Blue White Illustrated

Gahanna, Ohio; quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr. of Potomac, Md.; tight end Jake Hausmann of Cincinnati; o?en- sive lineman Michael Jordan of Can- ton, Mich.; wide receiver Austin Mack of Ft. Wayne, Ind.; and running back DeMario Mc- Call of North Ridgeville, Ohio. While Michigan >nished behind its biggest rival, it wasn't far o? the pace. Jim Harbaugh and his sta? wel- comed 29 players on Feb. 3, including Rivals' No. 1-rated overall prospect, >ve-star defensive tackle Rashan Gary of Paramus, N.J. Gary selected the Wolverines over Clemson. One of the most notewor- thy aspects of Michigan's success was that it came partially at the ex- pense of its Big Ten East Division rival Penn State. Hill, Nordin and Dwum- four had all been verbally committed to the Nittany Lions before opting in- stead to sign with the Wolverines. Michigan also outdueled its >erce in- state rival, >nishing well ahead of Michigan State in the >nal rankings. But even though the Spartans slipped on Rivals' list, coach Mark Dantonio and his sta? were able to sign 10 four- star recruits. At the top of that list were wide receivers Cameron Cham- bers of Sicklerville, N.J., and Donnie Corley of Detroit, defensive end Josh King of Darien, Ill., and defensive back Demetrio Vance of Detroit. The best recruits in Penn State's 20- member class were o?ensive linemen Will Fries, Connor McGovern and Michal Menet, running back Miles Sanders, defensive end/outside line- backer Shane Simmons and quarter- back Jake Zembiec. All six players re- ceived four-star rankings from Rivals. The only other Big Ten team to >nish with a top-25 recruit- ing class according to Rivals was Nebraska, which came in 25th. The Cornhuskers signed 21 players, in- cluding four four-star prospects. Of the players in the latter group, three are from California: defensive backs Marquel Dis- muke of Calabasas and Lamar Jackson of Elk Grove, and quar- terback Patrick O'Brien of San Juan Capistrano. The Cornhuskers' other four-star signee was o?ensive lineman John Raridon of West Des Moines, Iowa. The rest of the league >nished toward the middle of the FBS pack. Wisconsin fared the best, rank- ing 35th overall, followed by Maryland (40th), Iowa (42nd), Northwestern (47th), Minnesota (50th), Indiana (56th), Illinois (67th), Purdue (73rd) and Rutgers (78th). The team that stands out here is Iowa. The Hawkeyes had seemed as though they were in good position to parlay their Big Ten West Division title into a signi>cant recruiting bump, but that didn't hap- pen. In the end, it was not the type of top-to-bottom success story that Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany was no doubt hoping for with Ohio State just a year removed from a national champi- onship and Michigan State qualifying for a spot in the College Football Play- o? this past season. It was a solid showing, but not a great one. ■ T wo weeks before signing day, it ap- peared certain that Alabama would end up with its fourth top-ranked recruiting class in the past >ve years. Nick Saban and his sta? seemed to be creating some separation between themselves and the rest of the Football Bowl Subdivision. Three days before the Class of 2016 was set to sign its letters of intent, Ala- bama football fans were commiserating at the Crimson Tide's Rivals.com web- site, lamenting that the recently crowned national champions were in danger of >nishing as low as seventh in the overall team rankings. But as it turned out, those fans need not have worried. When the numbers were crunched, Saban and his sta? came out on top yet again, >nishing ahead of Florida State, Ohio State, Michigan and Clemson. The Tide got a huge boost on signing day from the late arrival of nine coveted prospects: four-star athlete Shyheim Carter of Kentwood, La.; >ve- star line- backer Ben Davis of Gordo, Ala.; >ve- star defensive end Terrell Hall of Wash- ington, D.C.; three-star running back Joshua Jacobs of Tulsa, Okla.; three-star RIVALS BIG TEN 1. Ohio State (3) 2. Michigan (4) 3. Michigan State (20) 4. Penn State (22) 5. Nebraska (25) 6. Wisconsin (35) 7. Maryland (40) 8. Iowa (42) 9. Northwestern (47) 10. Minnesota (50) 11. Indiana (56) 12. Illinois (67) 13. Purdue (73) 14. Rutgers (78) * National rankings in parenthesis Signing day windfall boosts Alabama N A T I O N A L O U T L O O K T H E C L A S S O F 2 0 1 6

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