Big Ten Rankings 1/10/03

Here's what the Big Ten Recruiting Race looked like this past Friday. There were several Big Ten commitments over the weekend and there should be some schools making a move by this Friday's (1/17/03) rankings.

1. Michigan 3.92 (last week:1)

Prescott Burgess stuns the Buckeye Nation with his Michigan pledge. The Wolverines seem to have this race locked up. Antonio Cromartie and Lynell Hamilton can seal the deal for Michigan.

2. Penn State 3.66 (last week:2)

No change for the Nittany Lions, Joe Paterno and his staff have some big time prospects in for visits this weekend. Penn State would love to have Wesley Jefferson and Ira Guilford.

3. Ohio State 3.58 (last week:3)

The loss of Louis Irizarry to Miami hurts this recruiting class but this is a big weekend for the Buckeyes. There are 10 prospects in Columbus this weekend for official visits. Among them are linebacker Wesley Jefferson and Florida Jamesley Jean.

4. Wisconsin 3.03 (last week:4)

No changes for the Badgers. 14 prospects have given a verbal commitment. Wisconsin is basically done with this class. They are waiting on Pennsylvania defensive back Brad Mueller and in-state All-American Joe Thomas to make their decisions.

5. Purdue 2.97 (last week:5)

The Boilermakers added some percentage points with the commitments of Missouri linebacker Shaun Richardson and Indiana offensive lineman Ryan Noblet but that wasn’t enough to overtake Wisconsin in the fourth spot.

6. Iowa 2.82 (last week:6)

Iowa moves up a spot with the additions of South Carolina quarterback Eric McCollom and Ohio tight end Marcel Frost. The Hawkeyes have 17 verbal commitments and they’d love to have Tommy Zbikowski and Mike Jones before its all said and done.

7. Illinois 2.80

The Fighting Illini have 26 verbal commitments and they’re holding a scholarship for All-American defensive tackle Moe Dampeer. Recent reports have Dampeer leaning to Oklahoma and Ohio State but both those schools will be chasing Illinois until the ink is dry on signing day.

8. Northwestern 2.65 (last week:9)

Randy Walker and the Wildcats get a huge commitment from Georgia cornerback Deante Battle. The Wildcats have 10 official visitors this weekend and they’re expecting some commitments on Sunday night.

9. Minnesota 2.61 (last week:8)

Micah Rucker is underrated and New Jersey’s Amir Pinnix will add depth to the Golden Gopher secondary. There are still several solid prospects that have Minnesota among their top three schools.

10. Indiana 2.36 (last week:10)

Gerry DiNardo added Canadian offensive lineman Paul Hearn and New Jersey tight end Chris Rudanovic this past week. Indiana has the chance to finish very strong as some talented athletes from around the nation will visit the Hoosiers in January.

11. Michigan State 2.2 (last week:11)

When will the Spartans make their move? Michigan State lost another verbal commitment in Derrick Outlaw. Outlaw has decided to give up football. John L. Smith added a couple of prospects this past week in Ohio quarterback Sean Clayton and Maine offensive lineman Peter Clifford.