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B1G winners and losers from Day 1 of the Early Signing Period

Connor O'Gara

By Connor O'Gara

Published:

I’m not saying I know which recruiting class will be best. I don’t. Nobody does.

Florida coach Dan Mullen actually had the response I always want to give when asked about “how I’d rate a class.” Mullen told media members to ask him that question in 2-3 years.

Well, we will indeed look back on recruiting classes a few years from now. In the meantime, though, we should break down the things that we learned on Wednesday.

To be a “loser” doesn’t mean the signing class was a failure by any stretch. It just means that things didn’t go according on plan on Wednesday.

And fortunately for the B1G, there were many more winners than losers:

WINNERS

Michigan

It was a win for Michigan when it kicked off the day by flipping 5-star safety Daxton Hill from Alabama. Hill, of course, was initially committed to Michigan but flipped to the Crimson Tide just before the Early Signing Period. But some Wednesday drama benefitted the Wolverines this time around (and prompted quite the response from an unhappy pastor).

That was the big victory of the day for Michigan, but there were other significant wins, too. The Wolverines got a commitment from 4-star receiver Cornelius Johnson, who basically had offers from everywhere.

The day was really about holding on to what was already an extremely solid class. It won’t quite finish where the 2016 group did, but the Wolverines are sitting at No. 8 nationally and tops in the B1G … and several spots ahead of Ohio State.

That happened even with 5-star defensive end Zach Harrison picking Ohio State over Michigan.

Penn State

Landing the next great Penn State tailback in Noah Cain was a huge deal. Cain had offers from basically everywhere, and he didn’t have any northeast ties. He was their big fish to land on Wednesday, and they reeled him in.

And just in case you didn’t know, I’m a big Cain believer.

And the beauty was, that was in addition to the Lions signing 4-star back Devyn Ford, who could become the next great Penn State back, as well. The Lions signed multiple tailbacks and multiple quarterbacks, which seems like a rarity in this era of recruiting.

Getting all 18 recruits to sign was a victory, especially considering 17 of them were rated 4-stars or better. And while they didn’t land the likes of Cornelius or the aforementioned Harrison, it was a drama-free day in a good way for the Lions. They’re in position to sign their second straight top-10 class.

Purdue

Purdue made this list not necessarily because it had a bunch of late commitments sign on Wednesday. That wasn’t the case. This was one of those “wow, this is officially happening deals.” It’s happening alright.

After the first day of the Early Signing Period, Jeff Brohm has the nation’s No. 25 class having signed 23 recruits. The Boilers haven’t finished with a top-25 class in 15 years. If they get a commitment from U.S. Army All-American David Bell, as the 247sports crystal ball strongly suggests they will, they’ll accomplish that feat.

Either way, what a month it’s been for Purdue so far. You keep Jeff Brohm, you get Rondale Moore rolling in All-America accolades and now, you get your highest-rated class in recent memory.

Not a bad time to be in West Lafayette.

Indiana

And if we’re going to talk about the unprecedented class Purdue put together, the same could be said for the Boilermakers’ rival. Indiana’s big win of the day was landing 4-star Merrillville (Ind.) linebacker Cameron Williams, who picked the Hoosiers over Purdue.

That gave Indiana signatures from 3 of the top-5 recruits in the state. How rare is that? The Hoosiers signed 1 top-5 recruit from the state of Indiana in the previous 4 classes. In fact, Wednesday marked the first time in the recruiting ranks era that the Hoosiers ever signed multiple top-5 recruits from the state of Indiana. Chalk that up to Tom Allen’s deep Indianapolis roots.

Oh, and just in case that wasn’t enough of a victory for Allen, the week started by Indiana signing former 4-star QB and Utah transfer Jack Tuttle.

That’s a nice little response by Indiana after missing the postseason for the second time in as many seasons.

Nebraska

A week after Scott Frost admittedly brought his entire staff to Arizona to visit 4-star defensive end Ty Robinson to fend off Nick Saban, the Huskers’ coaching staff got what it was hoping for. That is, a commitment and a signature from Robinson.

Frost’s first full cycle was indeed national. He went to 16 different states to build the 2019 class. But Frost did sign the top 5 recruits from the state of Nebraska, which will certainly please the locals who grew tired of watching in-state talents like Noah Fant get away.

After closing the first day of the Early Signing Period with the B1G’s No. 4 class behind Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State, the Huskers might not be done with 4-star defensive recruits from Arizona. Frost would love to close out the 2019 cycle by landing a commitment from safety Noa Pola-Gates, and getting the Huskers’ blue-chip JUCO recruits signed will be a priority, as well.

LOSERS

Ohio State

I know, I know. The Buckeyes got their top target in Harrison. That’s a major victory to land him instead of division rivals Michigan or Penn State. Kudos to Ryan Day for doing that. And really, kudos to Day for not letting the class completely fall apart.

But the standard is a bit higher at Ohio State, and the last-minute flips certainly hurt. Losing 4-star safety Jordan Battle to Alabama hurt, as did watching 4-star quarterback Dwan Mathis flip to Georgia. The fact that Ohio State is without a quarterback signed is likely a product of the Justin Fields speculation, and that it’s just already a talented room.

The Buckeyes had a winding road to try and land a 2019 quarterback that so far, has led them nowhere.

But here’s the good news for Ohio State. While this class is still extremely small with only 15 signees, it ranks No. 3 nationally in terms of average player ranking.

Quality over quantity is the silver lining of what’s looking like Ohio State’s lowest-rated class since the pre-Urban Meyer era.

Northwestern

Here’s my thinking on this. Northwestern just went to its first B1G Championship game. This is also the first full cycle of having that new, $300 million lakefront facility in place.

Yet the Wildcats couldn’t land a single recruit that:

  • A) Is rated 4-stars or better
  • B) Is among the top 10 in the state of Illinois
  • C) Plays quarterback

They could’ve accomplished 2 of those things with a commitment from Raymond Woodie III, but he picked Florida State instead.

You can spin it all you want that these things take time, and they do. Northwestern is 12 spots higher than it was at when it finished the 2018 cycle, but to me, the Wildcats didn’t make the jump that other B1G West teams like Purdue and Wisconsin did when they had a lot of things going for them.

But hey, at least Northwestern won’t finish last in the class rankings among B1G teams this year. That’s a win.

Connor O'Gara

Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.