Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/944007
F E A T U R E S cruiting class in the country according to Rivals. Nebraska signed 24 prospects, including nine four-star and 15 three- star players. Nebraska's top four-star signings are quarterback Adrian Martinez of Fresno, Calif.; defensive end Tate Wildeman of Parker, Colo.; athlete Cameron Jurgens of Beatrice, Neb.; defensive back C.J. Smith of West Palm Beach, Fla.; running back Greg Bell of Arizona Western Com- munity College; and linebacker Caleb Tannor of Lithonia, Ga. Michigan had a disappointing =nish, as its class slipped to 25th in Rivals' rankings a?er a couple of key losses in the =nal days of the recruiting cycle. On Feb. 4, three-star quarterback Kevin Doyle of Washington, D.C., decommit- ted from the Wolverines, signing instead with Arizona. Three days later, four-star linebacker Otis Reese of Leesburg, Ga., announced that he was renouncing his verbal commitment to Michigan and opting instead for Georgia. In addition, the Wolverines had made a big push for Petit-Frere, only to lose him to their archrival Ohio State. Jim Harbaugh ended up with a 19- member class, including seven four-star and 11 three-star players. The Wolver- ines' top four-star sign- ings are defensive back Myles Sims of Atlanta and tight end Mustapha Muhammad of Missouri City, Texas. Finishing below Michi- gan in Rivals' rankings were Michigan State (27th), Maryland (29th), Iowa (39th), Minnesota (42nd), Indiana (44th), Purdue (49th), Illinois (50th), Rutgers (57th) and Northwestern (59th). The Hawkeyes, Gophers, Hoosiers and Boilermakers all put together their most impressive recruiting classes of the past =ve years. That was especially true of Purdue, where second-year head coach Je> Brohm persuaded three-star re- ceiver Rondale Moore of Louisville, Ky., to chose the Boilermakers over Georgia and Ohio State. Michigan State and Maryland assem- bled very solid recruiting classes, but commissioner Jim Delany can't be happy that only two Big Ten teams landed top-20 classes. ■ COLUMBUS DAY Petit-Frere made big news on sign- ing day when he chose Ohio State over Michigan. The Tampa resident is ranked No. 1 na- tionally at offen- sive tackle. Photo courtesy of Rivals.com With unprecedented 5-star haul, Georgia claims recruiting crown W hen the Class of 2017 signed its letters of intent last February, it was clearly evident why Georgia coach Kirby Smart had been one of Al- abama's best recruiting assets during his seven years on Nick Saban's sta>. Smart had only been on the job for one season at his alma mater, going 8-5 with the Bulldogs in 2016, but he signed the No. 3 class in the country according to Rivals.com, a class that featured the na- tion's top-ranked group of o>ensive line prospects. This year, he topped that performance. Georgia's Class of 2018 is, simply put, a record-breaker. In the 17 years since Ri- vals.com began compiling its rankings, no school had ever managed to sign eight =ve-star players. But the Bulldogs did just that this year, easily =nishing with the nation's No. 1 class according to Rivals and every other internet recruit- ing service. Heading up that group of =ve-star re- cruits is Rivals' No. 2 overall prospect nationally, quarterback Justin Fields of Kennesaw, Ga. Penn State fans will re- member Fields, as he had been commit-