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Big Ten Conference Off to Good Start in 2018 Recruiting Class

By Charlie Lockhart

Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; A view of the Big Ten Championship trophy held by members of the Penn State Nittany Lions after defeating the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten Championship college football game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Penn State won 38-31. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; A view of the Big Ten Championship trophy held by members of the Penn State Nittany Lions after defeating the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten Championship college football game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Penn State won 38-31. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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Big Ten Conference coaches are making inroads on the recruiting trail.

When developing a good team, or a strong conference, it really is a chicken and egg situation. How can you improve your situation without top-notch football players, but how can you recruit top-tier talent until you have been successful?

Big Ten teams appear to have solved that puzzle, just hire the right coach and things will take care of themselves. Coaches Urban Meyer, Jim Harbaugh, James Franklin and Mike Riley have certainly made a difference with their team’s performance on the field as well as on the recruiting trail. Now some of the college football “experts” put the Big Ten on par with the Southeastern Conference.

Star high school football players are beginning to take notice. According to the 247Sports Composite, 8 of the top 24 teams in the recruiting rankings are from the Big Ten.

And the conference has 5 of the top 11 teams as well. I know that’s hard to believe but it’s true. Just take a look:

  •                                   Total   5 Star   4 Star   3 Star   Player Average
  • #2 Penn State          12         2            7            3               92.71
  • #5 Ohio State             7          1            6            0               97.52
  • #8 Northwestern    13          0            1          12              84.72
  • #10 Nebraska            7           0            4            3              90.61
  • #11 Minnesota        10          0            0          10              85.12
  • #17 Wisconsin           8           0           1             7              84.99
  • #18 Michigan              5          0            4            1              92.28
  • #24 Michigan State   5          0            2            3              87.23

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I understand that it’s early in the recruiting cycle, but it is encouraging that so many Big Ten teams are already landing outstanding players in their classes. It’s also good for the balance in the conference when teams from each division are having success.

It’s obvious that teams who already have double-digit recruits in their class like Northwestern, Minnesota and Penn State will drop in the rankings by the time everything is said and done. But at least they are on their way to strong classes.

You know Jim Harbaugh will make a move and likely have a Top 10 class again, and Urban Meyer is on pace to break the record for player average he set in his 2017 class.

Next: What a Career for A.J. Hawk

There’s plenty of time before National Signing Day next February so anything can happen before then. But it looks as though this could be a banner year in the recruiting wars for the Big Ten Conference.

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