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 52 new commitments in April, including 13 players with four-star ratings. The conference total up to 128 commitments.
Let's see where the teams now stand in the rankings.
NO. 14 ILLINOIS • 1 COMMITMENT • 13.66 POWER RANKING
Nothing to report on the recruiting front from Champaign. With QB Samari Collier being the only commit, Lovie Smith's class is currently the worst in the conference.
Trending: Down. The Illini did not have a commit in April and fell one spot to last place in the conference.
| ILLINOIS' TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| ILB Kendrick Blackshire ★★★★ // RB Mar'Keise Irving ★★★★ // WR Dominic Lovett ★★★★ |
NO. 13 NORTHWESTERN • 5 COMMITMENTS • 76.01 POWER RANKING
Inside linebacker Mac Uihlein (.9050) committed to Pat Fitgerald's team on April 3rd. The four-star linebacker is the highest rated in the Wildcats' 2021 class.
The class picked up its fifth player when QB Brendan Sullivan verbally committed on 4/20.
Trending: Down. Although the Wildcats added two commits, Fitzgerald's 2021 class fell two spots to No. 13.
| NORTHWESTERN'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| WDE TJ Bollers ★★★★ // SDE Najee Story ★★★★ // TE Jordan Dingle ★★★ |
NO. 12 INDIANA • 5 COMMITMENTS • 78.57 POWER RANKING
Entering April, the Hoosiers had one commit. By April 11th, Tom Allen was able to add four players to the 2021 class. All of the new additions are 3★ players. SDE Cooper Jones (.8839) is the top-rated player in this class.
Trending: No Change. After adding four players, the Hoosiers remain at 12th. However, everything didn't remain the same. The new additions brough Indiana's composite average down by 115 points.
| INDIANA'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| QB Donaven McCulley ★★★★ // SDE Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge ★★★★ // TE Jack Pugh ★★★★ |
NO. 11 NEBRASKA • 5 COMMITMENTS • 91.08 POWER RANKING
Scott Frost's 2021 class added some more beef to the offensive line and currently has five players. OT Branson Yager committed on the 27th of April. The native of Utah is the third offensive line player to verbal in this class.
Trending: Down. Frost's class had one of the larger drops in the Big Ten this cycle. The Cornhuskers dropped from 8th down to 11th.
| NEBRASKA'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| TE Thomas Fidone ★★★★ // WDE TJ Bollers ★★★★ ATH Keagan Johnson ★★★ |
NO. 10 PURDUE • 7 COMMITMENTS • 93.17 POWER RANKING
Jeff Brohm had a busy April. The Boilermaker boss added four players from four different states. Brohm was able to get kids from New York, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio to commit last month.
Purdue's top-ranked verbal is ATH Bryon Threats of Dublin Coffman. Threats is the only player in Indiana's class from the Buckeye state.
Trending: No Change. Jeff Brohm's staff added 4 players, but remains in 10th.
| PURDUE'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| RB Mar'Keise Irving ★★★★ // CB Daylan Carnell ★★★ // OLB Yanni Karlaftis ★★★★ |
NO. 9 MICHIGAN STATE • 10 COMMITMENTS • 125.60 POWER RANKING
What a difference a month makes. Michigan State added 10 players this cycle. The most recent, CB Charles Brantley (.8649) of Florida is the best in the class.
Trending: Back to Life. 30 days ago, Tucker did not have a commit for 2021. Today, the Spartans have 10 commits. A final standing just outside of the top 5 would be quite the accomplishment for MSU this year.
| MICHIGAN STATE'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| RB Donvan Edwards ★★★★ // CB Keuan Parker ★★★ // WR Andrel Anthony ★★★★ |
Committed pic.twitter.com/8HBN2PrGCv
— Jantzen Dunn (@JantzenDunn) April 20, 2020
NO. 8 RUTGERS • 11 COMMITMENTS • 144.77 POWER RANKING
Brayden Fox, a receiver from Akron Hoban, was the lone player to commit to Rutgers in April. Fox comes from a family with a strong football history.
Derek Fox, Brayden's dad, for Penn State. Dustin Fox, Brayden's uncle, played for the Buckeyes and was on the 2002 national championship team. Brayden also had four great uncles who played for Ohio State.
Trending: Down. Schiano's 2021 class was fifth last month. Today, the Scarlet Knights are getting closer to their rightful place outside of the Big Ten's Top 10.
| RUTGER'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| DT Tywone Malone ★★★★ // OG Geno VanDemark ★★★★ // RB Audric Estime ★★★★ |
NO. 7 MARYLAND • 10 COMMITMENTS • 146.26 POWER RANKING
Mike Locksley and Maryland had a quiet April. The Terps did not gain a commitment this cycle, but did not make some noise today. The addition of DT Marcus Bradley will be included in next month's rankings.
Trending: Down. The Terps had the largest drop in the rankings and fell four spots.
| MARYLAND'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| QB Caleb Williams ★★★★★ // OLB Aaron Willis ★★★★ // SDE Monkell Goodwine ★★★★ |
NO. 6 PENN STATE • 10 COMMITMENTS • 155.54 POWER RANKING
The Nittany Lions picked up four 4★ players in April. That is more than any other Big Ten school this cycle. In all, James Franklin added seven players and is positioning this class for a top 3 finish in the conference.
Trending: Up. Franklin and the Nittany Lions climbed three spots and are closer to getting back to their likely final spot of second or third.
| PENN STATES' TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| QB Caleb Williams ★★★★★ // CB Tony Grimes ★★★★★ // OT Nolan Ricci ★★★★★ |
. Blessed To Be In This Position
— (@KalenKing21_) April 10, 2020
Now Its Time To Take The Next Step
C O M M I T T E D
# pic.twitter.com/W8BbtDxKJm
NO. 5 WISCONSIN • 10 COMMITMENTS • 159.09 POWER RANKING
After a fast start, Paul Chryst's 2021 class has slowed down. The Badgers have only added two players since the calendar flipped to 2020.
Running back Antwan Roberts (.8416) of Hendersonville, TN was the only Wisconsin commit in April. Will things pick up for Wisconsin in May?
Trending: Down. The Badgers added one commit and fell three spots. However, fifth is where Wisconsin finished last year.
| WISCONSIN'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| OT Nolan Rucci ★★★★★ // WDE TJ Bollers ★★★★ // CB Robert Regan ★★★ |
NO. 4 MICHIGAN • 11 COMMITMENTS • 172.33 POWER RANKING
Of Michigan's seven new commits, three of them are from the football juggernaut state of Massachusetts. Harbaugh was also able to break through and get a player from our great state.
Northmont WR Markus Allen (.8688) became the first player from Ohio to join Harbaugh's 2021 class.
Trending: Up. The recruiting hot bed of Massachusetts helped Jimmy's class climb two spots.
| MICHIGAN'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| RB Donovan Edwards ★★★★ // OG Rocco Spindler ★★★★ // OT Garrett Dellinger ★★★★ |
NO. 3 IOWA • 13 COMMITMENTS • 186.40 POWER RANKING
Kirk Ferentz hit the trail hard and added five players to his 2021 class. Most surprising is that only one of the five additions is from Iowa. However, in Iowa tradition, four of the five players are from Midwest states.
OT David Davidkov (.9414) committed to the Hawkeyes on April 27th and is the top-rated player in the class.
Trending: Up. Ferentz continues his lock down of the corn belt. The Hawkeyes climbed one spot and improved their composite average by 12 points.
| IOWA'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| TE Thomas Fidone ★★★★ // OT Rayshaun Benny ★★★★ // WR Brody Becht ★★★ |
NO. 2 MINNESOTA • 14 COMMITMENTS • 187.55 POWER RANKING
P.J. Fleck did a lot of fishing from his boat. The animated head coach netted nine players in April and now has the second best class in the Big Ten.
Three of the new commits are currently rated as four-star talents. Those 4★ players are CB Avante Dickerson (.9609), CB Steven Ortiz (.9000) and ATH Sam Jackson (.8935). It appears Fleck is using last season's on field success on the recruiting trail.
Trending: Rocket Boat. The Gophers jumped 5 spots over the last 30 days. Although Minnesota likely won't finish in the top 5, this class should finish in the top 10.
| MINNESOTA'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| SDE Najee Story ★★★★ // RB Mar'Keise Irving ★★★★ // ILB Jaydon Hood ★★★ |
NO. 1 OHIO STATE • 17 COMMITMENTS • 294.67 POWER RANKING
Ryan Day continues to dominate on the recruiting trail. He has added at least on player to the 2021 class in every month since December. That streak continued in April as SDE Tunmise Adeleye (.9789) and ATH Jantzen Dunn (.9098) joined the class.
There might not be much more room in this class, but the next additions should bring more of the same quality. 2021 might be one for the ages.
Trending: Elite. The class is not only tops in the Big Ten, but it is also the best in the nation. Going forward, it's only a question of how high this class will go.
| OHIO STATE'S TOP PROSPECTS |
|---|
| DT JT Tuimoloa ★★★★★ // CB Tony Grimes ★★★★★ // WR Emeka Egbuka ★★★★★ |
100% Committed #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/V1fH5UlFpq
— (@TunmiseAdeleye) April 15, 2020
| APRIL RANK | TEAM | AVG. COMP. RATING | CHANGE | COMMITS | NEW COMMITS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OHIO STATE | 9525 | -9 | 17 | 2 |
| 2 | MICHIGAN | 8946 | -256 | 11 | 7 |
| 3 | PENN STATE | 8935 | -37 | 10 | 7 |
| 4 | NEBRASKA | 8878 | -85 | 5 | 1 |
| 5 | WISCONSIN | 8823 | -46 | 10 | 1 |
| 6 | IOWA | 8819 | +12 | 13 | 5 |
| 7 | MINNESOTA | 8755 | +57 | 14 | 9 |
| 8 | MARYLAND | 8673 | +157 | 10 | |
| 9 | INDIANA | 8624 | -115 | 5 | 4 |
| 10 | RUTGERS | 8568 | -23 | 11 | 1 |
| 11 | NORTHWESTERN | 8563 | +234 | 5 | 2 |
| 12 | MICHIGAN STATE | 8464 | +8464 | 10 | 10 |
| 13 | PURDUE | 8428 | -8 | 7 | 4 |
| 14 | ILLINOIS | 8366 | +14 | 1 | |
| B1G AVERAGE | 8739 | -32 | 128 | 52 |
*Kickers are not included in the average composite rating.
