Recruiting Trends: Who is up, down and holding steady in Big Ten
CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team
MORE: Elite college QBs transferring at a staggering rate
Mark Pszonak contributed to this report
Recruiting trends are always interesting to follow, especially for programs that don’t end up getting as much attention as the blue bloods. This week we will look at each Power Five conference and discover some teams trending up, down and remaining remarkably consistent. We start today with the Big Ten.
POSITIVE
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Minnesota
Recent Class Rankings: No. 57, No. 43, No. 41
Overview: When P.J. Fleck was hired in January 2017, he only had a couple of weeks to put together the No. 57 class in the country. Since then the Gophers have gone 5-7 and 7-6 on the field, while producing the No. 43 and No. 41 classes. There was plenty of excitement in Minneapolis after the Fleck hire, and while the Gophers have only been 12-13 in his two seasons, that general feeling still exists. However, more on-field success is expected in 2019 so it will be interesting to see if the Gophers can continue their recruiting rise if that does not happen.
Farrell’s take: Fleck’s first class didn’t have a four-star in it but he did a good job landing players from all over the country and his energy and aggressive recruiting nature started to show. The 2018 class was much better as he had a full cycle to establish relationships and four-stars such as Daniel Faalele and Curtis Dunlap chose Minnesota from IMG Academy in Florida. He had fewer four-stars in 2019 but the class was deeper, led by quarterback Jacob Clark. Fleck has proven he can be an effective recruiter at the Power Five level and this year if off to a solid but not spectacular start, so we’ll see if he can keep raising the bar.
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Purdue
Recent Class Rankings: No. 68, No. 49, No. 26
Overview: While Jeff Brohm was hired approximately a month before Fleck at Minnesota, he also had to scramble to piece together the No. 68 class in the country in 2017. The recruiting progress in this first two years in West Lafayette has been impressive though, producing the No. 49 class in 2018 and then the No. 26 class earlier this year. While only 13-13 during the last two seasons, Brohm has taken the Boilermakers to two consecutive bowls, which still has fans and recruits buzzing. However, will another .500 level season keep this buzz going?
Farrell’s take: Rondale Moore has helped put Purdue on the map and the yearly battle for Brohm’s services shows what a valuable coach he is. His first class had no prospect ranked higher than a 5.6 three-star, but he did a good job landing prospects from Florida and JUCOs. The 2018 class brought Moore, who was clearly underranked, and a bit more top end talent, but they were still searching for that elusive four-star talent. That came in 2019 with six four-stars led by local wide receiver David Bell and local defensive end George Karlaftis. Purdue has taken a big jump in recruiting, although 2020 has started slowly.
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