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Know Thy Enemy: Comparing Recruiting Rankings of Penn State's and Ohio State's Starters

Matt Gutridge's picture
by Matt Gutridge
10/26/17 at 6:31a in the OSU Football Forum
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Wins on Saturdays are often determined by signed letters of intent over Februaries past. This piece is a look at the composite ratings of Saturday's starters that signed on the dotted line for Penn State and Ohio State.

RECRUITING RANKINGS: OHIO STATE'S OFF. STARTERS VS. PENN STATE'S DEF. STARTERS 
PENN STATE

 
 
     
OHIO STATE            
POSITION PLAYER COMP. RATING POSITION PLAYER COMP. RATING
S MARCUS ALLEN .888 QB J.T. BARRETT .935
MLB JASON CABINDA .848 RB MIKE WEBER .960
BC CHRISTIAN CAMPBELL .835 WR AUSTIN MACK .961
FC GRANT HALEY .858 WR JOHNNIE DIXON .964
SS TROY APKE .868 HY PARRIS CAMPBELL .936
SLB KOA FARMER .881 TE MARCUS BAUGH .960
DE SHAREEF MILLER .868 LT JAMARCO JONES .970
DT CURTIS COTHRAN .847 LG MICHAEL JORDAN .939
DT PARKER COTHREN .831 C BILLY PRICE .916
DE RYAN BUCHHOLZ .906 RG DEMTRIUS KNOX .952
WLB MANNY BOWEN .903 RT ISAIAH PRINCE .950
           
  AVERAGE .867 AVERAGE   .949

Penn State only has two defensive starters ranked in the .900s, the rest are in the .800s. All of Ohio State's offensive starters are ranked in the .900s. 

OFFENSIVE/DEFENSIVE RECRUITING NOTES

  • Penn State's highest rated defensive starter is DE Ryan Buchholz (.906).
  • The largest gap between these units is the 112 point difference between Ohio State's RB Mike Weber (.960) and the Nittany Lions' MLB Jason Cabinda (.848).
  • The average of Ohio State's offensive starters is 82 points better than Penn State's defensive starters.
 
RECRUITING RANKINGS: OHIO STATE'S DEF. STARTERS VS. PENN STATE'S OFF. STARTERS
PENN STATE
 
     
OHIO STATE                     
POSITION PLAYER COMP. RATING POSITION PLAYER COMP. RATING
LT RYAN BATES .928 DE TYQUAN LEWIS .898
LG STEVEN GONZALEZ .888 DT TRACY SPRINKLE .859
OC CONNOR McGOVERN .904 DT DRE'MONT JONES .938
RG BRENDAN MAHON .901 DE SAM HUBBARD .923
RT WILL FRIES .876 LB DANTE BOOKER .972
TE MIKE GESICKI .913 MLB CHRIS WORLEY .868
RB SAQUON BARKLEY .942 LB JEROME BAKER .969
WR JUWAN JOHNSON .940 CB DENZEL WARD .903
WR DeANDRE THOMPKINS .910 S DAMON WEBB .860
QB TRACE McSORLEY .863 S JORDAN FULLER .938
WR DAESEAN HAMILTON .874 CB DAMON ARNETTE .944
           
  AVERAGE .904 AVERAGE   .916

The and/or players this week are: DE Nick Bosa (.997), DE Jalyn Holmes (.962) and MLB Tuf Borland (.893).

If the and/or players are substituted, Ohio State's average jumps from .916 to .942. That is a 26 point difference.

DEFENSIVE/OFFENSIVE RECRUITING NOTES

  • Penn State's highest rated offensive starter is RB Saquon Barkley (.942).
  • For the third time this season, an opponent has multiple match-up advantages according to the recruiting rankings. Penn State has five players ranked higher than their Ohio State counterpart. Five is a season high.   
  • The average of Ohio State's defensive starters is 12 points better than the Penn State's offensive starters. That is the closest this number has been all season.
Comparing Ohio State's and Penn State's Recruiting Classes
YEAR OHIO STATE PENN STATE
2014 .906 .868
2015 .903 .891
2016 .916 .881
2017 .946 .883
AVG .918 .881

Ohio State averaged a national ranking of 4th over the last four years.
Over the past four recruiting cycles, Penn State averaged a national ranking of 19th. 

ICYMI
The Rundown: No. 2 Penn State at No. 6 Ohio State
The 1942 Season: Through the Words of the Past
The Series History: Ohio State/Penn State

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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