Ben van Ooyen
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Big Ten West Recruiting Round-Up – September
Ben van Ooyen via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Welcome to the September edition of the Big Ten Recruiting Round-up. We normally focus on all things Ohio State here at The Buckeye Battle Cry, but today we are going to branch out and take a look at where all of the other teams in the Big Ten West stand as far as recruiting goes for the class of 2017. We are a little less than six months from signing day, and while we know a lot about the class that the Buckeyes will be bringing in, what do the classes that the rest of the Big Ten West look like right now and how might they finish?
Iowa Hawkeyes – Class Rank #18 – 16 Commitments
1 – 5-Star
2 – 4-Star
13 – 3-Star
Photo via Des Moines Register
Iowa is building on last year success of winning the Big Ten West, and right now are by far have the best recruiting class on that side of the conference. The class is headlined by 5-star A.J. Epenesa, a defensive end out of Edwardsville, Illinois. Epenesa is listed as the #1 defensive end in the country and the #1 overall prospect in the state of Illinois. He made a few unofficial visits last year before deciding for Iowa in January of this year. The Hawkeyes have also received commitments from Chevin Calloway and Eno Benjamin who are both 4-star recruits from the state of Texas. Calloway is a defensive back and he committed back in July over Arkansas and Baylor. He is listed as the #11 cornerback in the nation and the 14th best prospect in the talent-rich state of Texas. Eno Benjamin is a running back who chose the Hawkeyes over Michigan, Texas and Baylor. He ran the ball 366 times last year for 2652 yards and 41 touchdowns for Wylie East High School.
The Buckeyes had offers out to Epenesa, Calloway and Benjamin but were never really in the mix for any of them. Iowa also has no recruits from the state of Ohio this recruiting cycle. They have one recruit that is not from the mid-western part of the country in Joshua Turner from Florida, other than that they are staying in-state and down in Texas for the majority of their recruiting class.
Other names out there that could pull the trigger for the Hawkeyes are 3-star defensive end Andrew Van Ginkel out of Rock Valley, Iowa. He currently has a 66% crystal ball projection to the Hawkeyes. Scott Nelso is a 3-star safety out of Detroit, Michigan who right now holds a slight crystal ball lead over Michigan State. And Zamari Maxwell is a 3-star cornerback out of Largo, Florida who right now holds a 100% crystal ball projection to the Hawkeyes.
Iowa has had one decommitment for the class of 2017 and that was Juan Harris a 3-star defensive tackle out of Janesville, Wisconsin. Harris committed to the Hawkeyes on June 25th of 2015, and then decommitted on June 15th of this year. He then verbally committed to the Indiana Hoosiers on July 25th.
Iowa has a chance to finish out their class with a few 3-star guys and with Kirk Ferentz signing a new extension, recruits have to know that the coaching staff will remain intact for quite some time. That is always a concern of high school kids, getting to college then having your head coach decide to leave or be let go.
Projection – Top 25 Recruiting Class
Nebraska Cornhuskers – Class Rank #27 – 14 Commitments
0 – 5-Star
4 – 4-Star
10 – 3-Star
Photo via Campus Insiders
Nebraska or as recruits have been calling it this year “Calibraska”, is trying to gain a foothold in the state of California this season. They have received verbal commitments from two 4-star guys out of Calabasas High School in Tristan Gebbia and Keyshawn Johnson Jr. Gebbia is a quarterback and is the 8th ranked pro-style quarterback in the class of 2017. He will be joined by one of his favorite targets in Johnson who is the 41st ranked wide receiver in the country. The Cornhuskers have also received commitments from 4-star linebacker and the #1 prospect from the state of Delaware Avery Roberts and from 4-star wide receiver Jaevon McQuitty out of Columbia, Missouri.
Ohio State had an offer out to Keyshawn Johnson Jr., whose cousin Michael Thomas was a star at Ohio State and was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in last years draft. Johnson chose to forge his own path not choosing his dad’s Alma Mater USC or Ohio State. Nebraska has one commitment from a player from the state of Ohio in Matt Sichterman an offensive tackle from Kings Mills. He is the 18th ranked prospect in the state, and 41st ranked offensive tackle overall. Sichterman did not have a Buckeye offer but, did have 30 others before choosing the Cornhuskers.
Nebraska is still in the running for a few more high-value targets, especially Darnay Holmes who is a teammate of Gebbia and Johnson from Calabasas. Holmes is a 5-star cornerback prospect and while he is expected to stay on the west coast, there is a slight chance that he joins his teammates at Nebraska. Rahyme Johnson is another 4-star linebacker from the state of California that is high on Nebraska and right now has a 100% crystal ball projection to the Huskers. He joins Jamire Calvin a 3-star wide receiver from Los Angeles with a 75% crystal ball projection leading the California to Nebraska movement.
Nebraska has not suffered a decommitment so far in this recruiting cycle, and I don’t see any on the horizon for them.
If the Huskers can land Holmes, then they can certainly finish with a top 25 class, however, I feel its unlikely that he selects them so I think they stay right outside the top 25 when all is said and done.
Projection – Top 30 Recruiting Class
Northwestern Wildcats – Class Rank #31 – 18 Commitments
0 – 5-Star
0 – 4-Star
18 – 3-Star
Photo via 247 Sports
The Wildcats are hanging right outside the top 30 in recruiting rankings, and that is without a four or five-star recruit. Pat Fitzgerald has to not only find quality athletes to play football but because of the academic standards of Northwestern, he also has to find quality students as well. Currently, the Wildcats have 18 kids committed and they are all 3-stars, including their highest rated in Sam Miller out of Houston, Texas. Miller is a defensive tackle who had offers from Texas Tech, Indiana and UCF before settling on the Wildcats back in January. Trevor Kent is their second highest rated recruit and he is the #1 recruit from the state of Kansas for the class of 2017. Kent is a defensive end that had 13 offers from the likes of Kansas, Kansas State, Michigan and Nebraska.
The Buckeyes and Wildcats only crossed paths on one recruit in the current class and that is Earnest Brown out of Ryan, Texas. Brown had 24 offers as a defensive end, and it was thought that he would stay closer to home as experts pegged him to TCU or Texas A&M, but he chose Northwestern in March. Brown is rated as the #16 overall defensive end in the class of 2017. The state of Ohio is providing plenty of the talent to Northwester in this recruiting cycle as they have five guys from Ohio currently committed to them. The highest rated player they have from Ohio is tight end Trey Pugh out of Plain City.
Northwestern is not currently crystal balled to any current prospects right now, but they will certainly have their hand in the mix on a number of kids during and after the season.
The Wildcats suffered one decommitment from 3-star tight end Bryce Wolma who committed to Northwestern, and then 3 days later decommitted and committed to Arizona.
I don’t see Northwestern gaining any big name recruits, and if they continue to struggle this season, they could lose a few of these guys that are committed as well. Fitzgerald needs to right the ship quickly and they can salvage the season and keep their recruiting class intact.
Prediction – Top 45 Recruiting Class
Wisconsin Badgers – Class Rank #46 – 11 Commitments
0 – 5-Star
1 – 4-Star
10 – 3-Star
Photo via Bleacher Report
Seeing Wisconsin this low on the recruiting rankings initially shocked me, but then I realized that they only had 11 commitments so far so they can and will climb higher. They are led by their only 4-star recruit Kayden Lyles out of Middleton, Wisconsin. Lyles is an offensive guard who is the #1 prospect from the state of Wisconsin. The Badgers usually lock up most of their in-state talent, and this year is no different. Along with Lyles they have the top 5 kids from the state locked up in Tyler Beach (OT), Jake Ferguson (TE), Logan Bruss (OG), and Aaron Vopal (DE).
Again the Buckeyes and Badgers did not cross paths many times in this recruiting cycle and only Kayden Lyles was offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes. It was always going to be a tough pull for the Buckeyes, but Wisconsin was always going to be the likely home for Lyles. Right now the Badgers do not have any commitments from the state of Ohio, which is unusual as they usually pluck a few from the Buckeye State.
The outlook for future Badgers right now doesn’t look all that great, but Wisconsin usually makes something out of nothing. They are high up on the list of Kennedy Brooks a 4-star running back out of Texas. He currently has an 80% crystal ball projection putting him with the Badgers. They also have a 5% crystal ball projection for Scott Nelson a 3-star safety prospect out of Detroit, Michigan.
The Badgers have not had any decommitments this recruiting cycle, and they will likely hold on to all of their current recruits.
With Paul Chryst now in his second year at Wisconsin, he is getting more and more of his own guys into the system. The Badgers always seem to land quality offensive and defensive lineman from the midwest, and they are continuing to do so in this class. They will need a running back to replace Corey Clement when he leaves, and they could always use a stud quarterback.
Illinois Fighting Illini – Class Rank #58 – 11 Commitments
0 – 5-Star
0 – 4-Star
11 – 3-Star
Photo via Scout
The Lovie Smith era in Champaign has begun, yet recruiting has not taken off because of it yet. The goal for Illinois should be to wrap up as many of the in-state prospects as possible and to get a few from other talent rich areas. Six of the current commitments are from the state of Illinois, while the others are from Florida and Missouri. Their current commitments are heavily offensive in nature with only three of the eleven playing on the defensive side of the ball. Illinois top recruit so far is Carmoni Green a 3-star wide receiver out of Miami, Florida. Green held 10 offers and chose to leave the state of Florida for his college ball.
Ohio State and Illinois have not clashed on any recruits so far this season, and none of the current commitments are from the state of Ohio.
Illinois has a few prospects to keep an eye on in Boe Tufele out of California, Faion Hicks out of Florida, and Calvin Tyler out of Texas. All three are 3-star recruits and Tufele and Hicks would help solidify the defensive side of recruiting if they committed.
Illinois has had one decommitment from Ryan O’Malley out of Libertyville, Illinois. O’Malley committed back in February but then reopened his recruitment in April. He has three offers from Illinois, New Mexico and Buffalo.
Given that Lovie Smith has been in the NFL for the past few decades, relating to high school kids might not come natural to him. However since he does have an NFL pedigree, he knows what it takes to get to the next level and can sell that fact to these high school recruits. While I don’t expect immediate dividends from the hire, I do expect that Illinois will get back to respectability within a few years and become a thorn in the side of the Big Ten yet again.
Prediction – Top 60 Recruiting Class
Purdue Boilermakers – Class Rank #63 – 13 Commitments
0 – 5-Star
0 – 4-Star
11 – 3-Star
2 – 2-Star
Photo via Max Preps
Purdue has been struggling to compete in the Big Ten for quite some time now, and their lackluster recruiting probably has something to do with it. When Darrell Hazell was brought in as head coach, many thought that he would be able to turn things around for the Boilermakers, but now in his 4th season at the helm, Purdue has won seven games and finished last in the Big Ten West every year. It certainly isn’t going to help win over recruits if you are bringing up the rear every year in the conference and never getting a chance to play in a bowl game. Purdue has 13 commitments right now for the class of 2017, and their highest rated commitment is Nick Sipe a 3-star pro-style quarterback out of Villa Park, California. Sipe is the 32nd ranked pro-style quarterback in the class, and the 65th best prospect out of the state of California. Purdue has to battle Notre Dame and Indiana for in-state kids and so far they haven’t been able to land a single one. In order to recruit better, they need to start landing some of these in-state kids. They do have a commitment from legacy recruit Griffin Alstott, who is the son of longtime Tampa Bay Buccaneers fullback Mike Alstott. Griffin is a dual-threat quarterback and committed about a month after he received his offer.
Ohio State and Purdue have not grappled over a recruit so far this recruiting cycle, and it is highly unlikely that they will do so. The Boilermakers do have two commitments from kids out of Ohio in Malcolm Robinson and Brevin Harris. Robinson is a 3-star offensive guard from Massillon who is the 46th best player in the state of Ohio. Harris is a 3-star receiver out of Creston and is the 39th best player in the state.
Purdue will still look to find some more two and three-star kids to fill out this class, but they currently don’t have any player with a single crystal ball pick in for them. They have as of now not received any decommitments from anyone in their class, so there is that.
Depending on how the rest of the season plays out, this might be Hazell’s last rodeo in West Lafayette, and if he is out and the end of the season what does that do for the recruiting class he already has? It really depends on who they would bring in to replace him, but I still think it will be a struggle for Purdue to contend in the Big Ten with all of the big time programs recruiting around them.
Projection: Top 75 Recruiting Class
Minnesota Golden Gophers – Class Rank #73 – 11 Commitments
0 – 5-Star
0 – 4-Star
9 – 3-Star
2 – 2-Star
Photo via Twitter
The Golden Gophers are coming off a year when their head coach had to step away for medical reasons, leaving the team in the hands of Tracy Claeys who had been the defensive coordinator under Jerry Kill since 2011. Kill had done a decent job on the recruiting trail after starting his career at Minnesota 3-9 in 2011. He built the program back up to respectability guiding them to bowl games in every season he coached but that first one. Claeys took over last year after the team had gone 4-3 and finished 2-5 to guide them to the Quick Lane Bowl which they won over MAC champion Central Michigan. Recruiting so far for the 2017 class has been a little stagnant so far, yielding the lowest ranking class in the Big Ten overall. They finished 48th last year in the recruiting rankings, and were looking to build on that this year, but so far they are far off that pace. The Golden Gophers highest ranking recruit is 3-star offensive tackle Blaise Andries out of Marshall, Minnesota. Andries is the #1 player out of the state of Minnesota and the 34th overall tackle in this class. The Gophers also have the #2 recruit from their home state in Eric Abojei who is also an offensive tackle.
The Buckeyes and Gophers have not overlapped in this years recruiting cycle, unlike last season when Carter Coughlin was thought at times to be a Buckeye lean but, ended up in Minnesota. There are also no current recruits from the state of Ohio on the Gophers commitment list which isn’t uncommon, as they usually pull from the area right around Minnesota for the majority of their kids.
Minnesota still has a chance to nab a few more 3-star guys especially Josh Samuel and Ezekiel Ott. Samuel is a 3-star running back out of Lawrenceville, Georgia who has a 100% crystal ball projection to the Gophers. Ott is a 3-star defensive end out of Caledonia, Minnesota who also has a 100% crystal ball to the Gophers. Kendrick Green is an offensive guard out of Peoria Illinois who right now is split 50/50 in crystal ball projections between Minnesota and Iowa.
Minnesota has also not suffered from any decommitments from the class of 2017, and I honestly don’t see any coming.
The Gophers are obviously going to nab some more quality kids to fill out this class, I just don’t see them getting enough to move up the rankings that much. I see them passing Purdue in the end, but not ending up much higher in the rankings.
Projection: Top 75 Recruiting Class
The post Big Ten West Recruiting Round-Up – September appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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Ben van Ooyen via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Welcome to the September edition of the Big Ten Recruiting Round-up. We normally focus on all things Ohio State here at The Buckeye Battle Cry, but today we are going to branch out and take a look at where all of the other teams in the Big Ten West stand as far as recruiting goes for the class of 2017. We are a little less than six months from signing day, and while we know a lot about the class that the Buckeyes will be bringing in, what do the classes that the rest of the Big Ten West look like right now and how might they finish?
Iowa Hawkeyes – Class Rank #18 – 16 Commitments
1 – 5-Star
2 – 4-Star
13 – 3-Star
Photo via Des Moines Register
Iowa is building on last year success of winning the Big Ten West, and right now are by far have the best recruiting class on that side of the conference. The class is headlined by 5-star A.J. Epenesa, a defensive end out of Edwardsville, Illinois. Epenesa is listed as the #1 defensive end in the country and the #1 overall prospect in the state of Illinois. He made a few unofficial visits last year before deciding for Iowa in January of this year. The Hawkeyes have also received commitments from Chevin Calloway and Eno Benjamin who are both 4-star recruits from the state of Texas. Calloway is a defensive back and he committed back in July over Arkansas and Baylor. He is listed as the #11 cornerback in the nation and the 14th best prospect in the talent-rich state of Texas. Eno Benjamin is a running back who chose the Hawkeyes over Michigan, Texas and Baylor. He ran the ball 366 times last year for 2652 yards and 41 touchdowns for Wylie East High School.
The Buckeyes had offers out to Epenesa, Calloway and Benjamin but were never really in the mix for any of them. Iowa also has no recruits from the state of Ohio this recruiting cycle. They have one recruit that is not from the mid-western part of the country in Joshua Turner from Florida, other than that they are staying in-state and down in Texas for the majority of their recruiting class.
Other names out there that could pull the trigger for the Hawkeyes are 3-star defensive end Andrew Van Ginkel out of Rock Valley, Iowa. He currently has a 66% crystal ball projection to the Hawkeyes. Scott Nelso is a 3-star safety out of Detroit, Michigan who right now holds a slight crystal ball lead over Michigan State. And Zamari Maxwell is a 3-star cornerback out of Largo, Florida who right now holds a 100% crystal ball projection to the Hawkeyes.
Iowa has had one decommitment for the class of 2017 and that was Juan Harris a 3-star defensive tackle out of Janesville, Wisconsin. Harris committed to the Hawkeyes on June 25th of 2015, and then decommitted on June 15th of this year. He then verbally committed to the Indiana Hoosiers on July 25th.
Iowa has a chance to finish out their class with a few 3-star guys and with Kirk Ferentz signing a new extension, recruits have to know that the coaching staff will remain intact for quite some time. That is always a concern of high school kids, getting to college then having your head coach decide to leave or be let go.
Projection – Top 25 Recruiting Class
Nebraska Cornhuskers – Class Rank #27 – 14 Commitments
0 – 5-Star
4 – 4-Star
10 – 3-Star
Photo via Campus Insiders
Nebraska or as recruits have been calling it this year “Calibraska”, is trying to gain a foothold in the state of California this season. They have received verbal commitments from two 4-star guys out of Calabasas High School in Tristan Gebbia and Keyshawn Johnson Jr. Gebbia is a quarterback and is the 8th ranked pro-style quarterback in the class of 2017. He will be joined by one of his favorite targets in Johnson who is the 41st ranked wide receiver in the country. The Cornhuskers have also received commitments from 4-star linebacker and the #1 prospect from the state of Delaware Avery Roberts and from 4-star wide receiver Jaevon McQuitty out of Columbia, Missouri.
Ohio State had an offer out to Keyshawn Johnson Jr., whose cousin Michael Thomas was a star at Ohio State and was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in last years draft. Johnson chose to forge his own path not choosing his dad’s Alma Mater USC or Ohio State. Nebraska has one commitment from a player from the state of Ohio in Matt Sichterman an offensive tackle from Kings Mills. He is the 18th ranked prospect in the state, and 41st ranked offensive tackle overall. Sichterman did not have a Buckeye offer but, did have 30 others before choosing the Cornhuskers.
Nebraska is still in the running for a few more high-value targets, especially Darnay Holmes who is a teammate of Gebbia and Johnson from Calabasas. Holmes is a 5-star cornerback prospect and while he is expected to stay on the west coast, there is a slight chance that he joins his teammates at Nebraska. Rahyme Johnson is another 4-star linebacker from the state of California that is high on Nebraska and right now has a 100% crystal ball projection to the Huskers. He joins Jamire Calvin a 3-star wide receiver from Los Angeles with a 75% crystal ball projection leading the California to Nebraska movement.
Nebraska has not suffered a decommitment so far in this recruiting cycle, and I don’t see any on the horizon for them.
If the Huskers can land Holmes, then they can certainly finish with a top 25 class, however, I feel its unlikely that he selects them so I think they stay right outside the top 25 when all is said and done.
Projection – Top 30 Recruiting Class
Northwestern Wildcats – Class Rank #31 – 18 Commitments
0 – 5-Star
0 – 4-Star
18 – 3-Star
Photo via 247 Sports
The Wildcats are hanging right outside the top 30 in recruiting rankings, and that is without a four or five-star recruit. Pat Fitzgerald has to not only find quality athletes to play football but because of the academic standards of Northwestern, he also has to find quality students as well. Currently, the Wildcats have 18 kids committed and they are all 3-stars, including their highest rated in Sam Miller out of Houston, Texas. Miller is a defensive tackle who had offers from Texas Tech, Indiana and UCF before settling on the Wildcats back in January. Trevor Kent is their second highest rated recruit and he is the #1 recruit from the state of Kansas for the class of 2017. Kent is a defensive end that had 13 offers from the likes of Kansas, Kansas State, Michigan and Nebraska.
The Buckeyes and Wildcats only crossed paths on one recruit in the current class and that is Earnest Brown out of Ryan, Texas. Brown had 24 offers as a defensive end, and it was thought that he would stay closer to home as experts pegged him to TCU or Texas A&M, but he chose Northwestern in March. Brown is rated as the #16 overall defensive end in the class of 2017. The state of Ohio is providing plenty of the talent to Northwester in this recruiting cycle as they have five guys from Ohio currently committed to them. The highest rated player they have from Ohio is tight end Trey Pugh out of Plain City.
Northwestern is not currently crystal balled to any current prospects right now, but they will certainly have their hand in the mix on a number of kids during and after the season.
The Wildcats suffered one decommitment from 3-star tight end Bryce Wolma who committed to Northwestern, and then 3 days later decommitted and committed to Arizona.
I don’t see Northwestern gaining any big name recruits, and if they continue to struggle this season, they could lose a few of these guys that are committed as well. Fitzgerald needs to right the ship quickly and they can salvage the season and keep their recruiting class intact.
Prediction – Top 45 Recruiting Class
Wisconsin Badgers – Class Rank #46 – 11 Commitments
0 – 5-Star
1 – 4-Star
10 – 3-Star
Photo via Bleacher Report
Seeing Wisconsin this low on the recruiting rankings initially shocked me, but then I realized that they only had 11 commitments so far so they can and will climb higher. They are led by their only 4-star recruit Kayden Lyles out of Middleton, Wisconsin. Lyles is an offensive guard who is the #1 prospect from the state of Wisconsin. The Badgers usually lock up most of their in-state talent, and this year is no different. Along with Lyles they have the top 5 kids from the state locked up in Tyler Beach (OT), Jake Ferguson (TE), Logan Bruss (OG), and Aaron Vopal (DE).
Again the Buckeyes and Badgers did not cross paths many times in this recruiting cycle and only Kayden Lyles was offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes. It was always going to be a tough pull for the Buckeyes, but Wisconsin was always going to be the likely home for Lyles. Right now the Badgers do not have any commitments from the state of Ohio, which is unusual as they usually pluck a few from the Buckeye State.
The outlook for future Badgers right now doesn’t look all that great, but Wisconsin usually makes something out of nothing. They are high up on the list of Kennedy Brooks a 4-star running back out of Texas. He currently has an 80% crystal ball projection putting him with the Badgers. They also have a 5% crystal ball projection for Scott Nelson a 3-star safety prospect out of Detroit, Michigan.
The Badgers have not had any decommitments this recruiting cycle, and they will likely hold on to all of their current recruits.
With Paul Chryst now in his second year at Wisconsin, he is getting more and more of his own guys into the system. The Badgers always seem to land quality offensive and defensive lineman from the midwest, and they are continuing to do so in this class. They will need a running back to replace Corey Clement when he leaves, and they could always use a stud quarterback.
Illinois Fighting Illini – Class Rank #58 – 11 Commitments
0 – 5-Star
0 – 4-Star
11 – 3-Star
Photo via Scout
The Lovie Smith era in Champaign has begun, yet recruiting has not taken off because of it yet. The goal for Illinois should be to wrap up as many of the in-state prospects as possible and to get a few from other talent rich areas. Six of the current commitments are from the state of Illinois, while the others are from Florida and Missouri. Their current commitments are heavily offensive in nature with only three of the eleven playing on the defensive side of the ball. Illinois top recruit so far is Carmoni Green a 3-star wide receiver out of Miami, Florida. Green held 10 offers and chose to leave the state of Florida for his college ball.
Ohio State and Illinois have not clashed on any recruits so far this season, and none of the current commitments are from the state of Ohio.
Illinois has a few prospects to keep an eye on in Boe Tufele out of California, Faion Hicks out of Florida, and Calvin Tyler out of Texas. All three are 3-star recruits and Tufele and Hicks would help solidify the defensive side of recruiting if they committed.
Illinois has had one decommitment from Ryan O’Malley out of Libertyville, Illinois. O’Malley committed back in February but then reopened his recruitment in April. He has three offers from Illinois, New Mexico and Buffalo.
Given that Lovie Smith has been in the NFL for the past few decades, relating to high school kids might not come natural to him. However since he does have an NFL pedigree, he knows what it takes to get to the next level and can sell that fact to these high school recruits. While I don’t expect immediate dividends from the hire, I do expect that Illinois will get back to respectability within a few years and become a thorn in the side of the Big Ten yet again.
Prediction – Top 60 Recruiting Class
Purdue Boilermakers – Class Rank #63 – 13 Commitments
0 – 5-Star
0 – 4-Star
11 – 3-Star
2 – 2-Star
Photo via Max Preps
Purdue has been struggling to compete in the Big Ten for quite some time now, and their lackluster recruiting probably has something to do with it. When Darrell Hazell was brought in as head coach, many thought that he would be able to turn things around for the Boilermakers, but now in his 4th season at the helm, Purdue has won seven games and finished last in the Big Ten West every year. It certainly isn’t going to help win over recruits if you are bringing up the rear every year in the conference and never getting a chance to play in a bowl game. Purdue has 13 commitments right now for the class of 2017, and their highest rated commitment is Nick Sipe a 3-star pro-style quarterback out of Villa Park, California. Sipe is the 32nd ranked pro-style quarterback in the class, and the 65th best prospect out of the state of California. Purdue has to battle Notre Dame and Indiana for in-state kids and so far they haven’t been able to land a single one. In order to recruit better, they need to start landing some of these in-state kids. They do have a commitment from legacy recruit Griffin Alstott, who is the son of longtime Tampa Bay Buccaneers fullback Mike Alstott. Griffin is a dual-threat quarterback and committed about a month after he received his offer.
Ohio State and Purdue have not grappled over a recruit so far this recruiting cycle, and it is highly unlikely that they will do so. The Boilermakers do have two commitments from kids out of Ohio in Malcolm Robinson and Brevin Harris. Robinson is a 3-star offensive guard from Massillon who is the 46th best player in the state of Ohio. Harris is a 3-star receiver out of Creston and is the 39th best player in the state.
Purdue will still look to find some more two and three-star kids to fill out this class, but they currently don’t have any player with a single crystal ball pick in for them. They have as of now not received any decommitments from anyone in their class, so there is that.
Depending on how the rest of the season plays out, this might be Hazell’s last rodeo in West Lafayette, and if he is out and the end of the season what does that do for the recruiting class he already has? It really depends on who they would bring in to replace him, but I still think it will be a struggle for Purdue to contend in the Big Ten with all of the big time programs recruiting around them.
Projection: Top 75 Recruiting Class
Minnesota Golden Gophers – Class Rank #73 – 11 Commitments
0 – 5-Star
0 – 4-Star
9 – 3-Star
2 – 2-Star
Photo via Twitter
The Golden Gophers are coming off a year when their head coach had to step away for medical reasons, leaving the team in the hands of Tracy Claeys who had been the defensive coordinator under Jerry Kill since 2011. Kill had done a decent job on the recruiting trail after starting his career at Minnesota 3-9 in 2011. He built the program back up to respectability guiding them to bowl games in every season he coached but that first one. Claeys took over last year after the team had gone 4-3 and finished 2-5 to guide them to the Quick Lane Bowl which they won over MAC champion Central Michigan. Recruiting so far for the 2017 class has been a little stagnant so far, yielding the lowest ranking class in the Big Ten overall. They finished 48th last year in the recruiting rankings, and were looking to build on that this year, but so far they are far off that pace. The Golden Gophers highest ranking recruit is 3-star offensive tackle Blaise Andries out of Marshall, Minnesota. Andries is the #1 player out of the state of Minnesota and the 34th overall tackle in this class. The Gophers also have the #2 recruit from their home state in Eric Abojei who is also an offensive tackle.
The Buckeyes and Gophers have not overlapped in this years recruiting cycle, unlike last season when Carter Coughlin was thought at times to be a Buckeye lean but, ended up in Minnesota. There are also no current recruits from the state of Ohio on the Gophers commitment list which isn’t uncommon, as they usually pull from the area right around Minnesota for the majority of their kids.
Minnesota still has a chance to nab a few more 3-star guys especially Josh Samuel and Ezekiel Ott. Samuel is a 3-star running back out of Lawrenceville, Georgia who has a 100% crystal ball projection to the Gophers. Ott is a 3-star defensive end out of Caledonia, Minnesota who also has a 100% crystal ball to the Gophers. Kendrick Green is an offensive guard out of Peoria Illinois who right now is split 50/50 in crystal ball projections between Minnesota and Iowa.
Minnesota has also not suffered from any decommitments from the class of 2017, and I honestly don’t see any coming.
The Gophers are obviously going to nab some more quality kids to fill out this class, I just don’t see them getting enough to move up the rankings that much. I see them passing Purdue in the end, but not ending up much higher in the rankings.
Projection: Top 75 Recruiting Class
The post Big Ten West Recruiting Round-Up – September appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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