Ohio State Class Of The Big Ten After National Signing Day
CONFERENCE: Big Ten
BEST IN CLASS (based on 247 Sports composite rankings): If signing day is any indication, Ohio State continued its domination of the Big Ten by pulling in the third-ranked class in the country. The Buckeyes landed two five-star recruits and a Big Ten-high 15 four-star players. Michigan and Penn State came in at No. 12 and No. 13, respectively, though neither program secured a five-star.
BEST PLAYER: Five-star Julian Fleming — the No. 2 overall prospect and No. 1 WR — from Catawissa, Pennsylvania, picked Ohio State over Alabama, Clemson, rival Michigan and nearby Penn State, among others. The 6-foot-2, 199-pound Fleming finished his career with 5,489 yards receiving and 79 touchdowns and helped Southern Columbia Area High School to 81 straight wins — all state records.
WHO STOCKED UP: Michigan pulled in 13 4-star players and Penn State secured 11 while Maryland landed the conference's third — and final — five-star recruit. The Wolverines grabbed WR A.J. Henning, the top-ranked player in the state of Illinois, and kept Braiden McGregor — the No. 4 DE in the nation and No. 2 player in Michigan — home. ... The Nittany Lions landed two top-100 players in LB Curtis Jacobs (No. 44) and Theo Johnson (No. 84) — the third-ranked TE in the class. ... Maryland pulled off perhaps the biggest surprise of the day, inking WR Rakim Jarrett. The 6-foot, 208-pound receiver is the 20th-ranked player, and No. 2 wide receiver in the class and had been committed to LSU.
WHO FELL SHORT: Rutgers and Illinois both ended up ranked outside the top 60, but Michigan State — which won three conference titles from 2010-2015 — came in at No. 42, without signing a four-star player. The Spartans lost out on the top 13 players from the state of Michigan and didn't land a player inside the top 400 nationally. The Spartans are coming off a 6-6 season.
TAKEAWAY: Ohio State secured far and away the best class in the conference and continued to stock the cupboards for what has been one of the best offenses in the nation with five-star OT Paris Johnson Jr. — No. 7 overall — and four of the top 15 receivers.
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