Big Ten recruiting thoughts: Ohio State, Oregon keep rolling, Michigan surging

There has been a ton of recruiting activity since the start of June as programs across the Big Ten continue to build their 2025 classes.

We last checked in on the conference landscape at the start of official visits during the first week of June. Let’s see where each program stands five weeks later.

Note: All rankings are from the 247Sports Composite.

Illinois

National rank: 57
Number of commits: 13
Average player rating: 86.79

Illinois has more than doubled its class size since the beginning of June — jumping from six to 13 commitments — and has pretty much remained in the 50s in the national rankings. All of the Illini’s recent additions have been three-star prospects who rank outside of the top 500 nationally, so this class is not going to generate a lot of headlines. But one of the commits is a quarterback: three-star prospect Jershaun Newton of Clearwater (Fla.) Central Catholic, the younger brother of former Illinois defensive lineman and 2023 All-American Jer’Zhan “Johnny” Newton. The younger Newton, who ranks No. 669 nationally, is the second QB in Illinois’ class, joining three-star Carson Boyd. It will be interesting to monitor their paths going forward.

National rank: 46
Number of commits: 19
Average player rating: 86.33

Indiana hosted five-star quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis earlier this summer, but that’s been the only real splash for this program during the 2025 cycle. There’s one blue-chip prospect in this class, four-star safety Byron Baldwin of St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, who committed in April. Indiana added 10 players over the past month, with three-star corner Jaylen Bell, a Georgia native who ranks No. 651 nationally, the highest-rated member of the group. Only one of Indiana’s 19 overall commitments ranks inside the top 600 nationally, so Curt Cignetti’s development will be put to the test with this class.

Iowa

National rank: 62
Number of commits: 12
Average player rating: 87.72

To the naked eye, there’s nothing impressive about Iowa’s recruiting class, but that’s usually the case and the Hawkeyes regularly outperform the recruiting rankings. Iowa hasn’t landed a blue-chip commitment since February. The highest-rated players the Hawkeyes added in June are three-star offensive linemen Lucas Allgeyer from Missouri and Cameron Herron from Indiana. The top-rated prospect in the state, Nick Brooks (No. 174 overall), was once committed to Iowa, but it seems like he’s going elsewhere — and that would make it three straight cycles that the top recruit in Iowa heads out of state.

Maryland

National rank: 26
Number of commits: 20
Average player rating: 86.75

Things are trending up for Mike Locksley and the Terrapins. Landing four-star quarterback Malik Washington of Severn (Md.) Archbishop Spalding was critical for Maryland, which hasn’t had a ton of in-state success in recent cycles. The hope is that adding a blue-chip quarterback to a class can lead to more talented players coming on board. Mission accomplished. Over the weekend, the Terrapins received a commitment from four-star defensive lineman Bryce Jenkins of Washington (D.C.) Friendship Collegiate Academy. Locksley has signed just one top-25 class since he took over at Maryland following the 2018 season. The 2025 class currently ranks 26th.

Officially a Terp🐢❤️ #terpnation #commited pic.twitter.com/lN40MtlvtH

— malik washington (@malikw2025) June 28, 2024

Michigan

National rank: 11
Number of commits: 15
Average player rating: 91.85

Michigan’s class started to come together nicely in June. The Wolverines have added seven blue-chip prospects since the beginning of summer official visits. On Monday, Ivan Taylor, a top-75 cornerback from Florida and the son of former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Ike Taylor, flipped from Notre Dame. And minutes later, tight end Andrew Olesh, a Pennsylvania native who ranks No. 118 overall, announced his commitment to the Wolverines. Safety Kainoa Winston, out of Washington, D.C., is another recent top-100 addition to the secondary. The Wolverines have also done a solid job boosting the defensive front with four-star D-lineman Jaylen Williams and four-star edge Julius Holly. They also added blue-chippers on the offensive line (Kaden Strayhorn), running back (Donovan Johnson) and wide receiver (Jacob Washington). This has been an impressive run by new head coach Sherrone Moore.

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National rank: 53
Number of commits: 14
Average player rating: 86.46

Jonathan Smith has never been about flash in recruiting. He rebuilt Oregon State with outstanding evaluations and strong development. It looks like he’s taking a similar approach at Michigan State, which has had success with that formula in the past. The Spartans don’t have a single blue-chip prospect in their class. They do have nine commitments from the Midwest, including six from the state of Michigan, and the highest-rated player is an in-state product — three-star defensive lineman Derrick Simmons of Frankenmuth High School. That’s a good sign considering Smith has no ties to the region.

Minnesota

National rank: 40
Number of commits: 22
Average player rating: 86.56

Minnesota’s class currently ranks 12th in the new-look Big Ten. The Golden Gophers added 15 commitments since the beginning of summer official visits — one from four-star wide receiver Bradley Martino, a Florida native who is one of two blue-chip prospects in the class. It’s a down year for in-state talent, with edge rusher Emmanuel Karmo the only blue-chip prospect in the state. He committed to Minnesota in April but took an official visit to Nebraska in June. The rest of the class is filled with players who are seemingly more long-term projects, with 14 commits who are rated in the 900s or lower nationally.

Nebraska

National rank: 35
Number of commits: 15
Average player rating: 87.91

The Cornhuskers were just named one of four finalists for five-star offensive tackle David Sanders Jr., a Charlotte, N.C., native who is the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2025 class. Nebraska pulled off a surprise by flipping five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola late last cycle, but it seems like a considerable longshot in the race for Sanders. Currently, the Cornhuskers’ class lacks the type of top-end talent that headlined their 2024 class. Nebraska signed three top-100 prospects last cycle and has none in the top 200 in the 2025 class.

National rank: 54
Number of commits: 18
Average player rating: 85.63

Northwestern is another program that’s never going to have a sexy recruiting ranking due in large part to its strong academic requirements. The Wildcats did add seven prospects over the past month — all ranked in the 900s nationally or lower, so it’s not a commitment wave that is impressive on the surface. David Braun has given Northwestern more stability on the recruiting trail now that he’s operating without the interim tag. But as with several other classes in the Big Ten, this is one that we’ll probably get a more complete assessment of in a few years once we see how these players develop.

National rank: 1
Number of commits: 23
Average player rating: 93.90

The Buckeyes have had the best class in the country for much of this recruiting cycle, and they still do — though Alabama is stating its case of late. Riley Pettijohn, a five-star linebacker from McKinney (Texas) High, is the latest high-profile commitment for Ohio State, which has an incredible 11 top-100 prospects (and four five-stars) in this class. How well-balanced is this class? Ohio State has commitments from top-100 prospects at quarterback, running back, receiver, offensive line, edge rusher, linebacker, safety and corner. Sure, the offensive line recruiting could be better, but it’s difficult to argue with these results.

National rank: 5
Number of commits: 15
Average player rating: 93.99

If you’re a fan of a Big Ten program that was unfamiliar with Oregon’s recruiting, the last few weeks are probably what you should expect going forward from Dan Lanning and his coaching staff. The Ducks have been on a tear, landing six blue-chip commitments over the past two weeks, including two from top-50 players from Texas — five-star wide receiver Dakorien Moore (the No. 1 player nationally at his position) and four-star cornerback Dorian Brew. All but one of Oregon’s 15 commitments is ranked in the top 300 in the nation, so this class is stocked with top prospects. Does NIL likely play a large role? Yep. But does Oregon have elite recruiters on its staff? Absolutely, and that helps, too.

National rank: 10
Number of commits: 21
Average player rating: 89.94

The Nittany Lions had a really nice June with commitments from seven blue-chip prospects. The most highly rated of the group is cornerback Daryus Dixson, who plays at Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei and could be the first California recruit to sign with Penn State since 2014. The Nittany Lions have a top-10 class, but their average player rating is only 89.94 — considerably lower than Oregon (93.99), Ohio State (93.90) and Michigan (91.85), the programs that Penn State must compete against in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions don’t seem to be any closer to closing the gap with the top teams in the league.

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Purdue

National rank: 56
Number of commits: 12
Average player rating: 87.44

The Boilermakers’ 2025 class received a nice boost last week with a commitment from cornerback Dawayne Galloway, a top-150 prospect from Columbus (Ohio) Marion-Franklin. Galloway, the first blue-chip commit for Purdue this cycle, will join his cousin, Tayvion Galloway, a four-star signee in the Class of 2024. Coach Ryan Walters has had some success with blue-chip defensive backs over the past few years, but he’ll need to land several more high-end prospects to match last cycle’s No. 27 nationally ranking, the program’s second-highest in the last 15 years.

National rank: 16
Number of commits: 29
Average player rating: 87.61

Halfway through the 2025 cycle, it’s fair to describe the Scarlet Knights as the surprise of the league. Yes, Rutgers’ national ranking is bolstered by the size of its class (29 commits), but the Scarlet Knights have landed five blue-chip prospects since the beginning of June. Some have been surprises, like four-star in-state offensive lineman Jaelyne Matthews, who was reportedly down to Miami, Tennessee and Georgia at one point. Rutgers also beat out high-profile programs for in-state linebacker Kamar Archie, who took official visits to Michigan and Clemson. The Scarlet Knights have more blue-chip commitments (five) than 10 of the other 17 schools in the Big Ten. If that holds, the Scarlet Knights staff deserves a bunch of credit.

National rank: 37
Number of commits: 15
Average player rating: 87.39

This cycle is about laying the foundation for what first-year coach DeShaun Foster wants the program to be on the recruiting trail. Foster took over in February, so he got a late start with the 2025 class, but his staff has been very active at events in the region. Chip Kelly didn’t bother much with traditional high school recruiting, and UCLA hasn’t landed a top-25 class since the 2018 cycle, Kelly’s first as the head coach. With a strong close, the Bruins could be in position to contend for a top-25 class in the 2025 cycle. They received a commitment from four-star safety Jadyn Hudson of Pittsburg (Calif.) High last month, the latest of several quality in-state recruiting wins.

National rank: 23
Number of commits: 13
Average player rating: 90.24

No program suffered more high-profile recruiting setbacks over the past six weeks than the Trojans, who lost commitments from three top-100 pledges since mid-June — four-star safety Hylton Stubbs, four-star defensive lineman Isaiah Gibson and five-star defensive lineman Justus Terry. USC has landed two blue-chip commitments in that time, from four-star wideout Corey Simms from St. Louis and four-star corner Shamar Arnoux out of Georgia, but that’s not enough to make up for the decommitments and the lack of local recruiting success for Lincoln Riley and his staff. The Trojans went from a top-five class to just inside the top 25 and now face questions about their entire recruiting apparatus.

Washington

National rank: 17
Number of commits: 21
Average player rating: 88.07

The summer has been kind to the Huskies’ recruiting efforts. Jedd Fisch and his new staff got off to a slow start this cycle, which was to be expected after taking the job in mid-January, but they’ve taken necessary steps over the past few weeks. Washington landed a commitment from the top prospect in its state — four-star linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale — and scored some solid wins in California with four-star tight end Vander Ploog from Fullerton, four-star offensive lineman Champ Taulealea from San Jose and four-star wideout Chris Lawson from San Francisco. The Huskies still have some more work to do, but landing the best prospects locally and finding success in California is a good start for this staff — and how a program improves from last in the conference at the beginning of June to the top 20 nationally.

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Wisconsin

National rank: 20
Number of commits: 22
Average player rating: 88.14

The Badgers have remained pretty steady in the national rankings and currently sit at 20th. Four-star offensive lineman Hardy Watts from Dexter School in Massachusetts is their most recent commitment. The makeup of Wisconsin’s class is interesting. Watts is from Massachusetts, and the Badgers also have blue-chippers from New Mexico (linebacker Mason Posa), Arizona (offensive lineman Logan Powell) and Virginia (safety Remington Miss). There are also blue-chip commits from the Midwest, such as cornerback Jaimier Scott (Ohio) and wideout Eugene Hilton Jr. (Indiana) — the son of former NFL player T.Y. Hilton. It’s clear that coach Luke Fickell is trying to expand Wisconsin’s recruiting horizons to find top-level talent for this class.

(Photo of Sherrone Moore: Adam Cairns / Columbus Dispatch / USA Today Network)