Blue White Illustrated

Rapids, Iowa, and David Davidkov of Winnetka, Ill.; linebacker Justice Sullivan of Eden Prairie, Minn.; and athlete Arland Bruce of Ankeny, Iowa. Penn State signed the seventh-ranked class in the Big Ten and the 26th-best class in the country according to Rivals. The Nittany Lions' class totaled just 16 re- cruits, including seven four-star and nine three-star signees. While it was the >rst class of the James Franklin era to >nish outside of the Rivals top 25, that was largely due to the size of the group. Look- ing at the average star rating on a per- player basis, Penn State was fourth in the conference, with its 16 newcomers averag- ing 3.44 stars. ABer his >rst full year at Rutgers, Greg Schiano led the Scarlet Knights to their best recruiting performance in more than a decade, as they >nished eighth in the Big Ten and 37th nationally. Rutgers landed 21 players, including two four-star New Jer- sey prospects – linebacker Khayri Benton of Newark and defensive back Alijah Clark of Camden – and 15 three-star players. Michigan State >nished ninth in the conference and 38th in the country. The Spartans' three four-star signees are linebacker Ma'a Gaoteote of Las Vegas; o@ensive lineman Geno VanDeMark of Montvale, N.J.; and cornerback Charles Brantley of Venice, Fla. Minnesota landed Rivals' 39th-best class nationally. The Golden Gophers' lone four-star signee is cornerback Steven Ortiz of Scottsdale, Ariz. Northwestern (53rd), Indiana (62nd), Illinois (72nd) and Purdue (75th) strug- gled in the 2021 recruiting cycle, all >n- ishing well below the Big Ten's top 10 teams in the >nal rankings. However, the Wildcats did sign three four-star recruits: running back Anthony Tyus III of Portage, Mich.; linebacker Mac Vihlein of Lake Forest, Ill.; and o@ensive lineman Caleb Tiernan of Beverly Hills, Mich. Indiana's two four-star recruits are quarterback David McCulley of Indi- anapolis and cornerback Larry Smith III of Jacksonville, Fla. Purdue's lone four- star signee is linebacker Yanni KarlaBis of West Lafayette, Ind. ■ Elite prospects lift Alabama to yet another recruiting title | N A T I O N A L R O U N D U P E ver since the College Football Playo@ was launched in 2014, Ohio State, Al- abama and Clemson have dominated recruiting at the Football Bowl Subdivi- sion level. The Buckeyes defeated Oregon that >rst year, and they've been back three more times, while the Crimson Tide and Tigers have made six appearances apiece. Alabama has played in >ve of the past seven CFP championship games, while Clemson has played in four of the past >ve. Ohio State has twice played for the championship, beating the Ducks in the inaugural game and losing to the Tide this past January. The playo@ is its own re- ward, of course, but it's also served another purpose for those three programs: It has given them a platform that they can use to assemble top->ve recruiting classes on a yearly basis. That's what happened again this year. When measured by the average star rating of the players they signed, Alabama, Ohio State and Clemson had the three top classes in the country according to Ri- vals.com. The average rat- ing for Alabama's signees was 4.04 stars per player. Ohio State's players averaged 4.0 stars, while Clemson's averaged 3.95. Four times in the past eight recruiting cycles – in 2014, '16, '17 and now 2021 – the Crimson Tide have been picked by Rivals as having the No. 1 class in the country. In seven of the past eight years, Alabama has been able to land a top- three class. The only time during that span that it failed to make the top three was in 2018 when it >nished No. 7 in the country according to Ri- vals. What's really scary for fans of other Power Five teams is that many re- cruiting analysts are call- ing Alabama's Class of 2021 its best since Nick Saban took over the pro- gram in 2007. Saban was able to sign >ve >ve-star, 18 four-star and four three-star players. And before the dust settles, ei- ther Alabama or Ohio State will land another >ve-star recruit, as Rivals' No. 2- rated strongside defensive end, J.T. Tuimoloau of Bellevue, Wash., is ex- pected to announce his college decision the >rst week in April. Alabama's current five- star recruits are running back Camar Wheaton of Garland, Texas; corner- back Ga'Quincy McKin- stay of Pinson, Ala.; outside linebacker Dallas Turner of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; and offensive tackles Tommy Brocker- meyer of Fort Worth, Texas, and J.C. Latham of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Wheaton, McKinstay, Turner and Latham are rated No. 1 in the country RIVALS NATIONAL 1. Alabama 2. Ohio State 3. LSU 4. Texas A&M 5. Oregon 6. Georgia 7. Clemson 8. USC 9. Michigan 10. Notre Dame 11. Florida 12. Miami (Fla.) 13. Oklahoma 14. Wisconsin 15. North Carolina 16. Texas 17. Tennessee 18. Mississippi 19. Nebraska 20. Maryland

• Cover