This is the 2nd part in a 6-part series exploring the best recruits at each school from this current century. Once upon a time, people called this the Rivals era but they’ve fallen too far behind in recruiting and that term isn’t used as much anymore. So far, we’ve looked at the Big 12 and with Texas and Oklahoma eventually leaving the conference boy do things look grim for that league’s recruiting.

Now we’ll look at the Big Ten.

No 5-Star Loser Club

Indiana
Minnesota
Northwestern
Purdue

Indiana’s highest-rated recruit actually came in this 2022 cycle with safety Dasan McCullough (0.9703) whose dad was on the Hoosiers coaching staff and has recently been hired by Notre Dame. Dasan’s younger brother Daeh McCullough (0.9355) is the 2nd highest rated 2023 recruit in the Hoosier state and is currently committed to Indiana. You may recall Notre Dame was extremely hard after pass-rusher Ifeadi Odenigbo (0.9701) but he ultimately became Northwestern’s highest-rated recruit.

247 Composite Scores listed.

The Top Recruits for the Big 10

Ohio State – QB Quinn Ewers 2021-Present 1.000

Despite knowing it was a packed quarterback room featuring the eventual 4th place finisher in the 2021 Heisman race, Ewers decided to skip his senior season of high school to enroll at Ohio State this past summer. Even jumping a year, he was the No. 1 overall prospect for the 2021 cycle.

Predictably, he did not win the job for the Buckeyes. On December 3, 2021 he announced he was transferring and 9 days later picked Texas as his destination. If we didn’t include Ewers, Ohio State’s top recruit would be Terrelle Pryor (0.9997) from the 2008 class.

Penn State – WR Derrick Williams 2005-08 0.9986

Williams was the No. 4 overall recruit for 2005 and remarkably not the top receiver in the nation thanks to USC’s Patrick Turner at No. 2 overall. These two would have very similar college careers, although Williams became far more of a multi-faceted weapon at Penn State.

Never teamed with a potent passing quarterback, Williams would muster 161 catches for 1,743 yards and 9 receiving touchdowns in his career. As a runner, he totaled an extra 594 yards and 8 more scores. On special teams, Williams accumulated 724 yards in the punt return game with 3 touchdowns, as well as 1,095 kickoff yards and 2 more touchdowns.

A 3rd round pick with the Lions, he would catch just 9 passes before being cut and out of the league prior to the start of the 2011 season.

Michigan – DT Rashan Gary 2016-18 1.000

Gary was the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2016 cycle that also featured defensive linemen Dexter Lawrence (2nd), Ed Oliver (6th), Nick Bosa (8th), and Derrick Brown (9th) in the top 10. He was also just the 3rd consensus No. 1 overall recruit from every service along with Jadeveon Clowney (2011) and Robert Nkemdiche (2013).

He didn’t blow people away as a true freshman but came into his own over his final 2 seasons at Michigan, finishing with All-Big Ten honors in 2017 and 2018. He declared early for the NFL Draft while sitting out the Wolverines’ bowl game and finished his career with 23 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks.

Gary was picked 12th overall by the Packers and just finished his 3rd season in Green Bay. So far, he has 103 tackles, 16.5 sacks, and is coming off a big game against the 49ers in the playoffs with 2 sacks and 3 tackles for loss. He’ll be entering the final year of his rookie deal in 2022.

Michigan State – WR Charles Rogers 2000-02 0.9988

Here we have the 5th highest rated wide receiver since 2000. Few players in the early 2000’s received as much hype as Rogers did coming out of Saginaw, Michigan. He led a troubled life that saw him ruled ineligible for 2000 while he already was a father of 2 prior to enrolling at Michigan State.

On the field in 2001-02, Rogers was a menace setting numerous school records and finishing with 135 catches, 2,821 yards, and 27 touchdowns. For his junior season in 2002 he was named a consensus All-American and won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver.

His hometown Detroit Lions picked him with the 2nd overall pick in the 2003 Draft and it almost instantly became one of the biggest busts in NFL history. Plagued by injuries during his first 2 seasons, Rogers was suspended to start 2005 and barely played once he returned. He’d be cut by the Lions and finished his career with only 36 receptions. Rogers tragically passed away in 2019 from liver cancer.

Iowa – LB Kyle Williams 2004-05 0.9908

The lone 5-star to ever sign with the Hawkeyes, Williams ultimately didn’t score high enough on his ACT and ended up leaving Iowa late in the summer before the 2004 season began. Spurning a semester stay at a prep school in New York to get his grades and test scores up, he eventually found his way to Purdue where he played briefly during the 2005 season before concussions, drugs, and failed classes led to head coach Joe Tiller pulling his scholarship.

Williams would attack and assault two Purdue female students on campus before heading back home and doing the same to another woman in Illinois. He would receive a 31-year sentence in Indiana, a 10-year sentence in Illinois for his crimes, and remains incarcerated in Illinois today.

Rutgers – DL Nate Robinson 2003-07 0.9954

Robinson was the top-rated defensive tackle and No. 8 overall recruit for the 2003 class. Originally set to enroll at Miami with fellow New Jersey prep star Greg Olsen, it didn’t happen after Robinson failed to qualify with the Hurricanes and their test scores. Instead, he enrolled with his hometown Rutgers team.

Across 2 injury riddled seasons, Robinson never lived up to the hype and was dismissed for a violation of team rules. He’d later sit out 2005 and finished his career at Akron with 11 tackles for loss in 2 more seasons. Robinson would not be picked in the 2008 NFL Draft.

Maryland – WR Stefon Diggs 2012-14 0.9969

The No. 10 overall recruit in the 2012 class, Diggs decided to stay home with the Terps after attending Good Counsel in nearby Olney, Maryland. His first 2 years were in the ACC while his final campaign took place after Maryland moved to the Big Ten.

Diggs would miss time in his college career with some injuries but was dominant on the field. In just 28 games, he finished with 150 receptions for 2,227 yards and 14 touchdowns while adding 1,472 kick return yards and 2 more scores. Surprisingly in hindsight just a 5th round pick, Diggs spent 5 seasons with the Vikings before being traded to the Bills before the 2020 season. He’s totaled 595 receptions, 7,383 yards, and 48 touchdowns and led the NFL in both receptions and receiving yards in 2020. Diggs has 2 years remaining on an original 5-year deal that sees him make $72 million.

Wisconsin – OT John Oglesby 2007-11 0.9936

The top overall tackle in the 2007 class ended up taking a redshirt during his first season in Madison and had a slow build up to his career before eventually starting 29 games for the Badgers. In his final 2011 campaign, Oglesby was named first-team All-Big Ten on the way to a Rose Bowl bid against Oregon.

To this day, Oglesby remains the highest-rated recruit to come out of the state of Wisconsin, although he was nearly eclipsed just recently by 2021 recruit Nolan Rucci. He didn’t stick in the NFL and looks to have embarked on a very slow burn coaching career, only recently becoming an assistant for the first time at San Jose State in 2020 to coach the offensive line.

Illinois – WR Arrelious Benn 2007-09 0.9937

The 2nd best wideout and No. 11 overall player from the 2007 class, Benn came out of Washington, D.C. and immediately set freshmen records at Illinois with 54 receptions and 676 yards. As a sophomore, he increased his production to 67 catches for 1,055 yards. An injury would slow him down as a junior and effectively cut his production in half.

Benn would run a 4.42 at 222 pounds during his Pro Day and was taken 39th overall by Tampa Bay after leaving early for the NFL. He played well during his first 2 seasons for the Bucs with 55 receptions, 836 yards, and 5 touchdowns. However, he still pops up on lists as one of the biggest wide receiver busts in history with just 10 catches over his final 3 seasons in the league while dealing with injuries and a couple trades.

Nebraska – RB Marlon Lucky 2005-08 0.9950

Remember when Nebraska pulled recruits from all over the country? Lucky was the 2nd running back and No. 14 overall player in his class coming out of North Hollywood, California. As an underclassman, Lucky shared duties in a deep backfield before ascending to the starting job as a junior. He decided to return to Lincoln for his his senior season but battled injuries for most of the year.

Lucky’s college stats were pretty good: 2,393 rushing yards, 1,379 receiving yards, and 26 total touchdowns. However, he was never viewed as an elite running back and would go undrafted.