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ing. Rivals.com has ranked their past three recruiting classes among the top 9ve in the country, with the 2012 class 9nishing 9;h, the 2013 class second and the 2014 class third. It doesn't appear that Ohio State's dominance is going to end anytime soon. As of mid-December, the Buckeyes were on pace to once again 9nish with one of the best classes in the country. They were ranked 9rst in the Big Ten and headed toward another top-9ve 9nish nationally. Among the 23 players who had verbally commit- ted to Ohio State as of this writing, 11 have been given a four-star ranking by Ri- vals.com. The Buckeyes also had 11 3-star recruits in their class and only one two-star recruit: snapper Liam McCullough of Kil- bourne High in Columbus, Ohio. As expected, the Buckeyes have done an excellent job of keeping in-state prospects at home. Among the 10 Ohio players in their class are linebackers Jerome Baker of Cleveland, Nick Conner of Dublin and Justin Hilliard of Cincin- nati, and athlete Eric Glover-Williams of Canton. All four have received four stars from Rivals. But Ohio State's reach extends far be- yond the state line. As of this writing, seven four-star players from outside of Ohio had given verbal commitments to the Buckeyes. Among them: o:ensive linemen Matthew Burrell Jr. of Wood- bridge, Va., and Kevin Feder of Ramsey, N.J.; defensive end Jashon Cornell of St. Paul, Minn.; defensive back Jamel Dean of Cocoa, Fla.; and quarterback Torrance Gibson of Plantation, Fla. Ohio State has also signed four 9ve- star players in its past three classes, all of whom have come from outside of Ohio. They are: lineback- ers Raekwon McMillan of Hinesville, Ga., and Mike Mitchell of Plano, Texas; defensive end Noah Spence of Harrisburg, Pa.; and defensive back Vonn Bell of Rossville, Ga. There is no question Meyer has made Ohio State a national recruiting power. At Penn State, the main storyline is that James Franklin has kept his pledge to "dominate" Pennsylva- nia in recruiting. Through mid-December, Franklin had received verbal com- mitments from six of Pennsylvania's top 10 play- ers, as ranked by Rivals. Those players are: running back Saquon Barkley of Whitehall (No. 2), defen- sive back John Reid of Philadelphia (No. 3), o:ensive linemen Ryan Bates of Warminster (No. 4) and Sterling Jenkins of Pittsburgh (No. 5), de- fensive end Ryan Buchholz of Malvern (No. 7) and running back Andre Robinson of Harrisburg (No. 10). With Franklin still hoping to sign 25 players in the Lions' upcoming class, it wouldn't be surprising if Penn State were to sign another Pennsylvania player or two. The most likely candidates de- fensive end/outside linebacker Shareef Miller of George Washington High in Philadelphia (No. 8 in Pennsylvania, ac- cording to Rivals) and tight end Nick Bowers of Kittanning (No. 18). Another reason for Penn State's No. 10 national ranking is the Nittany Lions' success in New Jersey. Franklin has re- ceived verbal commitments from 9ve of the Garden State's top 11 players: wide receivers Juwan Johnson (No. 3) and Irvin Charles (No. 6), linebacker Manny Bowen (No. 7), athlete Daiquan Kelly (No. 8) and o:ensive lineman Steven Gonzalez (No. 11). As of mid-December, Penn State had 20 verbally committed players in its Class of 2015. According to Rivals, the Nittany Lions had 12 four-star and eight three-star players. If they end up signing 25 players, there is no question the Nit- tany Lions will have one of the top two recruiting classes in the Big Ten. The third major storyline in Big Ten re- cruiting is Michigan's sudden plunge. In the wake of Brady Hoke's ouster in early December, the Wolverines were ranked last in the league with only six verbal commitments. But their predicament might not be as dire as it would seem at 9rst glance. They were still looking for a new coach as of this writing, but whoever takes over the program will not have a lot of spots to 9ll. Michigan most likely has only 16 scholarships available. Even with only six players remaining from the class that Hoke had been assembling, that goal is certainly attainable. If the Big Ten wants to be a dominant force on the national scene, Michigan needs to regain its place among college football's elite programs. Of course, any turnaround that the Wolverines under- take will have to begin with their recruit- ing e:orts. They need to start bringing in the kind of classes that Ohio State and Penn State are recruiting this year. The most disappointing aspect of the Big Ten's overall recruiting performance is that Ohio State and Penn State ac- count for more than half of the four-star players who have committed to Big Ten schools. The Buckeyes and Lions have received commitments from 23 four-star players, while the league's other 12 schools have combined to land 17. Be- tween them, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Rutgers, Maryland, Iowa, Illinois, Min- nesota, Purdue and Indiana have landed only four four- star prospects. ■ Want to know more about Big Ten recruiting? Visit bluewhiteonline.com for a team-by-team list of the league's 14 classes. RIVALS RANKINGS 1. Ohio State (5) 2. Penn State (10) 3. Wisconsin (25) 4. Nebraska (32) 5. Michigan State (35) 6. Northwestern (42) 7. Rutgers (44) 8. Illinois (46) 9. Maryland (47) 10. Minnesota (51) 11. Iowa (53) 12. Purdue (55) 13. Indiana (65) 14. Michigan (88) National rankings in parenthesis

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