As it is seemingly every year, 2018 has been an outstanding recruiting year for the Big Ten as a whole. What is always interesting about Big Ten recruiting is that it’s not just the ‘blue bloods’ that are out there competing on the recruiting trail. Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin are expected to succeed year in and year out. However, schools like Rutgers, Maryland and Northwestern are proving that you don’t need to be part of the college football oligarchy to get things done these days, leading to a more competitive conference top to bottom. We know that the Big Ten is recruiting on par with the SEC and ACC nationally, but how do the schools’ classes compare against intraconference competition? Below are my personal rankings for the 2018 Big Ten recruiting classes.

Rankings :

Ohio State: 18 signed. Four 5*. Twelve 4*. Two 3*. Average rating: 95.09. Penn State: 23 signed. One 5*. Twelve 4*. Ten 3*. Average rating: 90.66. Maryland: 20 signed. Three 4*. Seventeen 3*. Average rating: 86.56. Michigan: 13 signed. Eight 4*. Five 3*. Average rating: 90.04. Michigan State: 15 signed. Three 4*. Twelve 3*. Average rating: 85.66. Nebraska: 10 signed. Six 4*. Three 3*. Average rating: 89.41. Wisconsin: 18 signed. One 4*. Seventeen 3*. Average rating: 85.29. Northwestern: 15 signed. One 4*. Fourteen 3*. Average rating: 85.52. Indiana: 15 signed. One 4*. Thirteen 3*. Average rating: 84.14. Illinois: 15 signed. One 4*. Thirteen 3*. Average rating: 83.47 Rutgers: 20 signed. Nineteen 3*. Average rating: 83.25. Iowa: 13 signed. Thirteen 3*. Average rating: 85.02. Minnesota: 23 signed. Twenty-three 3*. Average rating: 84.17. Purdue: 22 signed. Twenty 3*. Average rating: 82.45.

Analysis :

Now to explain said rankings. There are a number of different ways to evaluate recruiting classes; methods vary from site to site and writer to writer. Some look at stars only, others at individual ratings of the players. Some like to examine more comprehensively as a combination of stars, player ratings and number of recruits signed. I attempted to do the latter.

Ohio State and Penn State clearly separated themselves from the rest of the pack. In my evaluation, they were neck and neck. The Lions have quite a few more recruits overall, but the four extra five-stars for the Buckeyes created separation.

At the next level are Maryland and Michigan. The Wolverines and Terps are almost to the point of an elite class, but are lacking five-star commits.

Then the middle of the pack: Michigan State, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Indiana and Illinois. All four have impressive classes, but do not necessarily stand out on a national level.

Rutgers, Iowa, Minnesota and Purdue round out the bottom of the conference. Their classes are loaded so far in terms of numbers, but lack any four or five-star recruits.

Now, of course, this is just a ranking of the classes before they get to college. How coaches develop their players plays an enormous part in the success of each individual athlete. JT Barrett just eclipsed Drew Brees for the most touchdowns in Big Ten history. What was his rating coming out of high school, you ask? Barrett was a three-star recruit that most Buckeye fans had never heard of until he had to step up for Braxton Miller.

So, in reality, these star-ratings don’t mean much. The coach’s development skills and the player’s work ethic often mean much more for success than their high school evaluation. However, there is still a correlation between national success and yearly recruiting rankings. Look at the last three national champions: Ohio State, Alabama and Clemson. All three of these schools are perennial recruiting powerhouses. Nonetheless, the Big Ten will surely be fun to watch in years to come.

(Individual recruit ratings courtesy of 247Sports)