Penn State coaches are hoping to get some good recruiting work in during a week without a game as the Nittany Lions look to make a good final push on the recruiting trail leading into the early signing period. It will be here before you know it, and Penn State is hoping to land a top 10 class for the second straight recruiting cycle. That feat has never been accomplished by Penn State in the modern era of recruiting rankings, and the Nittany Lions may need a bit of a push to get there this year.
While Penn State is still in a good spot to secure the second-best recruiting class in the Big Ten, the updated national recruiting rankings since the start of the season have bumped Penn State just outside of the top 10 in the national class rankings.
Since our last detailed look at the Class of 2023 rankings, 247Sports has updated its player rankings and that has impacted the overall team rankings slightly. The Big Ten pecking order overall has been pretty stabilized with only a few minor changes in the updated class rankings this month. And part of that is because there have been some recruiting decommitment developments at a school like Nebraska, which fired head coach Scott Frost. Initial recruiting developments always happen when there is a coaching change, and we’ll see if that continues with Wisconsin following its surprising in-season coaching change.
For the second straight month, we are including future Big Ten members USC and UCLA in our monthly recruiting ranking as the Class of 2023 will be playing the majority of their college careers in the Big Ten as long as everything goes according to plan. If the Big Ten makes any additional expansion moves, we will then add in any additional teams to future rankings as necessary.
1
Ohio State
Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
National ranking: 4 (up 2)
Big Ten ranking: 1 (no change)
Total commits: 20
Five-star commits: 1
Four-star commits: 17
For more Ohio State coverage, visit Buckeyes Wire.
2
Penn State
Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
National ranking: 12 (no change)
Big Ten ranking: 2 (no change)
Total commits: 20
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 14
For more Penn State coverage, visit Nittany Lions Wire.
3
USC
Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
National ranking: 13
Big Ten ranking: 3 (no change)
Total commits: 19
Five-star commits: 2
Four-star commits: 8
For more USC coverage, visit Trojans Wire.
4
Michigan State
Dale Young-USA TODAY Sports
National ranking: 23 (down 2)
Big Ten ranking: 4 (no change)
Total commits: 14
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 10
For more Michigan State coverage, visit Spartans Wire.
5
Northwestern
Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
National ranking: 27 (down 2)
Big Ten ranking: 5 (no change)
Total commits: 20
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 4
6
Michigan
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
National ranking: 28 (no change)
Big Ten ranking: 6 (up 1)
Total commits: 14
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 7
For more Michigan coverage, visit Wolverines Wire.
7
Iowa
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
National ranking: 29 (down 2)
Big Ten ranking: 7 (down 1)
Total commits: 16
Five-star commits: 1
Four-star commits: 0
For more Iowa coverage, visit Hawkeyes Wire.
8
Purdue
Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports
National ranking: 37 (down 2)
Big Ten ranking: 8 (no change)
Total commits: 18
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 1
9
Minnesota
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
National ranking: 39 (down 3)
Big Ten ranking: 9 (no change)
Total commits: 18
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 1
10
Maryland
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
National ranking: 46 (down 3)
Big Ten ranking: 10 (up 1)
Total commits: 20
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 0
11
Rutgers
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
National ranking: 48 (down 1)
Big Ten ranking: 11 (up 1)
Total commits: 17
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 0
For more Rutgers coverage, visit Rutgers Wire.
12
Nebraska
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
National ranking: 49 (down 12)
Big Ten ranking: 12 (down 2)
Total commits: 13
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 2
For more Nebraska coverage, visit Cornhuskers Wire.
13
Wisconsin
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
National ranking: 54 (down 1)
Big Ten ranking: 13 (no change)
Total commits: 13
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 0
For more Wisconsin coverage, visit Badgers Wire.
14
Illinois
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
National ranking: 56 (up 1)
Big Ten ranking: 14 (no change)
Total commits: 15
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 1
15
Indiana
Kareem Elgazzar/Cincinnati Enquirer via USA TODAY NETWORK
National ranking: 69 (up 10)
Big Ten ranking: 15 (no change)
Total commits: 10
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 0
16
UCLA
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
National ranking: 79 (up 6)
Big Ten ranking: 16 (no change)
Total commits: 7
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star commits: 2
