How does this year's recruiting class affect the real world of college football? What did each team do and what positions did they go after? Going beyond players who are just names to many, like future Michigan star QB Ryan Mallett, here's what it all means.
1.
Michigan The
class is heavy on ... Big-time
talent. It's Michigan. It loses a
boatload of NFL players, and it
picks up more in one of the nation's
best recruiting classes. Ryan
Mallett is considered by some to be
the best high school quarterback
recruit Lloyd Carr and his staff
have ever brought in, while
receivers Toney Clemons, J.R.
Hemingway and Zion Babb all look
like players who'll see action on
Sundays. DE Ryan Van Bergen, TE
Steve Watson, CB Donovan Warren and
LB Brandon Herron are all next-level
talents. The player who'll someday be a
really big deal ... QB Ryan
Mallett The player you might care about
this year ... LB Austin Panter What it all means to the real
world of college football ...
The shelves have been restocked. In
a year when Ohio State struggled a
bit in recruiting, and the rest of
the conference stars didn't make too
much of a splash, Michigan rocked
with a national-title level class.
With this group, the passing game
has the potential to be unstoppable
once all the stars get their chance
to jell in a few years.
2. Illinois The
class is heavy on ... Serious,
serious talent. Ron Zook was always
known for being an excellent
recruiter, but he and his staff
opened up some eyes across the
nation with a stunning class that
most top programs could only dream
about this season. Receivers
Arrelious Bean and Anthony Morris,
defensive tackles D'Angelo McCray
and Josh Brent, and end Martez
Wilson are the types of talents that
normally end up in Southern
California, not Champaign, Illinois. The player who'll someday be a
really big deal ... DE Martez
Wilson The player you might care about
this year ... WR Arrelious Benn What it all means to the real
world of college football ...
Now we'll see if Zook can actually
coach. From the New York Times to
Charlie Weis, there's a lot of
skepticism out there about how a
program that lost 19 of its last 20
games against D-I teams could bring
in a class like this, but however it
happened, there's more talent at
Illinois as there's been in decades.
Zook will play many of his stars
right away, and it'll be interesting
to see how the team jells as it
grows over the next few years.
3. Ohio State The
class is heavy on ... Quality
over quantity. It isn't a big class,
and it isn't one of the nation's
elite hauls, but there's almost no
waste with just about every one of
the 15 recruits good enough to make
a big impact. The running back
tandem of Brandon Saine and Boom
Herron and receivers Taurian
Washington and Dane Sanzebacher will
make a big splash before they're
done. Safeties Nate Oliver, Devon
Torrence and Eugene Clifford will
all be playing at the next level. The player who'll someday be a
really big deal ... WR Taurian
Washington The player you might care about
this year ... S Eugene Clifford What it all means to the real
world of college football ...
After the way 2006 ended, it
would've been nice if OSU had come
up with a jaw-dropping class to show
how the program isn't close to
slipping. This isn't it. Oh sure,
Ohio State is Ohio State and can get
its share of top prospects to sign
just by turning on the fax machine,
but compared to the other college
football superpowers, this class is
just above-average. One note of
interest is the lack of a star
quarterback recruit, or a
quarterback of any kind.
4. Penn State The
class is heavy on ... Defense.
The skill positions were all but
ignored, and the offensive line got
a few token players. This class is
about fortifying the defense, and
the especially the linebacking corps
with three top-shelf prospects in
Chris Colasanti, Nathan Stupar and
Andrew Dailey who should keep
Linebacker U rolling. Tackles Devon
Still and Chimaeze Okoli should be
special once they have time to bulk
up, and corner Chaz Powell and
safety Nick Sukay have All-Big Ten
potential. The player who'll someday be a
really big deal ... LB Chris
Colasanti The player you might care about
this year ... TE Jon Ditto What it all means to the real
world of college football ...
While this wasn't the type of
brilliant class that made national
headlines like recent ones, it's
still likely to be better than it's
being given credit for. It's a near
lock that the players who signed
with this class won't have Joe
Paterno as their head coach five
years from now, but there's still
plenty of top talent coming to State
College.
5. Wisconsin The
class is heavy on ... Recruits
who fit the system. Wisconsin rarely
gets classes of superior, five-star
sure things that everyone else
wants, but it gets more than its
share of really good players who
fill roles exactly as needed. This
class was no exception with big,
fast receivers, two speed back John Clay to
provide some lightning to P.J.
Hill's thunder, and four excellent
defensive back prospects that should
shine once they get time to jell. The player who'll someday be a
really big deal ... OT Josh
Oglesby The player you might care about
this year ... RB John Clay What it all means to the real
world of college football ...
The tradition of keeping the top
Wisconsin talents in Badgerland
continues under Bret Bielema.
Keeping Josh Oglesby, arguably the
nation's top offensive tackle, was a
slam-dunk, but also getting Clay and
receiver Nick Toon (even with his
family ties to the program), was a
big statement. Getting safety Quincy
Landingham from Michigan and corner
Aaron Henry from Florida showed the
team can get some good national
players, too.
6. Iowa The
class is heavy on ... Linebacker
and safety. The Hawkeyes loaded up
on the defensive back seven with
four linebackers, led by Tyler
Nielsen, who needs to be the team's
defensive star by 2009, and the
strength of the class, the safeties.
Jordan Bernstine, Tyler Sash, and
Diauntae Morrow are fantastic
prospects with the speed to turn
into corners and the size to be
tone-setting hitters. Iowa only
picked up one true corner, but
Cedric Everson is an elite one with
4.3 speed. The player who'll someday be a
really big deal ... LB Tyler
Nielsen The player you might care about
this year ... CB Cedric Everson What it all means to the real
world of college football ...
While QB Marvin McNutt will get his
chance soon enough and WR Colin
Sandeman should be decent, but the
offensive talent is already in Iowa
City. This group is about the
defense and the overall team speed,
and while there aren't a lot of
sure-things, there are plenty of
good athletes who should fit the
system perfectly.
7. Northwestern The
class is heavy on ... Variety.
It takes a certain kind of player to
go to Northwestern, so the coaching
staff has to click on its pick ups.
That's a dangerous game if you're a
fan of strength-in-numbers position
recruiting, but for this team, it
got a little of everything to try to
upgrade each spot, and it did that
with the highlight coming with
commitments from OT Colin Armstrong
and center Niko Mafuli.
Interestingly enough considering the
head coach, linebacker, outside of
Bryce McNaul, was ignored. The player who'll someday be a
really big deal ... CB
Jordan Mabin The player you might care about
this year ... LB Bryce McNaul What it all means to the real
world of college football ...
Pat Fitzgerald and his staff came up
with a fantastic class full of real
talents, and not just good prospects
for Northwestern. Yeah, the program
needs overachieving players who fill
roles, but there are several
recruits who should quickly grow
into leaders to build around. This
is a class for the future, and
judging by Fitzgerald's first
recruiting season, it's bright.
8. Michigan State The
class is heavy on ... The lines.
New head coach Mark Dantonio is
trying to rebuild the Spartans from
the lines up getting nine prospects
for both sides. The strength is at
defensive tackle with Antonio
Jeremiah ready to roll right off the
bat, and Ryan Wheat potentially
growing into a run clogger once he
hits the weight room. Consider this
class the building block for the
future. The player who'll someday be a
really big deal ... LB Greg
Jones The player you might care about
this year ... DT Antonio
Jeremiah What it all means to the real
world of college football ...
Dantonio and his staff didn't get a
chance to start up until late in the
game, so there aren't many
jaw-dropping, certain all-stars. If
you're looking for an instant boost
in the offensive talent, it's not
going to come from this group even
though Dantonio will open up the
competition this off-season to
everyone. Consider this class a
possible step to where Michigan
State wants to be; not a quick fix.
9. Minnesota The
class is heavy on ... Defense.
The offense certainly got attention,
especially at receiver, but
considering the problems over the
last several years stopping even the
most pedestrian of offenses, defense
was the priority for Tim Brewster
and his new coaching staff. Four
corners, two safeties, a top JUCO
linebacker (Logan Uu), two JUCO
linemen and good tackle Trey Davis
will be the foundation to try to
turn the defensive fortunes around
in a hurry. The player who'll someday be a
really big deal ... QB Clint
Brewster The player you might care about
this year ... DT Sergio Elizee What it all means to the real
world of college football ...
While the class won't be ranked all
that highly by most, it's not all
that bad considering the off-season
turmoil and Brewster's late arrival
on the job. He's known for being an
elite recruiter, so keep an eye on
what he does over the next twelve
months to upgrade the overall
talent. It'll be interesting to see
how quickly his son, top quarterback
prospect Clint Brewster, gets a
chance.
10. Purdue The
class is heavy on ... Skill
players. Purdue never gets in the
top-shelf offensive talent, but it
always does a fantastic job with the
average prospects who fit what Joe
Tiller and his staff needs to do.
Justin Siller is the marquee
quarterback name, but Tyler Haston
and Josh McKinley will get time to
learn and grow. There isn't an
immediate need for offensive
playmakers, so RB Malcolm Harris, WR
Derrick Sherman and TE Colton McKey
won't have pressure to perform out
of the box. The player who'll someday be a
really big deal ... QB Justin
Siller The player you might care about
this year ... DE Ryan Kerrigan What it all means to the real
world of college football ... It
would've been nice if Purdue
could've done more to provide an
instant upgrade to a defense that's
done nothing over the past few
seasons. Tiller and his staff have
never been lights-out when it comes
to recruiting, and compared to the
rest of the Big Ten in an average
year, this group isn't anything
remotely special.
11. Indiana The
class is heavy on ... Tackles.
Three offensive tackles and three
defensive tackles are the strength
of the class, especially when it
comes to trying to clog the middle
with 305-pound JUCO transfer Kevin
Burns and 280-pound Jeff Boyd.
Stopping the run is a priority for
IU after getting rolled over the
last few seasons, so the faster the
top linebacker prospects (Tyler
Replogle and Dane Conwell) emerge,
the better. The player who'll someday be a
really big deal ... LB Tyler
Replogle The player you might care about
this year ... P Christopher
Hagerup What it all means to the real
world of college football ...
Indiana is still a black hole when
it comes to recruiting. Terry
Hoeppner and his staff put together
a young team full of excitement last
year, and now it needed to upgrade
the defense. How fast this class can
get on the field, especially the
defensive linemen, will be a key to
the program's overall development.
Building for the future isn't
possible considering how the team
needs more positive momentum.
