National Signing Day has come and gone and the Wisconsin Badgers have put together a fairly decent class compared to the rest of the Big Ten. In the spirit of looking at recruiting classes compared to the rest of the conference, Badgers Wire is taking a look at Wisconsin’s class on a national level and a conference level. We’ll be including their national rankings and their conference rankings. Fourth on our list is one of the most consistent and stable programs in the nation when it comes to their style of play and ability to play within their own style, the Iowa Hawkeyes.
The Iowa Hawkeyes are among the more stable ships in the nation. They may not always compete for conference titles, but since Kirk Ferentz took over in 1999, the Hawkeyes have had a total of three seasons with four or fewer wins. That’s right: three. The Hawkeyes have also had 12 seasons with eight or more wins. The vast majority of Ferentz’s teams end up in a good bowl game and he puts players in the NFL with notable consistency. Iowa is known for churning out quality prospects such as A.J. Epenesa this year and Geoge Kittle in 2017. If you go to Iowa, you’re going to win games and you’ll stand a good chance of scouts seeing you play. That’s all a college player not going to Clemson or Alabama or Ohio State or LSU (or similar elite programs) can ask for in today’s economy of college football.
The Hawkeyes have the nation’s No. 34 ranked recruiting class in 2020. They are on track for having the No. 8 class in 2021. They finished with the Big Ten’s No. 8 recruiting class with a player average rating of .8645. They’re projected to finish next year with the conference’s 3rd-best recruiting class and a per player average of .8842 in the 24/7 composite rankings. Their best player is defensive tackle Logan Jones. At 6-foot-3, 255-pounds, Jones (.9128) is the No. 1 player in Iowa and the 23rd-best defensive tackle in the class of 2020.The Badgers (.8782) have a higher per recruit average than the Hawkeyes (.8647). The Badgers’ best player in 24/7’s composite rankings is offensive tackle Trey Wedig (.9643). The 6-foot-8, 320-pound behemoth is ranked (.0515) higher than Jones for the Hawkeyes.
The position both classes compare is at tight end. The Badgers signed Cam Large (.8647), a 6-foot-5, 240-pound player out of Noble And Greenough School in Dedham, Maryland. He’s the No. 29 player at his position in the nation and the sixth-best player coming out of Maryland. The Hawkeyes signed Elijah Yelverton. At 6-foot-5, and 225-pounds, Yelverton (.8763) is the nation’s 21th-best tight end, but he’s the 69th-best best player in the talent-rich state of Texas. Expect Yelverton to get in on the action and compete for playing time early. Cam Large also has a chance to make a substantial impact for the Badgers down the line.