Varsity Blue: Big Ten 2009 Recruiting Class Rankings

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Big Ten 2009 Recruiting Class Rankings

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)

Labels: football, recruiting