A quick look at the 2021 B1G recruiting rankings
It’s an interesting time for college football recruiting. With the current public health crisis shutting down college campuses and forcing recruits to cancel or postpone official visits, there’s a lot of uncertainty in the world of recruiting right now.
That hasn’t stopped some players from making their verbal commitments, however. Some recruits have used the last week to narrow down their options or even commit to a school, even though we’re still more than eight months away from the Early Signing Period in December.
Ohio State and Rutgers were the most active last week, with the Buckeyes receiving three verbal pledges and Rutgers getting four commitments. There were a handful of other recruits who made their announcements to other schools last week, as well.
So, while there isn’t a ton of commitment announcements and it’s still extremely early in the recruiting cycle, why not take a look at how the landscape currently looks in the B1G?
Ohio State has dominated this recruiting class early on, landing 14 verbal commitments for the 2021 class. Of those 14 pledges, 12 are either four- or five-star recruits and 11 are ranked inside the top 150 overall. There’s quite a bit of distance between the Buckeyes and the rest of the field.
Here’s how the recruiting rankings currently look in the B1G, based on 247Sports’ Composite rankings:
1. Ohio State Buckeyes
National rank: No. 1
Total commits: 14
4- and 5-star: 12
Top commit: Jack Sawyer — 5-star DE (No. 3 overall)
2. Wisconsin Badgers
National rank: No. 6
Total commits: 9
4- and 5-star: 3
Top commit: JP Benzschawel — 4-star OT (No. 129 overall)
3. Iowa Hawkeyes
National rank: No. 10
Total commits: 8
4- and 5-star: 2
Top commit: Connor Colby — 4-star OG (No. 228 overall)
4. Maryland Terrapins
National rank: No. 11
Total commits: 8
4- and 5-star: 1
Top commit: Taizse Johnson — 4-star DT (No. 240 overall)
5. Minnesota Golden Gophers
National rank: No. 16
Total commits: 5
4- and 5-star: 1
Top commit: Athan Kaliakmanis — 4-star QB (No. 293 overall)
6. Nebraska Cornhuskers
National rank: No. 17
Total commits: 4
4- and 5-star: 2
Top commit: Randolph Kpai — 4-star OLB (No. 173 overall)
7. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
National rank: No. 20
Total commits: 7
4- and 5-star: 0
Top commit: Alijah Clark — 3-star CB (No. 489 overall)
8. Michigan Wolverines
National rank: No. 31
Total commits: 2
4- and 5-star: 2
Top commit: J.J. McCarthy — 5-star QB (No. 13 overall)
9. Purdue Boilermakers
National rank: No. 39
Total commits: 3
4- and 5-star: 0
Top commit: Preston Terrell — 3-star WR (No. 565 overall)
10. Penn State Nittany Lions
National rank: No. 46
Total commits: 2
4- and 5-star: 0
Top commit: Liam Clifford — 3-star ATH (No. 553 overall)
11. Indiana Hoosiers
National rank: No. 56
Total commits: 1
4- and 5-star: 0
Top commit: Rodney McGraw — 3-star WDE (No. 436 overall)
12. Illinois Fighting Illini
National rank: No. 65
Total commits: 1
4- and 5-star: 0
Top commit: Samari Collier — 3-star QB (No. 924 overall)
13. Northwestern Wildcats
National rank: No. 73
Total commits: 1
4- and 5-star: 0
Top commit: Donnie Gray — 3-star ATH (N/R overall)
14. Michigan State Spartans
National rank: N/R
Total commits: 0
4- and 5-star: 0
Top commit: None
