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SOTU is back for the 2014 class, and we've added Maryland and Rutgers to our numbers (because, why not? It's not like I have anything better to do!)
| Team | # of commits | Avg Rivals ranking | Avg 247 ranking | Avg Scout ranking | 247 team rank | Scout team rank | recruiting rank in B1G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 4 | 4.0 | 3.75 | 4.0 | 11 | 6 | 1 |
| Ohio State | 4 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 10 | 10 | 2 |
| Michigan State | 3 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.33 | 17 | 11 | 3 |
| Wisconsin | 4 | 4.0 | 3.75 | 3.25 | 18 | 14 | 4 |
| Iowa | 2 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 25 | 20 | 5 |
| Minnesota | 1 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 36 | 19 | 6 |
| Penn State | 3 | NR | 3.0 | 3.0 | 23 | 33 | 7 |
| Northwestern | 1 | NR | 4.0 | 3.0 | 40 | 33 | 8 |
| Rutgers | 3 | NR | 3.0 | 3.0 | 32 | 43 | 9 |
| Purdue | 1 | NR | 3.0 | NR | 54 | NR | 10 |
| Maryland | 1 | NR | 2.0 | NR | 57 | NR | 11 |
| Illinois | 0 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 12 |
| Indiana | 0 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 12 |
| Nebraska | 0 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 12 |
I can't emphasize enough how early it is in the 2014 recruiting process. It's really, really early, as evidenced by the fact that Rivals hasn't even come out with their 2014 team rankings, and ESPN hasn't even rated the recruits yet. Scratch that; the latter really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone (obligatory knock on tWWL).
All of that being said, the conference as a whole seems head and shoulders above last year at this point, when less than half of the teams in the B1G had commits, and Michigan was already leaving all the other teams in their dust. This year, there seems to be more parity, with only three teams not having a commit yet (really, Huskers? REALLY???), and the conference newcomers getting their hat in the ring early.
MICHIGAN
| Name | Position | Hometown | High School |
Height/Weight | Rivals grade | 247 grade | Scout grade | ESPN grade | Date Committed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cole, Mason | OL | Tarpon Springs, FL | East Lake | 6'5", 275 | 4 stars |
4 stars |
4 stars |
WL |
2/25/2013 |
| Ferns, Michael | LB | Saint Clairsville, OH | Saint Clairsville | 6'3", 235 | 4 | 4 | 4 | WL | 8/9/2012 |
| Mone, Bryan | DT | Salt Lake City, UT | Highland | 6'4", 315 | 4 | 4 | 4 | WL | 2/12/2013 |
| Speight, Wilton | QB | Richmond, VA | The Collegiate School | 6'6", 217 | NR | 3 | NR | WL | 2/6/2013 |
The Wolverines start off strong again for 2014, with four commits already (including Ferns, who, despite his early UM commit, holds an offer from PSU).
OHIO STATE
| Name | Position | Hometown | High School | Height/Weight | Rivals grade | 247 grade | Scout grade | ESPN grade | Date Committed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell, Parris | RB | Akron, OH | St Vincent-St Mary | 6'1", 181 | NR | 4 stars | NR | NR | 2/10/2013 |
| Jones, Marcelys | OL | Cleveland, OH | Glenville Academic Campus | 6'4", 325 | NR | 4 | NR | NR | 12/25/2012 |
| Trout, Kyle | OL | Lancaster, OH | Lancaster | 6'6", 280 | 4 stars | 4 | 4 stars | WL | 2/10/2013 |
| Webb, Damon | DB | Detroit, MI | Cass Tech | 6'0", 175 | 4 | 4 | 4 | WL | 1/13/2013 |
Urban Meyer will not be outdone, also nabbing four early commits for the Buckeyes, focusing (so far, at least) on in-state talent.
MICHIGAN STATE
| Name | Position | Hometown | High School | Height/Weight | Rivals grade | 247 grade | Scout grade | ESPN grade | Date Committed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullough, Byron | LB | Traverse City, MI | St Francis Catholic | 6'2", 195 | NR | NR | 3 stars | WL | 8/9/2012 |
| Drake, Deon | LB | Detroit, MI | Cass Tech | 6'1", 215 | 4 stars | 4 stars | 3 | WL | 9/23/2012 |
| Harris, Drake | WR | Grand Rapids, MI | Grand Rapids Christian | 6'4", 180 | 4 | 4 | 4 | WL | 6/27/2012 |
The Spartans have three commits for this new class, all giving their pledge last year. Harris also counted Penn State amongst his many offers.
WISCONSIN
| Name | Position | Hometown | High School | Height/Weight | Rivals grade | 247 grade | Scout grade | ESPN grade | Date Committed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evans, Craig | DT | Sun Prairie, WI | Sun Prairie | 6'3", 350 | 4 stars | 4 stars | 3 stars | WL | 3/3/2013 |
| Gault, Jaden | OL | Morona Grove, WI | Morona Grove | 6'6", 281 | 4 | 4 | 3 | WL | 8/18/2012 |
| Panos, George | OL | Hartland, WI | Arrowhead | 6'5", 290 | NR | 4 | 3 | NR | 4/28/2012 |
| Sheehy, Conor | DE | Milwaukee, WI | Marquette University | 6'4", 255 | NR | 3 | 4 | NR | 9/5/2012 |
Up until earlier this week, the Badgers had five commits in this class. Which means that Wisconsin was the first B1G school to nab a decommitment in this early recruiting year! Go Bucky!
IOWA
| Name | Position | Hometown | High School | Height/Weight | Rivals grade | 247 grade | Scout grade | ESPN grade | Date Committed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pierschbacher, Ross | OL | Cedar Falls, IA | Cedar Falls | 6'4", 275 | 4 stars |
4 stars |
4 stars | WL | 1/12/2013 |
| Scheel, Jay | ATH | LaPorte City, IA | Union | 6'1", 170 | 4 |
4 |
NR | WL | 1/20/2013 |
The Hawkeyes have already nabbed two in-state recruits in this class.
MINNESOTA
| Name | Position | Hometown | High School | Height/Weight | Rivals grade | 247 grade | Scout grade | ESPN grade | Date Committed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jones, Jeff | RB | Minneapolis, MN | Washburn | 6'0", 190 | 4 stars | 4 stars | 4 stars | WL | 2/2/2013 |
The Golden Gophers actually have a commit already! /insert surprised .gif here
PENN STATE
| Name | Position | Hometown | High School | Height/Weight | Rivals grade | 247 grade | Scout grade | ESPN grade | Date Committed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allen, Mark | RB | Hyattsville, MD | DeMatha | 5'7", 185 | NR | 3 stars | NR | NR | 10/16/2012 |
| Reeder, Troy | LB | Wilmington, DE | Salesianum School | 6'3", 232 | NR | 3 | 3 stars | NR | 2/26/2013 |
| Scott, Nick | ATH | Fairfax, VA | Fairfax | 5'11", 180 | NR | 3 | NR | NR | 2/23/2013 |
The Nittany Lions have three commits so far in this to-be-expected small class, including recent commits Scott and Reeder (wooooo LB!).
NORTHWESTERN
| Name | Position | Hometown | High School | Height/Weight | Rivals grade | 247 grade | Scout grade | ESPN grade | Date Committed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas, Jordan | DB | Klein, TX | Klein Collins | 6'1", 180 | NR | 4 stars | 3 stars | NR | 12/15/2012 |
The Wildcats have one commit so far this year.
RUTGERS
| Name | Position | Hometown | High School | Height/Weight | Rivals grade | 247 grade | Scout grade | ESPN grade | Date Committed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gopre, Sidney | LB | Neward, NJ | Weequahic | 6'1", 210 | NR | NR | NR | NR | 3/4/2013 |
| Hicks, Joshua | RB | Palmetto, FL | Palmetto | 5'10", 180 | NR | 3 stars | 3 stars | NR | 10/25/2012 |
| Nelson, Justin | LB | Wayne, NJ | DePaul Catholic | 6'1", 245 | NR | 3 | 3 | NR | 2/27/2013 |
Welcome to the Big Ten, Scarlet Knights! Though your three 2014 commits did only have three other offers from Division 1 schools combined.
PURDUE
| Name | Position | Hometown | High School | Height/Weight | Rivals grade | 247 grade | Scout grade | ESPN grade | Date Committed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garner, Brandon | DB | Arlington, TX | Mansfield Timberview | 5'11", 200 | NR | 3 stars | NR | NR | 1/4/2013 |
The Boilermakers have an early commit this year! I credit the awesomeness that is Darrell Hazell.
MARYLAND
| Name | Position | Hometown | High School | Height/Weight | Rivals grade | 247 grade | Scout grade | ESPN grade | Date Committed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cohen, Jared | OL | Owings Mills, MD | McDonogh | 6'4", 290 | NR | 2 stars | NR | NR | 2/18/2013 |
Welcome to the Big Ten, Terrapins! Your one commit is an offensive lineman, but that doesn't mean he doesn't need to know how to throw the ball.
ILLINOIS
The Illini have no 2014 commits.
INDIANA
The Hoosiers have no 2014 commits.
NEBRASKA
The Cornhuskers have no 2014 commits.
**editor's note: the "WL" in the ESPN column denotes that they are on the ESPN 150 watchlist. Because ESPN is just like that.
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