Signing day has come and (nearly) gone, filled with celebration and upheaval. Sort of like life. We're here to parse what can be parsed and detail the recruiting classes that were for the major conferences.While recruiting services Scout and Rivals differ widely in their overall assessments of this year's Big Ten recruiting classes, they're both impressed by many of the same things. Of course, they're also unimpressed by many of the same things.
But hey, you're a smart person. You can figure things out for yourself. You want to know who helped themselves. You want to know who shot themselves in the foot. You want to know if the talent-rich got richer, like Michigan did with defensive end Craig Roh (pictured). Make the jump, grasshopper; all will be revealed.
Illinois wasn't severely affected by its disappointing 5-7 season. No matter what else people may think of Ron Zook and his staff, they have proven they can recruit with the best of them. Their class is led by offensive tackle Andrew Carter, who had offers from all the Florida schools and cornerback Justin Green, who picked the Illini over Ohio State. Other highly regarded recruits include quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase and wide receiver Terry Hawthorne. Hawthorne's high school teammate Kraig Appleton had given Illinois a verbal commitment but opted to sign with Wisconsin this morning. If there's a knock against their class, it's a failure to address the running back situation.
Indiana fans should not be expecting a huge, immediate turnaround in their team's fortunes. Both Rivals and Scout place the Hoosiers ninth in the conference. This is a team with needs everywhere, but they couldn't persuade most of the state's best players that they could be part of something special. The Hoosiers' offense-heavy class will bring some needed speed. Wide receiver Duwyce Wilson and running back Nick Turner both run a 4.4 40. However, Bill Lynch's team had the worst defense in the conference last season and did little to stop the bleeding.
Iowa let the state's top prospect, offensive tackle David Barrent, slip away to Michigan State. That was a disappointment. Nobody outside of Iowa is deeply impressed by the Hawkeyes' signees, but this was a young team without a lot of glaring weaknesses. Wide receivers Keenan Davis (pictured right) and Jordan Cotton should provide some depth and stability at the position, which is something the Hawks have lacked recently. Running back Brandon Wegher was a hot commodity Kirk Ferentz's staff were able to land.Michigan did well despite coming off their worst season since Bo Schembechler was in kindergarten. That reflects the tradition of Michigan football, Rich Rodriguez's recruiting prowess, and the blatantly obvious fact that every position on the field is up for grabs. Their big coup was grabbing Ohio's top recruit, defensive back Justin Turner. Defensive tackle William Campbell passed up three good SEC schools to sign with Michigan. He's a Detroit native, which makes him something of a rarity among this year's Wolverines-to-be. Most of the state's top prospects signed elsewhere.
Michigan State is that elsewhere, in case you were wondering. Mark Dantonio absolutely cleaned up in Michigan this year, landing seven of Rivals' top ten players from the state. Sparty looks to be getting quicker, with 4.4 running backs Edwin Baker and Larry Caper and 4.4 wideouts Bennie Fowler and Patrick White. The class could have been a little longer on top defensive prospects, but that's just a quibble. The Spartans did much better than most outsiders would have expected given their somewhat modest recent history.
Minnesota was already a freakishly young and talented team. Tim Brewster and his staff made it a little more so with a class that both Rivals and Scout regard as mid-pack. While the state's top prospect, wide receiver Bryce McNeal, signed with Clemson, the Gophers gobbled up most of Minnesota's top-ranked preps. The team needs immediate help on defense, so signing defensive back Michael Carter counts as their greatest accomplishment. Carter chose Minnesota over Florida, Georgia, and Miami. Quarterback Moses Alipate (pictured above) should love the passing atmosphere in Minneapolis, too.Northwestern obviously can't recruit just anyone, so take their lower-division finish with a grain of salt. Pat Fitzgerald loaded up on defense, signing five linebackers, two defensive ends, and a pair of defensive backs. Offensive lineman Patrick Ward leads the class, however. Quarterback Evan Watkins hints at a passing attack yet to come.
Ohio State, by general acclamation and to the surprise of no one, had the best class of any Big Ten school. Scout says the Buckeyes had the best class of anybody, period, while Rivals says "Not so fast, my friend," but still rates them No. 4 nationally. Linebacker Dorian Bell and defensive back Corey Brown were Rivals' top two Pennsylvania prospects. The Buckeyes also locked up seven of the top ten preps in their home state. It's not a speedy class, wide receiver James Jackson excepted. It's more of a classic Tresselball class, with big bruising running backs and powerful linemen on both sides of the ball.
Penn State cracked Scout's top ten but Rivals was significantly less impressed. The Nittany Lions didn't recruit Pennsylvania very well this year. Ohio State, Michigan, Pittsburgh, and Rutgers fared much better. The Nits did get a lot of speed, however, and landed Eric Shrive, Scout's second-ranked tackle. Quarterback Kevin Newsome will get thrown into the 2010 quarterback mix for sure.
Purdue was hoping for a better start to the Danny Hope era. Nobody's in love with their smallish batch of signees, though running back Al-Terek McBurse passed up Miami and Nebraska for West Lafayette. In what must be a first for any Big Ten school, the Boilermakers have not yet signed a single player from the state of Indiana.
Wisconsin benefited greatly from wide receiver Kraig Appleton's last-minute change of heart. Their class will build on traditional Wisconsin strengths and the Badgers did an admirable job of keeping home-grown talent at home. They landed all five of Rivals' top five Wisconsin preps. The class is thin in the offensive backfield, however.
FanHouse takes you into the belly of the college football beast that is recruiting. We'll be around before, during and after Signing Day '09.
