The Big Ten has a new look for 2014, with Maryland and Rutgers joining the conference. The recruiting dynamic hasn’t changed, however, with the familiar names of Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State ending up on top of the recruiting rankings. Below, we have used the 247Sports Composite ratings to name two all-recruit teams from the Big Ten, with some interesting findings.
The 2014 Big Ten all-recruit team: Ohio State owns the two-deep
The Buckeyes have more players on the first team below than any other school does on both teams combined.
Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
Ohio State dominates
The Buckeyes have 15 signees on our all-Big Ten recruit team, as many as Penn State and Michigan State (third and fourth place, respectively) combined. They have 11 on the first team alone -- more than any other program has on both teams combined -- including five-star inside linebacker Raekwon McMillan. In particular, Ohio State is loaded at linebacker and defensive back, with three freshmen at each position on our first team.
Maryland and Rutgers adapting?
Rutgers joins right in with Purdue, Iowa and Illinois at the bottom section of Big Ten recruiting, as one of the four programs without any players on the first or second teams. Maryland, however, brings in two commits who made it to the first team -- five-star offensive tackle Damian Prince and four-star defensive end/linebacker Jesse Aniebonam. Prince was a Signing Day coup for the Terps over Florida, giving Maryland both of the top two players in its own state.
Defensive line, defensive backs loaded
The Big Ten boasts a five-star in each unit -- Michigan State’s (for now) Malik McDowell on the defensive line and Michigan’s Jabrill Peppers in the secondary -- and there’s plenty of depth beyond those two. Each unit has multiple four-star recruits on the second team, and the Big Ten will see some fierce pass defense (both in the rush and in coverage) over the next few years.
Reaching outside the Midwest
As expected, most of the players come out of the Ohio/Illinois/Michigan region, but the expansion of the Big Ten and the national footprint of some of the bigger programs allowed for other states to send kids to Big Ten schools as well. There are kids from California, Texas, Florida, New York, Utah, Delaware and North Carolina on these teams, as the reach of the Big Ten’s footprint and the Big Ten Network continue to grow.
This team could probably beat Purdue
I mean, I wouldn’t not watch that game.
Where’s the beef?
So often we think of the Big Ten as a conference with big, brawny offensive linemen, running the ball at will, but this offensive line haul is anything but impressive. It’s clearly behind that of the SEC, and not better than the Pac-12 or the ACC. Part of that may be that Michigan took a smaller class, and Notre Dame signed an excellent offensive line class of players from traditional Big Ten recruiting grounds. -- Bud Elliott, National Recruiting Analyst
First team
| Quarterback | |||
| Clayton Thorson | Wheaton (Ill.) North | 4 | Northwestern |
| The Wildcats appear to have the successor to Trevor Siemian in Thorson. | |||
| Backs | |||
| Jeff Jones | Minneapolis (Minn.) Washburn | 4 | Minnesota |
| At 5'11, 196 pounds, Jones has great size for a running back, and should get a ton of carries for the Gophers. | |||
| Curtis Samuel | Brooklyn (N.Y.) Erasmus Hall | 4 | Ohio State |
| Samuel was named the 2013 Gatorade Player of the Year in New York. | |||
| Receiver | |||
| Drake Harris | Grand Rapids (Mich.) Christian | 4 | Michigan |
| The long and athletic Harris should become a favorite target for Shane Morris early in his career in Ann Arbor. | |||
| Johnnie Dixon | Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) Dwyer | 4 | Ohio State |
| Dixon only stands 5'10, but can stretch the field and plays bigger than he appears. | |||
| Saeed Blacknall | Englishtown (N.J.) Manalapan | 4 | Penn State |
| James Franklin was able to flip Blacknall away from new Big Ten rival Rutgers. | |||
| Tight End | |||
| Mike Gesicki | Manahawkin (N.J.) Southern Reg | 4 | Penn State |
| The Nittany Lions should have a powerful and productive TE duo in Gesicki and Adam Breneman. | |||
| Offensive Line | |||
| Damian Prince | District Heights (Md.) Bishop McNamara | 5 | Maryland |
| The Terps planted a huge flag in their home turf on Signing Day by securing Prince's signature. | |||
| Jamarco Jones | Chicago (Ill.) De La Salle | 4 | Ohio State |
| Jones is one of the top-rated offensive line recruits in the Big Ten according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. | |||
| Demetrius Knox | Fort Worth (Texas) All Saints Episcopal | 4 | Ohio State |
| Knox is a mountain of a man at only 18 years old, standing 6'4 and weighing in at 294 pounds. | |||
| Jaden Gault | Madison (Wisc.) Monona Grove | 4 | Wisconsin |
| Gault looks like a prototypical Wisconsin masher, weighing in at 305 pounds and standing 6'7. | |||
| Mason Cole | Tarpon Springs (Fla.) East Lake | 4 | Michigan |
| Brady Hoke was able to dip down into Florida to pick up a big commitment from the 6'4 Cole. | |||
| Defensive Line | |||
| Malik McDowell | Southfield (Mich.) | 5 | Michigan State |
| McDowell was probably the biggest surprise of all on National Signing Day, electing to go to Michigan State over Ohio State and Michigan. | |||
| Jalyn Holmes | Norfolk (Va.) Lake Taylor | 4 | Ohio State |
| At 6'5, 225 pounds, Holmes has the prototypical build of a pass rusher and should add some bulk to his frame once he gets on campus. | |||
| Bryan Mone | Salt Lake City (Utah) Highland | 4 | Michigan |
| Mone is one of the top-rated defensive tackle commits in the Big Ten according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. | |||
| Jesse Aniebonam | Olney (Md.) Good Counsel | 4 | Maryland |
| The Terps were able to pull the four-star Aniebonam from local power Good Counsel. | |||
| Linebacker | |||
| Raekwon McMillan | Hinesville (Ga.) Liberty County | 5 | Ohio State |
| McMillan committed to Ohio State right before Christmas in 2013, and is the highest-rated linebacker recruit committed to a Big Ten school. | |||
| Dante Booker | Akron (Ohio) St. Vincent-St. Mary | 4 | Ohio State |
| Booker was named Ohio's Mr. Football for 2013. | |||
| Michael Ferns | St. Clairsville (Ohio) | 4 | Michigan |
| Ferns is ranked among the top 15 inside linebacker prospects in the country. | |||
| Kyle Berger | Cleveland (Ohio) St. Ignatius | 4 | Ohio State |
| Between McMillan, Booker and Berger, the Buckeyes have three of the top four linebacker recruits in the Big Ten. | |||
| Defensive back | |||
| Jabrill Peppers | Paramus (N.J.) Catholic | 5 | Michigan |
| Peppers is the third overall rated player in the country according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. | |||
| Damon Webb | Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech | 4 | Ohio State |
| Webb may not be blessed with lightning-quick speed (4.67 40-yard dash), but he has exceptional ball skills (eight interceptions and 14 passes broken up in 2013). | |||
| Marshon Lattimore | Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville | 4 | Ohio State |
| The pipeline from Glenville to Columbus is still going strong with the commitment of Marshon Lattimore. | |||
| Erick Smith | Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville | 4 | Ohio State |
| Speaking of Glenville, the Buckeyes have a second four-star commit from that school in Smith. | |||
| Parrker Westphal | Bolingbrook (Ill.) | 4 | Northwestern |
| The Wildcats were able to keep the four-star Westphal at home for school. | |||
Second team
| Quarterback | |||
| Michael O'Connor | Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy | 4 | Penn State |
| O'Connor is already on campus at Penn State, and gives the Nittany Lions some badly needed depth at QB behind Christian Hackenberg. | |||
| Backs | |||
| Justin Jackson | Carol Stream (Il.) Glenbard North | 4 | Northwestern |
| Jackson is electric out of the backfield. | |||
| Noah Brown | Sparta (N.J.) Pope John XXIII | 4 | Ohio State |
| At 6'2, 212 pounds, Brown has the frame to grow into a bruising back in the Carlos Hyde mold. | |||
| Receiver | |||
| Parris Campbell | Akron (Ohio) St. Vincent-St. Mary | 4 | Ohio State |
| Campbell can absolutely fly, turning in a 4.41 second 40-yard dash time. | |||
| Chris Godwin | Middletown (Del.) | 4 | Penn State |
| Godwin has ideal size for a wide receiver, standing 6'1 and weighing in at 193 pounds with room to grow. | |||
| De'Andre Thompkins | Swansboro (N.C.) | 4 | Penn State |
| Thompkins is part of a really impressive wide receiver haul for Penn State. | |||
| Tight End | |||
| Ian Bunting | Hinsdale (Ill.) Central | 4 | Michigan |
| Bunting has a huge frame at 6'6, and should be expected to grow into a monster in Ann Arbor. | |||
| Offensive Line | |||
| Kyle Trout | Lancaster (Ohio) | 4 | Ohio State |
| Trout makes three of the top six offensive line recruits in the Big Ten Ohio State commits. | |||
| Tanner Farmer | Highland Park (Ill.) | 4 | Nebraska |
| Farmer committed to the Huskers back in June of 2013, picking them over Minnesota. | |||
| Nick Gates | Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman | 4 | Nebraska |
| Gates is a four-star guard prospect who committed to the Huskers in late January. He's also the top-rated overall player in Nevada. | |||
| Brian Allen | Hinsdale (Ill.) Central | 4 | Michigan State |
| Allen is rated as the third-best center in the 2014 recruiting class according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. | |||
| Juwann Bushell-Beatty | Paramus (N.J.) Catholic | 3 | Michigan |
| Bushell-Beatty will follow his teammate Jabrill Peppers from New Jersey to Michigan. | |||
| Defensive Line | |||
| Lawrence Marshall | Southfield (Mich.) | 4 | Michigan |
| McDowell's teammate from high school at Southfield went with the Wolverines, who should enjoy his pass-rushing abilities. | |||
| Garrett Dickerson | Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic | 4 | Northwestern |
| Dickerson is regarded as one of the better defensive end prospects in the 2014 class, but he can also play tight end as well. | |||
| Craig Evans | Sun Prairie (Wisc.) | 4 | Michigan State |
| At 6'3, 305 pounds, Evans has the size to play as either a 3-technique defensive tackle or move over the center and play as a nose. | |||
| Peyton Newell | Hiawatha (Kan.) Senior | 3 | Nebraska |
| Newell had 12 sacks and forced four fumbles during his 2013 season. | |||
| Linebacker | |||
| Chase Winovich | Clairton (Penn.) Thomas Jefferson | 4 | Michigan |
| Winovich only weighs in at 215 pounds, but he has good speed for a linebacker. | |||
| Deon Drake | Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech | 3 | Michigan State |
| Drake committed to the Spartans over the likes of Iowa, Wisconsin and Nebraska. | |||
| Troy Reeder | Wilmington (Del.) Salesianum | 3 | Penn State |
| Between Reeder and Godwin, the Nittany Lions have nabbed the top two players in Delaware in 2014. | |||
| Tegray Scales | Cincinnati (Ohio) Colerain | 3 | Indiana |
| Scales went with the Hoosiers over Minnesota. | |||
| Defensive back | |||
| Sam Hubbard | Cincinnati (Ohio) Archbishop Moeller | 4 | Ohio State |
| Hubbard is a massive 6'6, 225 pounds, and originally signed on to play lacrosse for Notre Dame. | |||
| Montae Nicholson | Monroeville (Penn.) Gateway | 4 | Michigan State |
| Other than McDowell, Nicholson is the top-rated player in the Spartans' 2014 class, picking MSU over Pitt and Penn State. | |||
| Vayante Copeland | Dayton (Ohio) Thurgood Marshall | 3 | Michigan State |
| Copeland rushed for over 2,000 yards and 25 touchdowns during his junior season. | |||
| Marcus Allen | Upper Marlboro (Md.) Dr. Henry Wise | 3 | Penn State |
| Allen is the godson of former NFL great Curtis Martin, and was rated as one of the top 10 players in the state of Maryland in 2014. | |||
| Koa Farmer | Sherman Oaks (Calif.) Notre Dame | 3 | Penn State |
| Farmer was a late addition to the Nittany Lions' class, picking Penn State over Vanderbilt, Washington and Wisconsin. | |||
