B1G West teams get creative with their recruiting. They have to.

Some teams like Minnesota go to the mountains of Georgia or to middle-of-nowhere Kansas to find their next studs. Four-star recruits aren’t lining up to come to Minnesota. It’s the reality for a program that lacks a solid local crop of talent and world-class facilities.

Many other B1G West programs operate like that. As a result, their recruiting rankings are usually low. That doesn’t mean it lacks college stars and NFL talent, though.

It’s not until one looks back at a recruiting class that it can truly be evaluated. With National Signing Day a week away, why not take a look back at the best classes — based on production — signed by every B1G team the last five years (2012-16).

Let’s start with the B1G West:

ILLINOIS

Best recruiting class — 2014

B1G rank, national rank — 14, 72

Star — DT Jihad Ward

Hidden gem — OLB Carroll Phillips

Why they were the best — Ward was the star the class, but even he was a no-name recruit of the Glove Institute of Technology. He then became a versatile freak on Illinois’ defensive line and was drafted in the second round in 2016. The receivers in this class were Malik Turner, Geronimo Allison — he spends his Sundays catching passes for Aaron Rodgers now — and freshman sensation Mikey Dudek. Add in a future NFL player in Phillips and it’s not hard to see why this class was much better than its paltry ranking.

IOWA

Best recruiting class — 2013

B1G rank, national rank — 12, 58

Star — OL Sean Welsh

Hidden gem — CB Desmond King

Why they were the best — This whole class was one big hidden gem. King, Nathan Bazata, LeShun Daniels, Matt VandeBerg, Josey Jewell, Akrum Wadley and Boone Myers were all ranked outside of the top 1,00 recruits in 2013. This group was the driving force behind a two-year stretch that saw Iowa win 20 games, claim a B1G East crown and earn a Rose Bowl berth. If Iowa fans are down after losing several 2017 recruits and possibly finishing outside the top 50 nationally, the 2013 class is a nice reminder that recruiting rankings are gone the second a class steps on campus.

B1GWestRecruitingClassMinnesota

MINNESOTA

Best recruiting class — 2012

B1G rank, national rank — 12, 59

Star — OL Jonah Pirsig

Hidden gem — WR Briean Boddy-Calhoun

Why they were the best — Speaking of a class of hidden gems, the Gophers’ 2012 group — which ranked last in the B1G at the time — was loaded with them. Boddy-Calhoun got the hidden gem nod as a two-star recruit out of Coffeyville Community College (Kan.), but it could’ve easily been KJ Maye, Eric Murray, or Damarius Travis. How about the fact that all three of those defensive backs weren’t even THREE-star recruits and all will likely be on NFL rosters in 2017? Oh, and Isaac Fruechte was also a two-star recruit in that class. Not a bad haul.

NEBRASKA

Best recruiting class — 2013

B1G rank, national rank — 3, 22

Star — DE Randy Gregory

Hidden gem — S Nate Gerry

Why they were the best — Bo Pelini got some monster production out of this class. He got a pair of future Dallas Cowboys defensive linemen in Gregory and Maliek Collins. Guys like Gerry and Josh Banderas were four-year starters while Marcus Newby and Terrell Newby were four-star recruits who were multi-year starters. The 2013 group might’ve lacked the skill players the 2012 class had — Tommy Armstrong Jr. and Jordan Westerkamp highlighted that group — but it had more depth and more next-level talent.

Let’s not forget how freakish Gregory was at times as a defensive end:

NORTHWESTERN

Best recruiting class — 2012

B1G rank, national rank — 10, 55

Star — Ifeadi Odenigbo

Hidden gem — WR Austin Carr

Why they were the best — Odenigbo didn’t necessarily become the consistent dominating force many hoped he would as the highest-rated recruit in Northwestern history. Still, he finished his career with 23.5 sacks and he played on one of the best defenses in school history. The 2012 class got the nod because of the NFL talent after Odenigbo. Dean Lowry became a star and is now part of the Green Bay Packers defensive line rotation. Dan Vitale went from two-star recruit to NFL fullback. And oh, by the way, walk-on Austin Carr became an All-American after putting together one of the best seasons ever for a B1G receiver. That’s pretty solid for the No. 55 class in 2012.

PURDUE

Best recruiting class — 2013

B1G rank, national rank — 13, 62

Star — DB Leroy Clark

Hidden gem — DL Jake Replogle

Why they were the best — Purdue’s 2013 class was supposed to be headlined by Danny Etling. Instead, he ended up transferring to LSU after two years in West Lafayette. Still, Purdue’s 2013 class had several key pieces. Replogle was arguably Purdue’s best defensive player in the post-Danny Hope era, DeAngelo Yancey was an underrated B1G receiver and Danny Ezechukwu and Evan Panfil were both steady contributors on defense. Unfortunately for Purdue, the individual talent didn’t produce any winning seasons.

Oh, what could’ve been.

WISCONSIN

Best recruiting class — 2013

B1G rank, national rank — 6, 38

Star — RB Corey Clement

Hidden gem — OT Ryan Ramczyk

Why they were the best — Here are four of the six LOWEST-rated recruits in Wisconsin’s 2013 class:

  • Jazz Peavy
  • Troy Fumagalli
  • Ryan Connelly
  • Ryan Ramczyk

Yeah, that’s a ton of talent. Then you scroll up the board and see the likes of T.J. Watt, Austin Ramesh, Sojourn Shelton and Tanner McEvoy. There’s also Rob Wheelwright and Clement, both of whom were huge in Wisconsin’s 11-win season. The only four-star recruit of that group was Clement. That was the first class of the post-Bret Bielema era. All it did was rattle off a 41-13 record, make two B1G Championships and win three straight bowl games. Contrary to its middle-of-the-B1G ranking, the Badgers’ 2013 class was far from average.