With the 2023 college football season in the rearview mirror, Big Ten football programs are looking toward the 2024 season and beyond.
Going forward, the already-prominent conference will be even more competitive than before, with USC, Oregon, UCLA and Washington all joining from the Pac-12. The Big Ten now expands to a total of 18 schools. Here are recruiting summaries for five of those programs, all of which had winning seasons in 2023:
1. Ohio State
Unsurprisingly, Ohio State leads the conference in recruiting points, according to 24/7 Sports’ composite scoring system. The system combines player ratings from 24/7, Rivals.com, and ESPN to give an overall rating to each player.
The Buckeyes have already attracted six five-star recruits, with Nebraska being the only other school to sign one thus far. Former Alabama safety Caleb Downs just made headlines by transferring to Ohio State after heavily considering Georgia. Downs’ addition immediately bolsters the Buckeye secondary. On the offensive side of the ball, they also landed wide receiver Jeremiah Smith out of Florida, the top high school pass-catcher in the country. This is a timely acquisition after losing former Heisman candidate Marvin Harrison Jr. to the NFL draft.
California native Julian Sayin announced today that he will also be transferring to the Buckeyes after originally committing to Alabama. With Nick Saban retiring, the nation’s top quarterback recruit will join Ryan Day’s squad instead. Sayin will compete with Georgia native Air Nolan for the starting job, another top-five signal-caller in the nation.
“Incredibly excited to join the team here at Ohio State,” Sayin told ESPN on Sunday. “I held this program in high regard throughout my entire recruiting process and am looking forward to learning from some of the most talented players and coaches in college football and contributing to our team’s success.”
2. Oregon
However, Ohio State isn’t the only Big Ten school making waves on the recruiting trail. Oregon has put together one of its best recruiting classes in school history, currently leading the conference with 21 four-star commits. The group is headlined by defensive tackle Aydin Breland and edge rusher Elijah Rushing, who are both ranked top five in each of their respective positions. They’re even listed as five-star recruits on 24/7’s in-house rankings. The Ducks’ currently rank fifth in the nation in recruiting, and are only three points behind Ohio State according to the 24/7 system.
3. Michigan
Michigan currently sits fourth on the list behind Penn State, bolstering its roster with 18 four-star players. The defending national champions will have a revamped offense, headlined by tackle Andrew Sprague and quarterback Jadyn Davis. Running back Jordan Marshall will also bolster the running game, as the young speedster was recently named “Mr. Football” in the state of Ohio. The award was well-deserved, as he broke Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller High School’s all-time rushing record.
4. USC
Lincoln Reilly’s USC squad currently ranks fifth in the conference in recruiting, with eleven four-star athletes. The Trojans are in one of the trickiest positions in college football, as they’re switching conferences right after losing star quarterback Caleb Williams to the NFL draft. Additionally, the defense has much room for improvement, as it ranked 123rd in points allowed for FBS teams last year. Fifth-ranked cornerback Marcelles Williams and seventh-ranked edge rusher Kameryn Fountain should help provide immediate improvement. Offensively, they landed the country’s top interior lineman in Jason Zandamela.
5. Northwestern
On the other side of the list, Northwestern is struggling to attract top players, ranking last in the conference. It’s the only Big Ten school to not sign any four-star players thus far. While the Wildcats enjoyed another winning season (8-5, 5-4) and a Las Vegas Bowl victory over Utah, they might find it difficult to keep their heads above water going forward. The Big Ten was already a gauntlet before the latest expansion, and they’ll now have to compete with four highly-ranked west coast schools in addition to the typical conference giants.
Big Picture
Overall, the Big Ten has loads of new talent coming in following the conference’s first national championship victory since Ohio State in 2014. With Oklahoma and 2023 playoff semifinalists Texas Longhorns joining the SEC, this was a necessary step for the conference to keep up with its southern counterparts going forward.
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