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Big Ten 2009 Recruiting Class Rankings 5-3-08

I've come to realize that the commitment pages aren't always updated by the end of the week, so if you're a fan of a school that doesn't get much notice, drop any commitments your team might get in the comments.

Action since last rankings:
4-19-08 Minnesota gains commitment from Victor Keise
4-24-08 Northwestern gains commitment from Mike Trumpy.
4-28-08 Iowa gains commitment from Brad Rogers. Ohio State gains commitment from Corey Linsley.
4-29-08 Michigan gains commitment from Shavodrick Beaver. Penn State gains commitment from Malcolm Willis.
4-30-08 Ohio State gains commitment from Zach Boren. Penn State gains commitment from Mark Arcidiacono.
5-1-08 Scout unveils new set of rankings, changing EVERYTHING.

New Rankings:
#1 Ohio State - 13 commits
DT
*****
Johnny Simon
LB
*****
Dorian Bell
RB
****
Jordan Hall
CB
****
Darrell Givens
CB
****
CJ Barnett
MLB
****
Storm Klein
MLB
****
Jordan Whiting
DE
****
Melvin Fellows
OG
****
Corey Linsley
OT
****
Jack Mewhort
S
****
Jamie Wood
LB
****
Zach Boren
WR
***
Chris Fields
FB
***
Adam Homan
Ohio State remains the class of the conference, as they pick up more instate players. The lower ranking isn't something to worry about as linemen are always the most difficult to project. Boren's commitment is more important to the Bucks in that it meant they got his older brother as well. A couple guys picked up their fourth star (Linsley, Wood), and one lost his (Chris Fields, who was expected to be one of the top players in Ohio).

#2 Michigan - 7 commits
DT
*****
William Campbell
QB
*****
Kevin Newsome
CB
****
Justin Turner
QB
****
Shavodrick Beaver
RB
****
Teric Jones
RB
***
Fitzgerald Toussaint
S
*
Isaiah Bell
Michigan adds another 4-star QB in Beaver. Bell will likely end up as high 3-star, Jones and Toussaint have been ranked. Kevin Newsome moves up to 5-star (deservedly).

#3 Michigan State - 6 commits
RB
****
Edwin Baker
RB
****
Larry Caper
SLB
****
Chris Norman
WR
***
Donald Spencer
DT
***
Blake Treadwell
QB
***
Andrew Maxwell
No movement since the last rankings, but they got pounded by Scout's reevaluations, losing their only 5-star rating (in Baker).

#4 Illinois - 2 commits
DT
****
Lendell Buckner
OT
****
Leon Hill
Losing Melvin Fellows wasn't enough to drop the Illini below a couple teams with more commits.

#5 Minnesota - 4 commits
QB
****
Moses Alipate
C
***
Ed Olsen
OT
***
Josh Campion
WR
*
Victor Keise
Minnesota picks up a mid-range (from OMG SEC Speed Territory) wideout, and sneaks past Wisconsin in the rankings. Moses Alipate moves up to 4-star.

#6 Penn State - 3 commits
S
***
Malcolm Willis
OT
***
Mark Arcidiacono
C
*
Ty Howle
Despite new commits, JoePa is still death to Penn State's ability to recruit top players. Arcidiacono actually had some pretty good offers, albeit from schools that offer anyone with a pulse (Notre Dame and Florida).

#7 Wisconsin - 3 commits
DT
****
Jared Kohout
OG
***
Ryan Groy
DE
***
Shelby Harris
No movement. Their guys aren't highly ranked, but Wisconsin develops linemen like it's their job (side note: it is, in fact, their job).

#8 Northwestern - 2 commits
QB
***
Evan Watkins
RB
*
Mike Trumpy
A new commit for Northwestern.

#9 Iowa - 1 commit
FB
*
Brad Rogers
Their only commit comes from one of the least important positions on the field. Huzzah!

T-10th - Indiana, Purdue (0 commits)

Labels: ,


“Big Ten 2009 Recruiting Class Rankings 5-3-08”

  1. Anonymous Anonymous Says:

    hate to be "that guy" but technically bryce mcneal hasn't committed yet.

  2. Anonymous Anonymous Says:

    I am guessing Tim forgot to remove Bryce from the list. The interesting thing is that Bryce might find himself without a scholi should other highly recruited WR verbal before him.

  3. Anonymous Anonymous Says:

    i'll also point out the copy/paste technicality...

    A new commit for Northwestern. They bump past Penn State.

    I could be mistaken, but they are 2 slots behind penn state, and it appears deservedly so. And are we assuming WISC 3 lineman are lower value recruits than JoePa's Saftey and 2 Linemen? I mean at least one of WISC's is a four star, one of JoePa's is a one star. I can't say I know enough about them to argue any further than their star values.

  4. Blogger Tim Says:

    Oops,

    I guess I get what I deserve for not proofreading the entire thing before I publish it. Mistakes fixed.

    Also, Crack Pipe Pete: All indications point ot Bryce McNeal being the highly ranked WR that they want.

  5. Blogger Tim Says:

    And Kowis:

    The reason I kept Penn State ahead of Wisconsin is because I think Arcidiacono is underrated (his offers were much more impressive than a three-star rating would imply).

    I try to rank them based more off actual analysis than strict numbers.

  6. Anonymous Anonymous Says:

    I'm glad you are doing this, always interesting to see what the competition is up to. I realize Notre Dame is not Big 10, but they do compete with Michigan. Would yo consider including them in this list?

  7. Blogger Tim Says:

    I hadn't really considered it, because they're not in the Big Ten, but if people want it, I can include Notre Dame in the next set.

  8. Blogger Jeff Says:

    I think we should always point out the fact that Notre Dame is basically a Big 10 school that just happens to not be in the conference. For example, I like that on Mgoblog's sidebar 2 Notre Dame blogs are listed under the Big 10 heading. So yes, include them.