B1G Recruiting: Where all 14 teams stand with the Early Signing Period approaching

Believe it or not, recruiting season is almost upon us.

OK, so recruiting never really goes anywhere. It’s the part of college football that lasts all season long. But, when it comes to players signing their National Letters of Intent, we’re just a few weeks away from the first helping. The Early Signing Period begins on Dec. 19 and runs through Dec. 21.

Coaches have to put some finishing touches on their 2020 classes in order to start the year off right. So how does each B1G team look with signing day coming up quickly?

Here’s a look at where all 14 B1G teams rank, the number of commitments in the 2020 class and the top prospect currently verbally committed to each program.

*All rankings based on 247Sports Composite Rankings

1. Ohio State Buckeyes

Ryan Day’s first class is poised to be the best in the B1G. The Buckeyes own the best class in the B1G by a wide margin, nearly 10 spots ahead of Michigan and Penn State. There are currently 25 players committed in the 2020 class, with two five-star players and 13 four-star prospects.

Total commits: 25

National rank: 4th

Top prospect: Julian Fleming, WR — 5-star, No. 2 overall

2. Michigan Wolverines

Michigan continues to do excellent work on the recruiting trail, following last year’s No. 8 class with a group that currently sits 13th in the nation. Jim Harbaugh and his staff are still well behind the Buckeyes on the recruiting trail, but they’ve secured some really talented players who could have a quick impact on the field in Ann Arbor. Right now, 12 of Michigan’s pledges are four-star talents.

Total commits: 24

National rank: 13th

Top prospect: A.J. Henning, WR — 4-star, No. 91 overall

3. Penn State Nittany Lions

Another really strong class for James Franklin and company. The Nittany Lions currently have nine verbal pledges from four-star recruits and seem to be addressing the offensive and defensive lines with this class. Nearly half of Penn State’s commitments are linemen, which is always an excellent sign for a B1G program.

Total commits: 28

National rank: 15th

Top prospect: Curtis Jacobs, OLB — 4-star, No. 46 overall

4. Wisconsin Badgers

Paul Chryst has made the offensive line and linebacker positions priorities with this class, with the top four-ranked players in Wisconsin’s 2020 class playing one of the two positions. There isn’t a ton of four- and five-star talent headed to Madison (there rarely is), but the Badgers were able to land three players ranked in the top 200.

Total commits: 17

National rank: 25

Top prospect: Trey Wedig, OT — 4-star, No. 73 overall

5. Iowa Hawkeyes

The Hawkeyes did land the top-ranked in-state talent in defensive end Logan Jones, and have received pledges from four of the top seven players from the state. Iowa was also able to land one of the top 10 tight end prospects in the country. Right now, it’s also a pretty balanced class, with 11 offensive and 11 defensive commits.

Total commits: 22

National rank: 26th

Top prospect: Logan Jones, SDE — 4-star, No. 260 overall

6. Purdue Boilermakers

High talent at the skill positions continue to be a focus for Jeff Brohm, who has locked up a four-star quarterback, tight end and running back in the 2020 class. Purdue’s offensive line could use some work, but there are currently only four guys committed who fit that role. That may be a concern, but we’ll see what happens in the coming days and weeks.

Total commits: 19

National rank: 27th

Top prospect: Maliq Carr, TE — 4-star, No. 189 overall

7. Nebraska Cornhuskers

The class size is a little low for Nebraska, having just 15 commits with three four-star prospects committed. Like Purdue, Scott Frost needs to build a better offensive line in Lincoln, but there aren’t a ton of linemen who have given a verbal pledge to the Huskers yet. We’ll see if there are some late additions for the Cornhuskers.

Total commits: 15

National rank: 28th

Top prospect: Turner Corcoran, OT — 4-star, No. 38 overall

8. Minnesota Golden Gophers

After building up front over the last few years, P.J. Fleck was able to recruit a few more skill position guys who will fill in for some of the talent that’s departing from the 2019 team. The Gophers have some international flavor in their recruiting class, and have a few key additions from states like Florida, Georgia and Texas.

Total commits: 24

National rank: 32nd

Top prospect: Daniel Jackson, WR — 4-star, No. 308 overall

9. Northwestern Wildcats

It will be interesting to see what happens to Northwestern’s recruiting class with the change at offensive coordinator. But, for the moment, the Wildcats have a decent class with 17 commitments and four players currently ranked inside the top 500 nationally. All four are offensive prospects.

Total commits: 17

National rank: 33rd

Top prospect: Peter Skoronski, OC — 4-star, No. 123

10. Michigan State Spartans

Not exactly a great recruiting class for Mark Dantonio and company. There are no commitments inside the top 300 and the Spartans have struggled to get pledges from in-state prospects during this cycle. Only one four-star player is committed to the program. Will there be some late additions for Michigan State?

Total commits: 19

National rank: 43rd

Top prospect: Darius Snow, OLB –4-star, No. 329

11. Maryland Terrapins

Mike Locksley has been heralded as an excellent recruiter, especially in the DMV area. He’s landed five players from the home state, but has struggled to recruit the rest of the region early in his run in College Park. With Locksley’s history and credentials in recruiting, you expected to see some better numbers for the Terps in 2020.

Total commits: 14

National rank: 50th

Top prospect: Ruben Hyppolite II, OLB — 4-star, No. 269

12. Indiana Hoosiers

This one is a bit of a surprise considering how much success Tom Allen had on the field in 2019 and on the recruiting trail in his first two seasons in Bloomington. IU has a low commitment count right now, but Allen has focused on bulking up his offensive line, with those guys making up one-third of Indiana’s pledge count.

Total commits: 15

National rank: 57th

Top prospect: Rashawn Williams, WR — 4-star, No. 267 overall

13. Illinois Fighting Illinois

Illinois is really behind right now, still in the single digits on the recruiting trail. The good news is that, of the nine pledges the Illini currently have, three of them are four-star recruits, and the top four players in the class are skill-position guys. Still, Lovie Smith needs to start filling some spots quickly, unless he plans to raid the transfer portal again.

Total commits: 9

National rank: 83rd

Top prospect: Jadon Thompson, WR — 4-star, No. 291 overall

14. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Failing to win a B1G game in back-to-back seasons and a mid-year coaching change will really hinder recruiting. Greg Schiano is going to have to work tirelessly to try and convince prospects to commit to Rutgers in the coming days. He’ll probably be forced to dive head first into the transfer portal, as well.

Total commits: 10

National rank: 95th

Top prospect: Bryan Felter, OG — 3-star, No. 910 overall