Big Ten Recruiting Overview: How the conference stacks up in 2024 cycle

2024 recruiting is soon entering the July dead period with one more official visit weekend left this month. Before the dog days of summer, Michigan continues to bring in top-tier junior targets to campus with the objective being to finish near the top of the On3 Industry National Team Recruiting Rankings.

The Wolverine takes a deep dive on all 14 programs, including Michigan, who make up the Big Ten Conference and how the group has fared with recruiting this cycle. Each club is listed in order of how On3 ranks them.

Ohio State

On3 Industry Ranking: No. 3

Number of Commits: 14

Total Score: 93.007

Five-Star Commits: 2

Four-Star Commits: 10

Three-Star Commits: 2

Average NIL Value: $144K

Highest Ranked Commit: Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna WR Jeremiah Smith

Next Highest Ranked Commit: New Haven (Ind.) High WR Mylan Graham

Quick Hitter: It’s an arms race between Ohio State and Michigan for the top 2024 talent available in the Buckeye State and the battle will surely continue in future cycles. Currently, OSU possesses five verbal commits who are native to Ohio, as well as two wideouts ranked in the top five nationally in Jeremiah Smith and Mylan Graham.

Michigan

On3 Industry Ranking: No. 5

Number of Commits: 22

Total Score: 91.935

Five-Star Commits: 0

Four-Star Commits: 11

Three-Star Commits: 11

Average NIL Value: $78K

Highest Ranked Commit: Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day QB Jadyn Davis

Next Highest Ranked Commit: Cincinnati (Ohio) Archbishop Moeller RB Jordan Marshall

Quick Hitter: Michigan is tied for the second-most 2024 pledges at the Power 5 level. There are a number of priority targets who are coming off official visits to Ann Arbor this month and are also trending up towards the Wolverines. There’s the likely scenario where the 2024 class for Michigan reaches the 30-mark.

Penn State

On3 Industry Ranking: No. 12

Number of Commits: 17

Total Score: 90.616

Five-Star Commits: 0

Four-Star Commits: 9

Three-Star Commits: 8

Average NIL Value: $51K

Highest Ranked Commit: Belle Vernon (Pa.) High ATH Quinton Martin

Next Highest Ranked Commit: Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin CB Jon Mitchell

Quick Hitter: Penn State is building a fence around the state of Pennsylvania which is common annually with Quinton Martin being the No. 1 ranked 2024 in-state prospect. The Nittany Lions have also plucked away a number of targets from Wisconsin, New England and northern section of Florida.

Wisconsin

On3 Industry Ranking: No. 25

Number of Commits: 16

Total Score: 88.099

Five-Star Commits: 0

Four-Star Commits: 2

Three-Star Commits: 13

Average NIL Value: $29K

Highest Ranked Commit: Algonquin (Ill.) Harry D. Jacobs TE Grant Stec

Next Highest Ranked Commit: Royersford (Pa.) Pope John Paul II OT Kevin Heywood

Quick Hitter: A new coaching staff headed by Luke Fickell has brought an increased sense of energy on the recruiting trail for Wisconsin. Within the state’s borders is a hotbed for the Badgers, who are receiving a piece of the pie in the city of Chicago and its suburbs too.

Iowa

On3 Industry Ranking: No. 26

Number of Commits: 11

Total Score: 87.600

Five-Star Commits: 0

Four-Star Commits: 2

Three-Star Commits: 9

Average NIL Value: $25K

Highest Ranked Commit: Winthrop (Iowa) East Buchanon IOL Cody Fox

Next Highest Ranked Commit: Williamsburg (Iowa) High LB Derek Weisskopf

Quick Hitter: Iowa has taken a regional approach to add numbers to its 2024 recruiting class. Outside of its quarterback commit, three-star James Resar, who hails from Jacksonville, Florida, the other eight have roots in either Iowa, Illinois or Indiana.

Minnesota

On3 Industry Ranking: No. 28

Number of Commits: 23

Total Score: 87.528

Five-Star Commits: 0

Four-Star Commits: 1

Three-Star Commits: 20

Average NIL Value: $23K

Highest Ranked Commit: Mukwonago (Wisc.) High OT Nathan Roy

Next Highest Ranked Commit: Esko (Minn.) Lincoln Safety Koi Perich

Quick Hitter: Minnesota stands alone with the most verbal commitments across all of college football. The program is proving that they’re not afraid to expand beyond the midwest and has taken in commits from Texas and SEC country.

Nebraska 

On3 Industry Ranking: No. 34

Number of Commits: 14

Total Score: 86.778

Five-Star Commits: 0

Four-Star Commits: 2

Three-Star Commits: 8

Average NIL Value: $24K

Highest Ranked Commit: Altair (Tex.) Rice Consolidated Safety Roger Gradney

Next Highest Ranked Commit: DeSoto (Tex.) High CB Mario Buford 

Quick Hitter: There was belief that first-year head coach Matt Rhule was going to add a Texas vibe to Nebraska’s recruiting classes because of his connections made through his prior coaching tenure with Baylor. That’s exactly what’s transpiring right now with both of the Cornhuskers’ four-star commits residing in Texas. Three more from that state are in the fray as well.

Purdue

On3 Industry Ranking: No. 34

Number of Commits: 10

Total Score: 86.484

Five-Star Commits: 0

Four-Star Commits: 2

Three-Star Commits: 7

Average NIL Value: $31K

Highest Ranked Commit: Midland (Tex.) Lee QB Marcos Davila

Next Highest Ranked Commit: Naperville (Ill.) High WR Luke Williams

Quick Hitter: Purdue has found its quarterback of the future from the Lone Star State in Marcos Davila and has used the influence garnered by head coach Ryan Walters while he was the defensive coordinator of Illinois to push into that state for talent.

Rutgers

On3 Industry Ranking: No. 35

Number of Commits: 14

Total Score: 86.473

Five-Star Commits: 0

Four-Star Commits: 0

Three-Star Commits: 14

Average NIL Value: $18.9K

Highest Ranked Commit: Bloomfield Hills (Mich.) Country Day ATH Gabriel Winowich

Next Highest Ranked Commit: Trenton (N.J.) Notre Dame QB AJ Surace

Quick Hitter: Rutgers has established a presence in the state of Michigan with two of its commits coming from the Metro Detroit area. But the bread and butter for the Scarlet Knight is along the east coast in the Carolinas, DMV, and the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Northwestern

On3 Industry Ranking: No. 44

Number of Commits: 9

Total Score: 85.33

Five-Star Commits: 0

Four-Star Commits: 0

Three-Star Commits: 9

Average NIL Value: $19.4K

Highest Ranked Commit: West Bloomfield (Mich.) High CB Jamir Benjamin

Next Highest Ranked Commit: Northbrook (Ill.) Glenbrook TE Pat Schaller

Quick Hitter: Northwestern normally takes a methodical stance in its recruiting efforts by offering less recruits than the standard that’s seen from most Power 5 schools. But it also leads to the team landing the commits who they were prioritizing to begin with. Two juniors from the state of Michigan are expected to enroll in Evanston next year in Jamir Benjamin and Idrys Cotton.

Illinois

On3 Industry Ranking: No. 49

Number of Commits: 10

Total Score: 84.827

Five-Star Commits: 0

Four-Star Commits: 0

Three-Star Commits: 8

Average NIL Value: $21K

Highest Ranked Commit: La Grange (Ill.) Lyons Township DL Eddie Tuerk

Next Highest Ranked Commit: Chicago (Ill.) Morgan Park ATH Tysean Griffin

Quick Hitter: The exact objective that Penn State has with its own state is being done by Illinois. Whether it’s in Chicago, the cities that surround the nation’s third largest city, the suburbs of St. Louis or near Champaign, Illinois’ highest rated 2024 commits are in-staters. The school has also grabbed two from Ohio.

Indiana

On3 Industry Ranking: No. 51

Number of Commits: 9

Total Score: 84.630

Five-Star Commits: 0

Four-Star Commits: 0

Three-Star Commits: 8

Average NIL Value: $17.5K

Highest Ranked Commit: Danville (Ind.) Community OT Evan Lawrence

Next Highest Ranked Commit: Indianapolis (Ind.) Speedway IOL Adedamola Ajani

Quick Hitter: Indiana almost entered the month of May without a single commit in its 2024 recruiting class but has landed all eight since April 29th. Five of whom made their respective decision in June.

Maryland

On3 Industry Ranking: No. 60

Number of Commits: 9

Total Score: 83.520

Five-Star Commits: 0

Four-Star Commits: 0

Three-Star Commits: 6

Average NIL Value: $16K

Highest Ranked Commit: Munich (Germany) LB Justin Okoronkwo

Next Highest Ranked Commit: Hampton (Va.) Phoebus EDGE Anthony Reddick

Quick Hitter: Maryland’s prioritization of the entire DMV – Baltimore, Washington D.C. and deep in the heart of Virginia, is going to be the basis for its recruiting stance. The eastern part of Pennsylvania as well. Dipping into international recruiting by the Terrapins was kickstarted by the commitment of Justin Okoronkwo.

Michigan State

On3 Industry Ranking: No. 64

Number of Commits: 5

Total Score: 83.002

Five-Star Commits: 0

Four-Star Commits: 0

Three-Star Commits: 4

Average NIL Value: $24K

Highest Ranked Commit: Dayton (Ohio) Centerville Safety Reggie Powers

Next Highest Ranked Commit: Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Riverdale CB Jaylen Thompson

Quick Hitter: Michigan State heads into the final June official visit weekend with the lowest total of 2024 commits. There are a few four-star targets trending to the Spartans, who are also vying to grab some of the top prospects associated with C4 Sports Performance, based in the state of Oklahoma.