Since Scout and Rivals have yet to unveil their class rankings for 2009, here’s a quick rundown of where all the Big Ten schools stand:
| #1 Ohio State – 8 commits | ||
| DT | ***** | Johnny Simon |
| WR | **** | Chris Fields |
| CB | **** | CJ Barnett |
| MLB | **** | Storm Klein |
| MLB | **** | Jordan Whiting |
| OT | *** | Jack Mewhort |
| S | *** | Jamie Wood |
| FB | * | Adam Homan |
As of right now, the rankings are pretty much in order by number of commits. Ohio State leads the way, and their only unranked player, Adam Homan, plays a position that usually doesn’t get more than 3 stars, and never more than 4.
| #2 Michigan State – 6 commits | ||
| RB | ***** | Edwin Baker |
| RB | **** | Larry Caper |
| SLB | **** | Chris Norman |
| WR | *** | Donald Spencer |
| DT | * | Blake Treadwell |
| QB | * | Andrew Maxwell |
Michigan State is putting together a pretty decent class so far, though I’d be surprised if they ended the year with the #2 class in the conference. All of their current commits are from Michigan, and they only have 2 guys (Edwin Baker and Chris Norman) that Michigan really wanted. Their unranked players will probably both end up with 3 stars, unless Treadwell garners only 2. When further evaluations come out, I predict that some of their guys (namely the RBs) are more likely to move down than up.
| #3 Michigan – 4 commits | ||
| DT | ***** | William Campbell |
| CB | **** | Justin Turner |
| S | * | Isaiah Bell |
| RB | * | Teric Jones |
Michigan has but four commits, though it is a good early start to the class. William Campbell is one of the top couple DTs in the nation, and Justin Turner is not far from being a five star. The two unevaluated players, Teric Jones and Isaiah Bell, are prospects with good upside. Jones will be a mid four-star, and Bell will be a high three-star, and potentially a four-star if he has a good senior year.
| #4 Illinois – 3 commits | ||
| DT | **** | Lendell Buckner |
| OT | **** | Leon Hill |
| DE | **** | Melvin Fellows |
Having only four-star players committed is never a bad thing (look at Michigan’s 2008 class, with few highly ranked players, but tons of depth), and Illinois is off to a good start. Buckner and Hill both are from Chicago Leo, and have another couple DI prospects on their team. The Illini also lead for a bunch of guys who aren’t yet committed, giving them a lot of room to move up.
| #5 Wisconsin – 3 commits | ||
| OG | * | Ryan Groy |
| DT | * | Jared Kohout |
| DE | * | Shelby Harris |
None of the Badgers’ players have been evaluated yet, but all three are trench players, which Wisconsin routinely does a good job evaluating and developing. All three are from America’s Dairyland, where there is never a shortage of pretty good linemen.
| #6 Minnesota – 3 commits | ||
| QB | *** | Moses Alipate |
| C | * | Ed Olsen |
| OT | * | Josh Campion |
Minnesota is going through a big scheme change, and needs to recruit players to the new system. After a huge (and pretty good) 2008 recruiting class, Minnesota is not off to a fast start in 2009.
| #7 Penn State – 1 commit | ||
| C | * | Ty Howle |
The NIttany Lions have only one player committed so far. Howle has yet to be evaluated. Is Joe Paterno’s ever-questionable status hindering the Lions’ recruiting efforts?
T-8th – Indiana, Iowa, Northwestern, Purdue (0 commits)
Posted under Recruiting
Tags: Football, Recruiting