Big Ten recruiting thoughts: USC bouncing back, Maryland on the move, Ohio State still No. 1 (2024)

The 2024 season begins in a few weeks, but it’s never a bad time to talk about recruiting. Let’s take a lap around the Big Ten to see where each team stands about four months before the early signing period.

Note: All rankings are from the 247Sports Composite.

Illinois

National rank: 66
Number of commits: 13
Average player rating: 86.86

There haven’t been any additions to this class since quarterback Jershaun Newton out of Florida committed on July 4. Illinois doubled its class size from early June through July, but only one of the recent commitments is ranked among the top 500 prospects nationally. That seems to be in line with Bret Bielema’s recruiting at Illinois. He signed just two top-500 players last cycle and three in the Class of 2023. The Illini’s average player rating of 86.86 is up slightly over the last two classes (86.66 in 2024 and 86.21 in 2023).

Indiana

National rank: 46
Number of commits: 21
Average player rating: 86.44

Curt Cignetti spent the summer setting the foundation for his first full recruiting class as the head coach at Indiana. The average player rating isn’t super impressive, but recruiting expectations aren’t super high for the Hoosiers. IU hasn’t received a commitment in over a month, since adding three-star corner Seaonta Stewart on July 8 and three-star linebacker Paul Nelson and three-star offensive lineman Baylor Wilkin the next day. All three prospects are from Ohio. The Hoosiers still don’t have a quarterback committed, so we’ll see if they can make a real push for five-star Julian “JuJu” Lewis. The Georgia native took an official visit to IU in late May and hasn’t exactly shut things down even though he’s committed to USC.

Iowa

National rank: 61
Number of commits: 13
Average player rating: 87.16

Punter Scott Starzyk is the only player Iowa has added over the past five weeks. The Hawkeyes have four blue-chip commits, from the positions you’d expect — tight end, offensive line and linebacker. There are no running backs or receivers in the class. That seems a bit concerning for an offense that needs as much skill-position talent as it can get, especially since Iowa isn’t a super active portal program. There could, however, be good news coming. Edge rusher Iose Epenesa, a top-50 prospect and the younger brother of former Iowa star A.J. Epenesa, is on commit watch, and the Hawkeyes seem to be the favorite.

Maryland

National rank: 23
Number of commits: 22
Average player rating: 87.65

The Terrapins received a commitment from four-star safety Messiah Delhomme over the weekend. Delhomme, from Newport News, Va., is the second top-200 national prospect to commit to Maryland this month, following another Virginia native, interior offensive lineman Jaylen Gilchrist of Virginia Beach. The trajectory of the Terrapins’ recruiting class changed when they landed a pledge from four-star quarterback Malik Washington, who plays for Archbishop Spalding in Severn, Md. Before Washington’s commitment, Maryland’s class included only one blue-chipper. Now there are six. This is shaping up to be one of Mike Locksley’s best classes at Maryland.

Michigan

National rank: 14
Number of commits: 16
Average player rating: 91.71

There’s a lot going on with the Michigan football program, but recruiting has remained steady after a slow start to the cycle. Saturday, the Wolverines added four-star corner Jayden Sanders of Kilgore (Texas) High, the 12th blue-chip commit in their class. Sherrone Moore’s recruiting is consistent with Michigan’s classes during Jim Harbaugh’s last four or five cycles. So that’s a positive. We’ll have to wait to see if Moore can develop talent at the same rate as his former boss.

Michigan State

National rank: 55
Number of commits: 16
Average player rating: 86.88

The Spartans received a commitment from three-star corner LaRue Zamorano in late July. Zamorano, who plays for Corona (Calif.) Centennial, is ranked No. 475 overall and also visited Washington and Kansas. At Oregon State, Jonathan Smith built a strong reputation for evaluating unheralded prospects and turning them into contributors. So landing a prospect in the mold of Zamorano seems like an ideal example of Smith’s vision for recruiting and roster building.

Minnesota

National rank: 47
Number of commits: 23
Average player rating: 86.32

The Golden Gophers were very active in June, landing 15 of the 23 commitments in their class. Since then, it’s been slow. Minnesota’s only two recent commitments have come from players who are unranked in the 247Sports Composite — safety Grant Grayton and punter Luke Ryerse. Overall, the average player rating seems a bit concerning, but the Golden Gophers have hovered around this range since P.J. Fleck took over the program and have won at least nine games in three out of the past five seasons. Fleck has a model that works, but how sustainable will that be in a deeper Big Ten?

Nebraska

National rank: 29
Number of commits: 18
Average player rating: 88.28

Nebraska has boosted its national ranking and its average player rating with three blue-chip commitments over the past month. Flipping four-star wideout Isaiah Mozee, who plays for Lee’s Summit (Mo.) North, from Oregon was a solid win for Matt Rhule. Mozee is the highest-rated player in the Cornhuskers’ class and should give their future skill group a boost. Nebraska has also bolstered the defensive side of the ball with commitments from four-star defensive lineman Kade Pietrzak from North Dakota and four-star corner Bryson Webber from Texas over the past month. The Cornhuskers had a quiet spring but have added some solid pieces this summer and may be able to land a third consecutive top-25 class.

Northwestern

National rank: 59
Number of commits: 18
Average player rating: 85.60

Three-star tight end Tyler Kielmeyer is the only commit the Wildcats have added since the beginning of July. Kielmeyer is one of just four prospects in this class who are ranked in the top 1,000 nationally. That ratio would typically be concerning, but Northwestern has to go about recruiting differently than pretty much every other program in the Big Ten due to its academics. Still, former coach Pat Fitzgerald finished with a top-50 class in each of his final four cycles. This is David Braun’s first real class as Northwestern’s coach because he spent so much of last year with the interim tag. So this cycle should offer a glimpse of what proper expectations should be for Braun and the Wildcats moving forward.

Ohio State

National rank: 1
Number of commits: 24
Average player rating: 93.79

The Buckeyes, with commitments from four five-stars and 11 top-100 prospects, have had the best recruiting class in the country for pretty much the entire cycle. If we are looking to poke a hole in the class, Ohio State could stand to add some more star power up front; in-state prospect Carter Lowe (No. 50 overall) is the only blue-chip offensive lineman in the group. The Buckeyes are a finalist for five-star tackle David Sanders Jr., the No. 2 overall player in the class, but he is expected to pick Tennessee when he announces Saturday. If the Volunteers do win out, it will place even more scrutiny on the recruiting efforts of Ohio State offensive line coach Justin Frye.

Oregon

National rank: 9th
Number of commits: 14
Average player rating: 94.53

The Ducks added to an already strong class with a commitment in early August from five-star safety Trey Mcnu*tt, a Cleveland native and the son of a former Ohio State Buckeye. Oregon’s class includes three five-star prospects and six other players who rank among the top 150 nationally. The Ducks dropped in the team rankings over the past month because three four-star commits flipped out of the class — most recently Mozee to Nebraska. Even with those setbacks, Oregon has the second-best class in the Big Ten behind Ohio State.

Penn State

National rank: 15
Number of commits: 23
Average player rating: 89.80

The Nittany Lions have had a top-15 class for much of the cycle, and it’s been strengthened over the past two weeks by the additions of four-star linebacker Cameron Smith and four-star receiver Koby Howard. Smith, who flipped from Duke, was an especially important addition since he plays at in-state power St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia — a school that has been tough to crack for Penn State.The Nittany Lions’ class ranks fourth in the Big Ten, so there’s work for James Franklin and his staff to do — especially since Penn State hasn’t had a class with an average player rating this low since the 2021 cycle (89.36). On a positive note, the Nittany Lions’ 2026 class is off to a strong start with three top-100 commits.

Purdue

National rank: 60
Number of commits: 13
Average player rating: 87.46

The Boilermakers had a nice run in early July when they received commitments from cornerback Dawayne Galloway and linebacker Grant Beerman on consecutive days. Those are two Ohio natives and the only two four-star prospects in the class. Purdue is a tough program to recruit to, which is why coach Ryan Walters generated some buzz when he signed the No. 27 class in the country last cycle. That sort of recruiting is hard to sustain, though, especially when Walters won just four games in his first season. So it’ll be interesting to see how recruiting goes without the early tenure optimism. And while the average player rating of this class is better than last cycle (87.40), Purdue’s 2024 class had 27 commitments compared to 13 (so far) in 2025.

Rutgers

National rank: 21
Number of commits: 30
Average player rating: 87.71

The Scarlet Knights have the largest recruiting class in the country, which has allowed them to spend most of the summer in the top 25. After a very active June (20 commits), things have naturally slowed down a bit for Greg Schiano and his staff. Rutgers has received just two commitments since the start of July — four-star linebacker Kamar Archie out of The Hun School in Princeton, N.J., and three-star tight end Ben Rothhaar of Norwalk (Ohio) High. It’s difficult to imagine Rutgers’ class getting substantially bigger between now and the early signing period.

UCLA

National rank: 40
Number of commits: 16
Average player rating: 87.24

In the spring, DeShaun Foster told The Athletic that he wanted to turn the Bruins into a national recruiting operation. That may still be the intention, but UCLA has clearly emphasized Southern California during Foster’s first recruiting cycle, with 10 of the program’s 16 commits from the region. Some are high-profile pledges, such as four-star quarterback Madden Iamaleava, and some are under-the-radar prospects, such as three-star edge rusher Epi Sitanilei. UCLA will have a tough time signing a top-25 class this cycle, but at the very least, Foster is rebuilding bridges in the Bruins’ backyard after Chip Kelly essentially neglected high school recruiting.

USC

National rank: 16
Number of commits: 17
Average player rating: 90.77

June was a bit of a disaster for USC, which lost high-profile commitments from three top-75 prospects. Since then, the Trojans have recorded some solid recruiting victories. Among them are the additions of three four-star prospects from the SEC footprint — linebacker Jadon Perlotte of power Buford (Ga.) High, offensive lineman Carde Smith of Mobile (Ala.) Williamson and safety Kendarius Reddick of Thomas County (Ga.) Central. Reddick, ranked No. 133 nationally, flipped from UCF. These commitments fall in line with what we’ve learned about USC this cycle — the Trojans staff thinks highly of the Southeast. But we’ve also learned another thing this cycle — these out-of-region commitments can be hard to keep in the class.

Washington

National rank: 19
Number of commits: 26
Average player rating: 88.32

For getting a late start at a new school, Jedd Fisch has done a solid job at Washington in his first recruiting cycle. The average player rating will have to be better in the future — there are 18 three-star or unranked prospects in the class — but the Huskies have landed commitments from seven blue-chip prospects since mid-June. Despite Washington’s success last season, this is quite the rebuild, and Fisch’s first class is a positive first step for the new staff.

Wisconsin

National rank: 25
Number of commits: 23
Average player rating: 88.10

Wisconsin has never signed consecutive top-25 classes in the modern recruiting era (dating to 2002). Could this be the year that streak ends? The Badgers’ 2024 class ranked 23rd and their 2025 class is currently 25th. Life will be much more difficult for the Badgers in a new-look Big Ten with the four West Coast schools and the elimination of divisions, but Luke Fickell appears to be on his way to elevating the program’s talent level.

(Photos of Lincoln Riley, Mike Locksley: Kirby Lee, Tommy Gilligan: USA Today)

Antonio Morales covers USC football for The Athletic. Previously, he spent three years at the Clarion Ledger in Mississippi, where he covered Ole Miss for two seasons and Jackson State for another. He also spent two years covering preps for the Orange County Register and Torrance Daily Breeze. Follow Antonio on Twitter @AntonioCMorales