In college football, success and recruiting are directly correlated. Although recruiting isn’t everything, it is the most important factor alongside coaching, and good coaches recruit.
National Signing Day — when nearly all college recruits sign to their future universities — was on Feb. 3.
There have been eight teams who have played in multiple College Football Playoff games, and all eight are in the top 11 in 2021 recruiting. This is not a coincidence but is rather a trend since the College Football Playoff began in 2014.
The eight teams, consisting of the University of Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson University, Oklahoma, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Oregon, the University of Georgia, and Louisiana State University, reached the playoff due in large part to their successes in recruiting.
Led by two of college football’s best coaches, Alabama and Ohio State met in the championship game in January, and by February they had the top two 2021 recruiting classes.
Both teams have an absurd four top 22 players in the 2021 class and are favorites to land defensive end and No. 3 overall recruit J.T. Tuimoloau. The Crimson Tide and Buckeyes lead their respective conferences, which dominated the 2021 recruiting trail.
5-star and 4-star recruits win championships. Of the eight teams previously mentioned, two-thirds of the 5-star recruits are committed to their programs.
Top 25 schools in 2021 recruiting by conference
SEC- 9, Big Ten- 7, ACC- 4, Big 12- 2, Pac 12- 2, Independent (Notre Dame)- 1
The SEC and Big Ten had the most top 25 schools with the ACC close behind. As of Feb. 11 one week after National Signing Day, Tuimoloau is the only Top 300 prospect that has not committed to a team.
The seven Big Ten teams in the top 25 in order are: Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Maryland, Nebraska, Penn State and Iowa. IU sits at 54th in the country, despite a historic season.
Other schools like Rutgers, Minnesota, Iowa and Maryland continue their rise in recruiting as they build off of their momentum from previous seasons.
Since 2005, only four teams have won the Big Ten Championship: Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan State. All four schools have been the leaders in recruiting in the conference over the last 15 years, along with the Michigan Wolverines.
The key to their success is combining 4 and 5-star talent with elite level coaching. In 2021, 12 four stars are going to Michigan, six to Penn State, five to Wisconsin and 13 to Ohio State along with five 5-star recruits.
The seven Big Ten schools in the Top 25 in recruiting hold 59 of the 4 and 5-star recruits. The bottom 7 of the Big Ten only have 13, causing a severe division of talent across the conference.
IU is ranked 12th in the conference for the second straight year but does have a star in Donaven McCulley, a dual-threat quarterback from Lawrence North high school in Indianapolis. He is the No. 9 Dual Threat QB in the country and IU’s 4th best recruit all-time.
All rankings and star-ratings are according to 247Sports.
Big Ten 2021 recruiting rankings
Ohio State
Michigan
Wisconsin
Maryland
Nebraska
Penn State
Iowa
Minnesota
Rutgers
Michigan State
Northwestern
IU
Purdue
Illinois
