Rankings of Big Ten Football 2024 recruits: How do Oregon, Michigan, and Ohio State compare?
Big Ten football programs are planning for 2024 and beyond, having already completed the 2023 college football season.
With the addition of USC, Oregon, UCLA, and Washington to the Pac-12, the already prestigious conference will become even more competitive in the future. There are now 18 colleges in the Big Ten as a whole. Here are the recruiting summaries for five of those teams, which in 2023 all had successful seasons:
1. The State of Ohio
According to 24/7 Sports’ composite scoring methodology, Ohio State tops the conference in recruiting points, which is not surprising. Each player is assigned an overall rating by the system, which includes player ratings from ESPN, Rivals.com, and 24/7.
Nebraska is the only other school to have signed a five-star prospect thus far; the Buckeyes have already drawn six of them. Caleb Downs, a former safety for Alabama, recently made news when he decided to move to Ohio State after giving Georgia serious consideration. The arrival of Downs strengthens the Buckeye secondary right now.
They also acquired Florida wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, the nation’s best high school pass-catcher, for their offensive side of the ball. After losing out on former Heisman contender Marvin Harrison Jr. in the NFL draft, this is a fortuitous addition.
Julian Sayin, a native of California, said today that he will be switching to the Buckeyes after first committing to Alabama.
The best quarterback prospect in the country will now join Ryan Day’s team when Nick Saban retires. Sayin will face off against Air Nolan, a native of Georgia and one of the top five signal callers in the country, for the starting position.
Sayin told ESPN on Sunday that he was “incredibly excited to join the team here at Ohio State.” “Throughout my entire recruiting process, I held this program in the highest regard. I’m excited to learn from some of the best players and coaches in college football and to help our team succeed.”
2. Oregon
But Ohio State isn’t the only Big Ten university making a splash in the recruiting process. Oregon leads the conference with 21 four-star commits, assembling one of its strongest recruiting groups in school history.
Defensive tackle Aydin Breland and edge rusher Elijah Rushing, who are both ranked in the top five at their respective positions, lead the bunch. They even appear in 24/7’s internal rankings as five-star recruits.
3. Michigan
With eighteen four-star players on its roster, Michigan is presently ranked fourth, behind Penn State. The offensive line that leads the defending national champions will be led by quarterback Jadyn Davis and tackle Andrew Sprague. The running game will also be strengthened by Jordan Marshall, a teenage speedster who was just crowned “Mr. Football” in the state of Ohio. He beat the all-time running record from Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller High School, therefore the prize was well-deserved.
4. USA
With eleven four-star players, Lincoln Reilly’s USC team is presently ranked fifth in the conference for recruiting. Having just lost standout quarterback Caleb Williams to the NFL draft, the Trojans find themselves in one of the most difficult situations in college football as they prepare to switch conferences. The defense also needs a lot of work, as it finished 123rd among FBS teams in terms of points allowed last season.
5. The Northwestern
Conversely, Northwestern is last in the conference and finds it difficult to draw elite players. As of right now, it is the only Big Ten school without a four-star recruit. The Wildcats defeated Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl and had another successful season (8-5, 5-4), but they may struggle to stay afloat moving forward.
Large-scale overview
In general, the Big Ten is bringing in a ton of fresh talent in the wake of its first national championship since Ohio State in 2014. The SEC’s decision to include Oklahoma and the Texas Longhorns, the 2023 playoff semifinalists, was imperative in order for the conference to remain competitive against its southern rivals in the future.
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