The nation is celebrating its independence this holiday weekend, and the Big Ten has certainly packed some fireworks in the headlines in recent days. The additions of USC and UCLA becoming official have created a world of possibilities for the future of the Big Ten as two iconic members of the Pac-12 begin to make the transition to the Big Ten, and there is a good chance they may not be coming without a little company.
The additions of USC and UCLA will open the doors for Big Ten recruiting to the state of California and the west coast just a little bit more in the coming years. The impact of the next wave of Big Ten expansion will likely not be felt on the recruiting trail until at least the next recruiting cycle for the Class of 2024, so the work being done on the Class of 2023 probably won’t be too impacted by these latest Big Ten headlines.
The month of June was a busy one for Big Ten recruiting, however. Ohio State had a major surge in the recruiting rankings after a successful June welcomed a handful of elite wide receivers to the program among its latest commitments. Penn State also held firm to its high national ranking after a successful June on the recruiting trail as well. Both the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions, as expected, overtook Northwestern in the national rankings that were updated at the start of June, and each continues to outpace the Wildcats and the rest of the Big Ten in their respective recruiting efforts.
But as we grill some burgers and hot dogs this weekend and await future commitment announcements from some of the nation’s top recruits in the Class of 2023, where do things stand in the recruiting rankings among Big Ten teams?
Here is a look at the updated 247Sports composite team rankings of Big Ten teams, with each school’s national recruiting ranking highlighted along with the number of total recruits, five-star commits, and four-star commits. We also noted the change from our last monthly update of the national and Big Ten recruiting rankings. For now, we will keep USC and UCLA out of these updates as they will not be joining until 2024. We will begin including the Trojans and Bruins (and any other school that may be joining the Big Ten) when we begin breaking down the Class of 2024 rankings.