 (-1) IOWA 56.71 +16.32
11 (-1) INDIANA 52.11 +15.62
12 (-1) ILLINOIS 26.63 + 14.42
13 RUTGERS 20.60 +20.60
14 PURDUE 10.00 + 10.00
  AVERAGES 105.49 + 32.81

B1G STARS BREAKDOWN

Ohio State and Penn State remain the only teams in the conference to have 5★ commits. However, the five star players have changed. A couple of months ago, Emory Jones went down to 4 stars. This month, he earned enough points to give the Buckeyes two 5★ players (DT Taron Vincent).

As mentioned above, The Nittany Lions lost their lone defensive 5★ recruit when Micah Parsons decommitted. However, they still have two five stars with Ricky Slade and Justin Fields.

Falling stars. Maryland's dual-threat quarterback, Tyler Desue lost 25 points and his 4★ rating. The Virgnia Beach native is now a three star recruit. Other players sliding from four stars to three were Penn State safety Isaiah Humphries, PSU linebacker Jesse Luketa and Wisconsin linebacker Jack Sanborn.

67 percent of the Big Ten's 2018 commits are rated as three star players. The conference has four 5★ commits and two 2★ verbals. Leg one of this four lap race has been completed and some teams came out sprinting, while others forgot to run.

Who will win the race, the tortoise or the hare? My money is on the Buckeye.

No. of Recruits and Stars for B1G Teams
RANK TEAM 5★ 4★ 3★ 2★ NR TOTAL
1 (+3) MINNESOTA     14     14
2 NORTHWESTERN   1 11 1   13
3 (-2) PENN STATE 2 5 5     12
4 (+1) OHIO STATE 2 7       9
5 (+3) NEBRASKA   5 3     8
6 (-3)  WISCONSIN     8     8
7 MICHIGAN   4 3     7
  B1G AVERAGE 0.3 1.9 4.4 0.1   6.7
8 (+3) MARYLAND   2 3     5
8 (-2) MICHIGAN STATE   2 3     5
10 (-1) INDIANA     4     4
10 (-1) IOWA     4     4
12 (-1) ILLINOIS     2     2
13 (-2) RUTGERS     1 1   2
14 (-3) PURDUE     1     1
  B1G TOTAL 4 26 62 2   94

Purdue and Rutgers added their first player(s). Congratulations if you picked Rutgers to be the last Big Ten team to get a 2018 recruit. Keep your guessing hats on and predict the bottom three teams in the Big Ten come February. 

2018's Highest-Rated Big Ten Commits

Some new names are at the top of the list for the position battles. Five of Ohio State's nine commits are currently the best at their position. The Big Ten East owns 13 of the 18 positions. Will a team add a fullback this cycle?

TOP 2018 B1G COMMITTED OFFENSIVE PLAYERS
POS. PLAYER 247 COMP. POS RK SCHOOL OSU'S TOP COMMIT / OFFER
DUAL JUSTIN FIELDS 986 1 PENN STATE EMORY JONES (983 / 2)
PRO JASON WHITTAKER 865 18 NORTHWESTERN ARTUR SITKOWSKI (962 / 4) committed to Miami 2/27
APB RICKY SLADE 984 1 PENN STATE JAELEN GILL (978 / 2)
RB BRIAN SNEAD 959 4 OHIO STATE ZAMIR WHITE (998 / 1)
FB          
WR JUSTIN SHORTER 959 16 PENN STATE JALEN HALL (994 / 1)
TE ZACK KUNTZ 957 3 PENN STATE JEREMY RUCKERT (964 / 2)
C WILL FARNIOK 935 14 NEBRASKA FREDRICK SCRUGGS (921 / 2)
OG EMIL EKIYOR 953 3 MICHIGAN JAMAREE SALYER (996 / 1)
OT MAX WRAY 965 6 OHIO STATE JACKSON CARMAN (995 / 1)
DEFENSE          
SDE BRENTON COX 973 2 OHIO STATE XAVIER THOMAS (999 / 1)
WDE TATE WILDEMAN 861 29 NEBRASKA MICAH PARSONS (99 / 1)
DT TARON VINCENT 994 1 OHIO STATE GREG EMERSON (981 / 2)
ILB NICK TARBURTON 894 11 PENN STATE TERDJA MITCHELL (987 / 2)
OLB  OTIS REESE 927 9 MICHIGAN PAYTON WILSON (955 / 3)
CB BRENDAN RADLEY-HILES 965 9 NEBRASKA PATRICK SURTAIN JR (998 / 1)
SAF JAIDEN WOODBEY 981 3 OHIO STATE BJ FOSTER (993 / 1)
ATH XAVIER HENDERSON 903 18 MICHIGAN STATE BLUE SMITH (950 / 2)

New player.

 

CHARTING 2018'S AVG PLAYER RATINGS*
RANK TEAM FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL
OHIO STATE .978 .979 .981 .967    
2 (+1) PENN STATE .931 .934 .929 .923    
3 (+1) NEBRASKA .913 .913 .911 .904    
4 (-2) MICHIGAN .941 .935 .937 .903    
5 (+7) MARYLAND     .818 .885    
6 (-1) MICHIGAN STATE .923 .883 .883 .873    
  BIG AVERAGE .890 .880 .874 .866    
WISCONSIN .857 .845 .850 .855    
8 MINNESOTA   .849 .848 .851    
9 (-3) NORTHWESTERN .835 .835 .853 .849    
10 (-1) IOWA .829 .829 .836 .845    
11 ILLINOIS     .822 .834    
12 (-2) INDIANA .800 .800 .823 .833    
13 RUTGERS       .803    
14 (-1) PURDUE       .800    

*Kickers, punters and long snappers are not included in player averages.

Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes took a bit of a dip this month, but maintained their lead overall lead. Penn State is now second, but is 44-points behind Ohio State. Meyer extended his lead over Harbaugh to 64 points.

With more 5★ and 4★ players on the horizon, the 2018 Ohio State recruiting class could be one for the ages. 

Maryland's 67-point jump is the largest of this cycle. Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota are the only teams to have their player average increase over the last month.

Which teams do you think will rise and fall over the next month? One thing is almost certain and that is Meyer and Ohio State will finish the 2018 race at the top.

Meyer
Urban Meyer is creating something special with the 2018 class.

 

CHARTING OHIO STATE'S 2018 COMMITTED PLAYERS
RANK PLAYER FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP
1 TARON VINCENT     993 994        
2 EMORY JONES 984 984 983 985        
3 JAIDEN WOODBEY 984 982 982 981        
4 JAELEN GILL   982 981 978        
5 BRENTON COX     973 973        
6 MAX WRAY     967 965        
7 BRIAN SNEAD 967 966 965 959        
8 JOSH PROCTOR     955 956        
9 SEVYN BANKS     917 917        

2018 B1G Commitments as of 4/30/17

Below you will find every team in the Big Ten and the players in the 2018 class who have committed to play at each university.

  • Players in bold are new commits since 4/5/2017.
  • The +/- represents the movement in a player's rating since 4/5.
  • Kickers/punters/long snappers are not included in the team average. 
     
2018 BIG TEN EAST COMMITS (44)
SCHOOL NAME POS RANK RATING +/- COMMIT DATE
OHIO STATE
BRIAN SNEAD


EMORY JONES


JAIDEN WOODBEY


JAELEN GILL


TARON VINCENT


MAX WRAY


JOSH PROCTOR


BRENTON COX


SEVYN BANKS
RB


DUAL


SAF


APB


DT


OT


S


SDE


CB
4


2


3


2


1


6


8


2



22
959


985


981


978


994


967


955


973


917
-6


+2


-1


-3


+1


-2


+1






 
7/22/2016


7/29/2016


2/7/2017


3/1/2017


4/2/2017


4/15/2017


4/15/2017


4/25/2017


4/26/2017
    AVG 5.6 968 -13  
             
INDIANA
JORDAN JUSEVITCH


ELIJAH RODGERS


CAM JONES


KRISTIAN PECHAC
SAF


CB


ATH


RB
106


103


79


29
800


827


839


865






-3


 
1/21/2017


4/1/2017


4/2/2017


4/8/2017
    AVG 79.3 833 +10  
             
MARYLAND
DURELL NCHAMI


TYLER DESUE


NIHYM ANDERSON


AUSTIN FONTAINE


EVAN GREGORY
WDE


DUAL


OLB


DT


OG
51


16


55


7


15
853


866


850


961


897
+35


-25








-5
3/13/2017


4/12/2017


4/13/2017


4/22/2017



4/22/2017
    AVG 28.8 885 +67  
             
MICHIGAN
OTIS REESE


EMIL EKIYOR


AIDAN HUTCHINSON


MYLES SIMS


CHRISTIAN TURNER


GEMON GREEN


GERMAN GREEN
OLB


OG


SDE


CB


RB


CB


CB
9


3


8


14


30


30


89
929


952


930


941


867


888


837
-2


+1


-16


+5


-4





-1
6/18/2016


10/2/2016


2/21/2017


4/7/2017


4/10/2017


4/20/2017


4/20/2017
    AVG 26.1 903 -34  
             
MICHIGAN STATE
XAVIER HENDERSON


JOSEPH SCATES


TRENTON GILLISON


THEO DAY


CHRISTIAN JACKSON


EDWARD WARINNER
ATH


WR


TE


PRO


CB


ILB
13


23


11


17


68


49
903


940


913


868


852


829
-12





-4


+6


+12


 
9/9/2106


1/18/2017


1/29/2017


2/26/2017


3/1/2017


4/12/2017
    AVG 31.6 873 -11  
             
PENN STATE

 

MICAH PARSONS


CHRIS BLEICH


JUSTIN SHORTER


PAT FREIERMUTH


ZACK KUNTZ


JUSTIN FIELDS


ISAIAH HUMPHRIES


CHARLIE KATSHIR


JESSE LUKETA


RICKY SLADE


NICK TARBURTON


TRENT GORDON


NANU ASIEDU


ANTWAN REED
WDE


OT


WR


SAF


TE


DUAL


SAF


OLB


OLB


APB


ILB


CB


OT


OT
1


23


16


6


3


1


29


38


13


1


11


37


9


25
999


896


958


936


967


986


896


860


895


983


897


875


958


888






+1


+3


-10





-13


+2


-6


+1


-3


+4





 
2/27/2016


4/7/2016


8/6/2016


8/16/2016


11/26/2016


12/1/2016


12/31/2016


2/2/2017


2/3/2017


2/3/2017


2/9/2017


3/29/2017


4/22/2017


4/22/2017
    AVG 15.8 923 -6  
             
RUTGERS
RACHAD WILDGOOSE


JARRETT PAUL
S


CB
112


111
789


818
  4/15/2017


4/22/2017
    AVG 111.5 803    

OLB Mike Bruner was the third player this cycle to decommit from a Big Ten school when he dropped Iowa on April 25, 2017. To date, five players have changed their minds.

 

BIG TEN WEST COMMITS (50)
SCHOOL NAME POS RANK RATING +/- COMMIT DATE
ILLINOIS
CORAN TAYLOR


JULIAN PEARL
DUAL


OT
35


87
834


833
+12


 
4/3/2017


4/21/2017
    AVG 61.0 834    
             
IOWA
MIKE BRUNER


JEFFREY JENKINS


DILLON DOYLE


HENRY GEIL


TYRONE TRACY
OLB


OG


OLB


RB


RB
69


46


42


65


46
826


832


858


836


854
  10/23/2016


1/22/2017


3/20/2017


4/23/2017


4/29/2017
    AVG 49.8 845 +9  
             
MINNESOTA
BENJAMIN SAPP III


JALEN MAYFIELD


BRENNAN ARMSTRONG


ELIJAH TEAGUE


TERELL SMITH


NOLAN EDMONDS


ABI OKONJI


LOGAN RICHTER


AUSTIN BEIER


JORNELL MANNS


OYENMWEN UZEBU


TYRIK HENDERSON


ERIK GIBSON


MARIONO SORI-MARIN
CB


OT


DUAL


DT


CB


RB


SDE


DT


OG


ATH


OT


CB


WR


OLB
73


59


20


34


60


36


33


57


33


106


44


75


147


85
844


842


846


864


852


856


842


839


839


858


864


847


839


820
+4





+4


+16


+4





+7


+6


+9


+2


-10





+17


 
2/11/2017


2/18/2017


2/19/2017


2/25/2017


3/10/2017


3/15/2017


3/25/2017


3/25/2017


3/30/2017


4/14/2017


4/15/2017


4/19/2017


4/22/2017



4/28/2017
    AVG 61.8 851 +3  
             
NEBRASKA
CAMERON JURGENS


MASRY MAPIEU


ERIC FULLER


WILL FARNIOK


BRENDAN RADLEY-HILES



MANUEL ALLEN


TATE WILDEMAN


CHASE WILLIAMS
TE


DT


CB


OC


CB


WR


WDE


WR
5


59


26


14


9


31


29


34
943


843


938


935


965


924


861


922
-4


-5


-2


+91


-12


-7


+7



 
8/6/2015


6/17/2016


1/18/2017


4/8/2017


4/14/2017


4/15/2017


4/16/2017


4/23/2017
    AVG 25.9 912    
             
NORTHWESTERN
JASON WHITTAKER


PAYNE HE'BERT


CHARLES SCHMIDT


CHARLIE MANGIEIRI


DEVIN O'ROURKE


BRIAN KAISER


WYATT BLAKE


ANDREW LEOTA


JACOB JEFFERSON


GREG NEWSOME


GRAYSON MANN


ETHAN BONNER


JEREMIAH McDONALD
PRO


OT


OG


ATH


SDE


TE


OG


WDE


WR


CB


ILB


CB


SAF
18


89


34


73


9


35


24


36


179


47


32


127


38
867


803


832


839


921


864


865


852


829


864


844


783


868
-2


+8


+15


+2


-9


-24


-3


+3











-17


 
12/10/2016


1/13/2017


3/5/2017


3/8/2017


3/10/2017


3/10/2017


3/17/2017


3/31/2017


4/1/2017


4/3/2017


4/7/2017


4/8/2017


4/10/2017
    AVG 57.0 849 -7  
             
PURDUE
RAYMOND ELLIS DT 5 800   4/10/2017
    AVG 5.0 800    
             
WISCONSIN
BEN BRYANT


REGGIE PEARSON


TRENT INGALLS


BOYD DIETZEN


CJ GOETZ


MASON PLATTER


MICHAEL FURTNEY


JACK SANBORN
PRO


SAF


SAF


SDE


ILB


OLB


OT


ILB
25


40


54


22


43


61


52


15
857


862


850


860


835


840


854


883
+4


+5





+7


+9


+18


+4


-8
12/7/2016


8/27/2016


10/29/2016


2/20/2017


2/20/2017


2/20/2017


3/14/2017


3/22/2017
    AVG 39.0 855 +5  

 

 

BIG TEN DECOMMITS (5)
SCHOOL NAME POS RANK RATING COMMIT DATE DECOMMIT DATE NEW SCHOOL
MSU
JOSEPH SCATES WR 65 933 1/18/2017 2/18/2017 ALABAMA (LEADER)
               
IOWA
JALEN MAYFIELD OT 59 842 2/18/2017 3/26/2017 MICHIGAN (LEADER)
               
Penn State
CHRIS BLEICH OT 33 896 4/7/2016 4/22/2017 NEBRASKA (LEADER)
PENN STATE
MICAH PARSONS WDE 1 998 2/27/2016 4/23/2017 OHIO STATE (LEADER)
               
IOWA
MIKE BRUNER OLB 76 826 10/23/2016 4/25/2017 IOWA STATE
(LEADER)

 

If you receive news of  a player committing to a B1G school during the month of April post it in the comment section.

This is a forum post from a site member. It does not represent the views of Eleven Warriors unless otherwise noted.

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