Nittany Lions Finish Third Among Big Ten Peers for Class of 2020 Recruiting
Only once since 2010 has Ohio State failed to sign the No. 1 recruiting class in the Big Ten. That happened last year when the Buckeyes finished fourth in the conference and 21st overall in the Rivals team rankings.
During each of Urban Meyer’s seven years as their head coach, the Buckeyes landed the conference’s No. 1 recruiting class. Then Meyer announced in December 2018 that he would be stepping down following a season that had been plagued by off-the-field controversy. Everyone wondered what would take place with Ohio State’s recruiting efforts once Ryan Day was promoted from his role as offensive coordinator to the head coaching position. When his first class landed outside of the national top 20, Buckeyes fans expressed some concerns.
But Day and his staff put together an outstanding season in 2019, as Ohio State won its first 13 games en route to the Big Ten title and a spot in the College Football Playoff. The team’s immediate on-field success under Day gave rise to speculation that Ohio State would soon return to its customary spot atop the Big Ten recruiting rankings.
That speculation turned out to be accurate. Coming out of the traditional February signing day, Ohio State’s 25-player class was ranked fifth in the country and first in the Big Ten. Three members of that class received five-star ratings from Rivals, while 12 received four stars and 10 received three.
Headlining the list of five-star recruits is Julian Fleming, the No. 1 wide receiver prospect in the country. The Buckeyes’ other two five-star players are receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba of Rockwall, Texas, and offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. of Cincinnati.
Ohio State’s top-ranked four-star recruits are quarterback C.J. Stroud of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.; athlete Mookie Cooper of Maryland Heights, Mo.; linebacker Cody Simon of Jersey City, N.J.; defensive end Darrion Henry of Cincinnati; and receiver Gee Scott Jr. of Bellevue, Wash.
It should also be noted that Ohio State is off to a great start in the next recruiting cycle. The Buckeyes’ Class of 2021 was ranked No. 1 in the country as of this writing with 10 verbal commitments. The leading member of Ohio State’s next class is five-star defensive end Jack Sawyer of Pickerington, Ohio.
Michigan finished behind the Buckeyes in the rankings, landing a 23-member class that came in second in the conference and 11th in the nation. The Wolverines’ Class of 2020 features 13 four-star and 10 three-star recruits. Their top signees are running back Blake Corum of Baltimore; defensive backs Darion Green-Warren of Harbor City, Calif., and Andre Seldon of Belleville, Mich.; linebacker Kalel Mullings of Milton, Mass.; wide receiver A.J. Henning of Frankfort, Ill.; offensive lineman Zak Zinter of Cambridge, Mass.; and defensive end Braiden McGregor of Port Huron, Mich. All received four-star ratings from Rivals.
Penn State landed the third-best recruiting class in the Big Ten with 27 members, 13 of whom received four-star ratings and 14 of whom were awarded three stars. The Nittany Lions’ top recruits are linebacker Curtis Jacobs of Glen Burnie, Md., and tight end Theo Johnson of Windsor, Ontario. Both received four-star ratings.
The Nittany Lions signed the top class in the conference at two position groups: tight end and linebacker. In addition to Johnson, they landed three-star tight end Tyler Warren of Mechanicsville, Va. And in addition to Jacobs, they welcomed three-star Pennsylvania linebackers Tyler Elsdon of Frackville and Zuriah Fisher of Aliquippa.
The three biggest surprises in the Big Ten were Nebraska, Purdue and Maryland.
Despite struggling on the field in Scott Frost’s first two seasons in Lincoln, the Cornhuskers recruited the fourth-best class in the Big Ten and the 18th-best class in the country. This was the second consecutive year in which Frost was able to recruit the best class in the conference’s West Division. His class consists of 23 players, 10 of whom received four stars. Leading that group are wide receivers Zavier Betts of Bellevue, Neb., and Omar Manning of Kilgore (Texas) Junior College, and offensive lineman Turner Corcoran of Lawrence, Kan.
Purdue ended up landing the sixth-ranked class in the Big Ten and the 29th-ranked class in the country. The Boilermakers’ 20-member class is headed up by a quartet of four-star prospects: wide receivers Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen of Walled Lake, Mich., and Maliq Carr of Oak Park, Mich.; defensive end Greg Hudgins of Washington, D.C.; and offensive lineman Gus Hartwig of Zionsville, Ind.
Maybe the Big Ten’s most surprising performance during the 2020 recruiting cycle was turned in by Maryland. The Terrapins were coming off a disappointing first season under Mike Locksley, dropping nine of their last 10 games to finish 3-9. Despite their poor showing, they were able to sign 26 players and were ranked by Rivals as having the seventh-best class in the Big Ten and the 31st-best class in the country.
The Terrapins got everyone’s attention on Dec. 18 when Locksley was able to convince five-star wide receiver Rakim Jarrett of Washington, D.C., to switch his verbal commitment from LSU to Maryland. The Terps also signed three four-star players: running backs Isaiah Jacobs of Owasso, Okla., and Peny Boone of Detroit, and linebacker Rueben Hyppolite of Hollywood, Fla.
Wisconsin was right behind Nebraska with a class that ranked fifth in the Big Ten and 27th in the country. The Badgers’ class consists of 20 recruits, including five who received four-star ratings. Those five are running back Jalen Berger of Ramsey, N.J.; offensive linemen Jack Nelson of Stoughton, Wis., and Trey Wedig of Wales, Wis.; linebacker Nick Herbig of Honolulu; and linebacker Kaden Johnson of St. Paul, Minn.
For the most part, the Big Ten had a solid recruiting year, with 10 classes ranking among the top 40 in the country. The only four schools that did not finish in the top 40 were Indiana (49th), Northwestern (51st), Rutgers (68th) and Illinois (85th).
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