We haven’t reached the busiest portion of the recruiting calendar yet, but things are gradually warming up on the trail.
Let’s take a look at recent developments across the Big Ten.
Note: All rankings are from the 247Sports Composite.
1. A month ago, USC’s recruiting efforts looked rather unimpressive. The Trojans’ 2025 recruiting class consisted of just one player — five-star quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis, who was set to go on a March tour of other campuses.
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Over the past week and a half, USC has bolstered its class with the addition of seven commitments. Four of those commits are top-100 national prospects, headlined by five-star defensive lineman Justus Terry, who flipped from Georgia.
The fact each of the top-100 recruits plays defense illustrates where USC has placed an emphasis this cycle. The Trojans defense has lacked talent and depth under Lincoln Riley, so this class — assuming it stays together — would provide a huge boost for new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn.
The most recent splash came from four-star San Clemente (Calif.) High linebacker Matai Tagoa’i, who committed to USC on Monday and is the first pledge from California in the Trojans’ 2025 class.
“I think he felt a connection there and wanted to stay on the West Coast,” San Clemente coach Jaime Ortiz said. “(He) seemed to really click with Lynn and (linebackers coach Matt) Entz. (He) was originally going to go on all of his trips but he kept on coming back to wanting to be at USC.”
Of course, it’s natural to wonder whether the Trojans can keep this class — which ranks seventh nationally — together. It’s populated mostly by out-of-state prospects, who are often more likely to keep looking around, and there are eight months until the early signing period. There is also a need for more elite offensive linemen.
But USC stands to benefit from a shift in NIL philosophy so we’ll have to wait and see what happens over the summer and throughout the fall.
2. Ohio State’s class ranked fourth nationally a month ago, and you could make an argument at the time that it was the most impressive group in the country. The class looks even better now.
On Friday, four-star defensive lineman London Merritt announced his commitment to Ohio State. On Saturday, the Buckeyes landed commitments from four-star linebacker Tarvos Alford and four-star wideout De’zie Jones. Then they capped the weekend with a commitment from four-star safety DeShawn Stewart, who is Jones’ teammate at DePaul Catholic in Wayne, N.J.
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Alford is the No. 63 player nationally and Merritt sits just outside the top 100 at No. 101.
The Buckeyes’ average player rating of 95.15 is tops nationally. Seven players rank among the top 100. Ten of them are four stars or better. The Buckeyes are landing elite players and continue to be a national recruiting program — eight states are represented among the 11 commitments.
3. One of the more notable recent commitments was three-star Laguna Beach (Calif.) High quarterback Jackson Kollock’s pledge to Minnesota.
Kollock, ranked No. 454 in the class, had been committed to Kalen DeBoer at Washington but reopened his commitment once that staff moved to Alabama. He recently visited San Diego State and Cal but committed to the Gophers.
“Honestly, it was their consistency,” said Kollock’s quarterback coach, Danny Hernandez, when asked of Minnesota’s pursuit. “They’ve made him a priority the entire process. Even when he was committed to UW, they still kept it friendly. They visited several times out to Laguna, and when he committed that was his second trip. He loves (P.J.) Fleck and believes in their culture. He feels at home there and they’ve all done a great job making him feel that way.”
Back in mid-March, Minnesota had yet to receive a commitment in its 2025 class. Kollock is one of three recent additions and is the centerpiece of the class at the moment. The same day Kollock committed, the Gophers flipped three-star defensive lineman Torin Pettaway from Wisconsin. Minnesota also added three-star corner Zachry Harden from Georgia. The Gophers’ class is ranked 46th nationally.
4. Pettaway was one of two recent decommitments for Wisconsin. Three-star athlete Cody Haddad, an Ohio native, decided to go in a different direction after a recent visit to Ohio State.
The Badgers’ seven-member class has dropped from ninth to 14th. Wisconsin was never going to finish with a top-10 class, but it’s always tough to lose commitments. Luke Fickell signed a top-25 class in his first full cycle, so it’ll be interesting to watch if he can stack another good class on top of that.
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5. On Tuesday night, four-star Pittsburg (Calif.) High safety Jadyn Hudson released his four finalists. Ohio State, Tennessee and USC were included in the group, which is no surprise. Also listed as a finalist was UCLA. Brandon Huffman, 247Sports national recruiting editor, reported that Hudson already has a visit set up with the Bruins for late May.
NEWS: Four-Star Safety Jadyn Hudson is down to 4️⃣ Schools, he tells me for @on3recruits
The 6’2 185 S from Pittsburg, CA is ranked as a Top 190 Recruit in the ‘25 Class (per On3)
Where Should He Go?👇🏽https://t.co/45hZTx2NYb pic.twitter.com/ph9vbkZL00
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) April 3, 2024
That news is further evidence that UCLA will be a lot more active on the recruiting trail under new coach DeShaun Foster.
UCLA’s high school recruiting during Chip Kelly’s tenure could best be described as lethargic. And the Bruins have to make some strides with its NIL efforts. But this is a program that should be recruiting at least at a top-25 level, something Kelly did just once. UCLA signed seven straight top-20 classes from 2012 through 2018, including three ranked in the top 15.
Foster is changing that approach and re-emphasizing high school recruiting. Time will tell how quickly local recruits will buy in.
Elsewhere around the league
• Maryland’s class received a nice boost from the commitment of four-star linebacker Carlton Smith, a Virginia native who also had reported offers from Penn State, Notre Dame, Miami and Florida among many others. He is one of two blue-chip prospects — joining athlete Jett White — in a class that ranks 35th nationally.
• Northwestern sits two spots ahead of Maryland in the rankings at No. 33. The Wildcats received a commitment from three-star quarterback Marcus Romain, a Georgia native who reports an offer from Boston College and interest from various programs in the Ivy League.
• It’s been relatively quiet at other programs around the conference. Nebraska hasn’t added a commitment to this class since August. Indiana hasn’t received a commitment since early February. Penn State didn’t add any commits in March but still ranks fifth nationally and is in the hunt for four-star quarterback Matt Zollers, who is announcing his decision on Thursday afternoon. Oregon has a top-25 class but didn’t add any recruits to its class over the past month and change. Michigan hasn’t received a commitment in the 2025 class since Sherrone Moore was named head coach while Michigan State is the only school in the league without a commitment for 2025.
Things will change in the coming weeks and months, particularly as some of the high-profile programs such as Oregon, Penn State and Michigan start hosting prospects on campus. Stay tuned.
(Photo of Ohio State coach Ryan Day: Adam Cairns / Columbus Dispatch / USA Today)
