Big Ten Recruiting Grades Pt 1 - The Helmet School Headliners

In an effort to shed some light as to how the Gophers recruiting class of 2011 stacks up against the rest of the Big 10, I’ll be listing what I think are the top recruits with their rankings and offers for each team.  I’ll list the top 15 for the two division leaders, the top 10 for the next three teams for each division and the top 5 for the bottom two teams in each division.

I don’t know if Jim Delaney was looking at recruiting rankings when divvying up the divisions, but the grades are pretty even.  Both divisions have a far and away leader (Ohio State and Nebraska), a middle pack of three (Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State, Wisconsin and Illinois) and teams that did not quite fare as well on the recruiting trail (Northwestern, Minnesota and Indiana, Purdue)

In any given year you’d expect the helmet schools to recruit better than the good but not great schools.  Helmet schools have a national presence and have been for a long time.  Big 10 programs that qualify for this status are Ohio State, Nebraska, Michigan and Penn State.  Good but not great programs include Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan State.  The last group (Illinois, Northwestern, Minnesota, Purdue and Indiana) typically doesn’t have a shot at the Rose Bowl and historically isn’t a significant factor in recruiting.

To avoid longer way too long posts, I’ll be splitting the listings up in three.  So without further ado, the helmet schools…

Ohio State (A-)

1. Curtis Grant (MLB) Rivals #2 player nationally, #1 MLB with offers from Alabama, Florida, USC, Miami and North Carolina
2. Braxton Miller (QB) Rivals #34 overall, #2 dual threat QB with offers from Alabama, Florida, USC, Notre Dame and Georgia
3. Doran Grant (CB) ESPN #69 overall, #3 CB with offers from USC, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Michigan and Penn State
4. Michael Bennett (DT) Rivals #41 overall, #3 DT with offers from USC, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Michigan and Penn State
5. Steve Miller (DE) ESPN #30 overall, #6 DE with only an offer from Ohio State
6. Ryan Shazier (OLB) ESPN #81 overall, #3 OLB with offers from Alabama, Florida, USC, Florida State and LSU
7. Kenny Hayes (DE) Rivals #68 overall, #7 Strongside DE with an offer from Illinois
8. Brian Bobek (OC) Scout #98 overall, #1 OC with offers from Michigan State and Purdue
9. Chase Ferris (DT) Scout #107 overall, #10 DT with offers from Notre Dame, West Virginia, Louisville, Illinois and Cincinatti
10. Evan Spencer (WR) ESPN #106 overall, #18 WR with offers from Oregon, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin
11. Nick Vannett (TE) Rivals #192 overall, ESPN #7 TE with offers from Oregon, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Michigan and Penn State
12. Ron Tanner (S) Scout #169 overall, #11 S with offers from Michigan , Iowa, Wisconsin, Stanford and West Virginia
13. Derjuan Gambrell (CB/S) Scout #243 overall, #22 CB with an offer from Toledo
14. Devin Smith (WR) Scout #187 overall, #29 WR with offers from Notre Dame, Nebraska, Michigan , Penn State and Wisconsin
15. Ejuan Price (MLB) Scout #232 overall, #14 MLB with offers from Iowa, Michigan State, West Virginia, Pitt and Syracuse

Nebraska (B+)

1. Aaron Green (RB) ESPN #11 overall, #3 RB with offers from Texas, Oklahoma, USC, Florida State and Texas A&M
2. Charles Jackson (CB) Scout #51 overall, #2 CB with offers from Florida, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Michigan and Arkansas
3. Jamal Turner (QB) ESPN #50 overall, Scout #7 QB with offers from USC, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, TCU and Missouri
4. Tyler Moore (OT) Rivals #67 overall, #5 OT with offers from Florida, Florida State, Miami, Ohio State and Georgia
5. Bubba Starling (QB) ESPN #115 overall, #7 QB with offers from Alabama, Notre Dame, Texas Tech, Louisville and Arizona
6. Todd Peat Jr (DT) Scout #145 overall, #14 DT with offers from Alabama, Miami, Stanford , Oregona State and ASU
7. Ryne Reeves (OC) Scout #215 overall, ESPN #2 OC with an offer from Stanford
8. Daimon Stafford (S) Rivals #14 JUCO with offers from Florida and USC
9. Ryan Klachko (OG) Rivals #223 overall, Scout #10 OG with offers from Missouri, Arizona, Illinois, Minnesota and Purdue
10. Ameer Abdullah (ATH) Rivals #17 ATH with offers from USC, Auburn, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Texas Tech
11. Zach Sterup (OT) Rivals #26 OT with offers from Notre Dame, Stanford, UCLA, Iowa and Wisconsin
12. Kevin Williams (DT) ESPN #20 DT with offers from Oregon, Michigan, Wisconsin, Stanford and West Virginia
13. David Santos (OLB) Rivals #15 OLB with offers from Arkansas, Utah and Kansas
14. Joseph Carter (DE) Rivals #29 JUCO with offers from Arizona and Rutgers
15. Mauro Bondi (K) ESPN #8 K

Michigan (B)

1. Brennen Beyer (DE) Scout #76 overall, #12 DE with offers from Notre Dame, Texas Tech, UCLA, Stanford and Louisville
2. Justice Hayes (RB) Rivals #85 overall, #3 Small RB with offers from Notre Dame, Tennessee, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan State
3. Chris Barnett (TE) Rivals #224 overall, #14 TE with offers from USC, Florida State, Miami, Oregon and Tennessee
4. Blake Countess (CB) Rivals #133 overall, #10 CB with offers from Tennessee, Penn State, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Georgia Tech
5. Kellen Jones (MLB) Scout #226 overall, #12 MLB with offers from Texas A&M, Stanford, Boise State, Missouri and Arkansas
6. Antonio Poole (OLB) Scout #227 overall, #13 OLB with offers from Louisville, Kentucky, Pitt, Purdue and Wake Forest
7. Chris Bryant (OG/OT) Rivals #203 overall, #19 OT with offers from Stanford, Pitt, Illinois, Arizona and Kansas
8. Delonte Hollowell (CB) ESPN #15 CB
9. Raymon Taylor (CB) Rivals #14 ATH with offers from Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Cincinatti and Indiana
10. Chris Rock (DE) ESPN #34 DE with offers from Oregon, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Stanford and West Virginia

Penn State (B-)

1. Angelo Mangiro (OG) Scout #72 overall, ESPN #2 OG with offers from Florida, USC, Ohio State, North Carolina and South Carolina
2. Anthony Zettel (DE) Rivals #65 overall, #6 Strongside DE with offers from USC, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan State
3. Donovan Smith (OT) Rivals #104 overall, #9 OT with offers from Virginia Tech, Clemson, North Carolina, UCLA and Michigan State
4. Bill Belton (ATH) Scout #85 overall, WR #11 with offers from Florida, Oregon, Nebraska, South Carolina and Wisconsin
5. Deion Barnes (DE) Rivals #158 overall, #6 Weakside DE with offers from Georgia, Michigan, South Carolina, Louisville and West Virginia
6. Shawn Oakman (DE) Scout #195 overall, #19 DE with offers from South Carolina, Pitt, U Conn, NC State and Temple
7. Matt Zanaletto (WR) Scout #286 overall, #45 WR
8. Brian Nowicki (OT) Rivals #31 OT with offers from USC, Michigan, Boise State, Washington and Illinois
9. Ben Kline (MLB) Scout #24 OLB with offers from Michigan, West Virginia, Pitt, Rutgers and Illinois
10. Kyle Carter (TE) Scout #27 TE