5 BIG TEN QUESTIONS ABOUT NATIONAL SIGNING DAY THAT KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT

Phil and Bart from the Best Damn Poll and College Football News bring their thoughts and opinions on National Signing Day in the Midwest.  That's right, mouth breathers, they still do play college football up here.


(i) What B1G team had the best recruiting class?

Phil H:
It’s close between the Hatfields and McCoys, but with a late charge, Ohio State has edged Michigan for this year’s best class in the Big Ten--and the star of the class--Urban Meyer. Ohio State’s class was barely considered a top 25 class until Meyer entered the fold and came out with scarlet and gray guns blazing. Meyer, as he usually does, focused building from the inside out.

The defensive line group that includes Noah Spence, Adolphus Washington, Se’Von Pittman and Tommy Schutt may be the best D-line group in the country, while the need to plug holes on the offensive line was met with the signing of five potential--wait for it...B1G Uglies, headlined by tackles Kyle Dodson and and Taylor Decker. Now if only a bowl were in the offing for 2012.....



Bart D:

Best is probably a relative term and we won’t really know the answer to this question for a few years, but from a rankings perspective it seems everyone is in agreement that Ohio State’s class is the flavor of the moment, so I won’t be contrarian guy and go the other way. The Bucks class took in 7 “Top 100” players according to Scout.com including four 5-star rated players. Not bad. That’s like going to a Chi Omega party and coming away with two dorm rooms full of the 20-some hottest girls at the party. As you’d expect, running backs and offensive linemen headline this class. The only question? OSU seemed to struggle without DeVier Posey (who I think the NCAA just suspended for something, again) or any outside threat. Hard to tell if this class will end up contributing to an end to that problem.





(ii) Which team best filled its needs?

Phil:

I’ll go with Michigan on this one. The Wolverines are still tattered and frayed along both the defensive and offensive lines as a result of the Rich Rodriguez years and that’s the biggest thing that Brady Hoke and the coaching staff set out to correct. The Maize and Blue not only added depth with four offensive linemen and six defensive linemen, but particularly on the defensive side, the class should bolster the void left by the departures of Mike Martin, Will Heininger, and Ryan Van Bergen.

The star of the class may very well be offensive tackle Kyle Kalis from Lakewood, OH. The 6’5”, 305 lb. mountain of a man may just plug right into the offensive line from the start. He’s tough, has great feet and is equally adept at run and pass blocking. Michigan also put an increased emphasis on defense by loading up at linebacker to go along with the D-line. The emphasis should assist in stocking the cupboard more fully for wizardry of Greg Mattison. With a continued focus on defense, and a focus put on trying to protect it’s “shoelaces” with offensive line reinforcements, Michigan seems to be putting the right puzzle pieces together to keep hanging out with the upper crust of the league--and nation.

Bart:

I know they’re hanging out at the bottom of the recruiting rankings for Scout at 68th, but we’re taking Minnesota here. And by “we” I mean “myself and no one else.” Why? Well, considering they weren’t close to the 68th best team in the nation, that ranking is 1. subjective and 2. better than where they were as a team (I took extra spin cycle classes before this column). Real reason is though, with 27 recruits and going into a completely different system under a completely different staff, they need bodies. On top of that, Jerry Kill’s staff with their first full class managed to pull out 19 out of state recruits, meaning he can ply his trade craft outside the borders of Minnesota. Which is good, since, well, it’s Minnesota, not exactly the Cognac of high school football talent. Kill has the operation headed in the right direction, and now he has the bodies to do it.

(iii) What B1G team had the worst National Signing Day?

Phil:

Jump around? Hardly. Wisconsin must be a big believer in the Mayan calendar conspiracy because it appears as though the coaches don’t believe there will be a football season after 2012. The Badgers pulled in a few impressive recruits headlined by pocket-passer QB Bart Houston out of famed De La Salle High School, and offensive guard Dan Volz out of Barrington, IL--but overall--the Wisconsin Badgers have to be sorely disappointed in their 2012 class.

At the end of National Signing Day, the Mad-town crew brought in about as many recruits as field goals the Badger basketball team looks to average with its deliberate play. Both are about as pedestrian as an old lady in with a walker crossing a busy intersection. Bielema lost out on at least a couple of recruits thought to be leaning his way at the wire, and only ended up signing 12 members. While Wisconsin was not planning on a huge population of new blood this year anyhow, it expected more than how many would fit in an egg carton. Wisconsin has routinely done more with less, but it looks like the preferred walk-ons and returning talent will play key roles in 2012 and beyond--or at least until Armageddon hits.

Bart:

Oh Mark Dantonio, simmer down. It seems as though Ohio State is drawing the ire of the other school in Michigan, these days. Yesterday, he lobbed the ole “unethical” comment, and had more ‘times are changing’ style comments when specifically asked about Ohio State before sort of backing off saying that he wasn’t necessarily saying it was about the B1G recruiting practices. We’re not silly coach, you were. Sad thing is though, he’s undoubtedly right. Give him credit to have the stones to step up and say it. The problem lies in the fact that MSU has been recruiting well lately and fell with an outside the top 25 class yesterday, staring up the barrel at both Michigan and Ohio State, who placed Top 10 classes. That’s a massive gap, when you consider they beat both this season. They also only got 18 recruits, and though quality players are in there, this MSU team lost a ton.

(iv) What B1G team signee will make the most immediate impact?

Phil:

Unless undecided WR Stephon Diggs ends up signing with Ohio State, the early call here has to be Iowa RB Greg Carmon out of Erie, PA. Carmon isn’t huge, but has a solid enough frame at 6’0”, 200 lbs. to be able to be inserted immediately into a Hawkeye running attack that will have to replace the 1,384 yards and 15 touchdowns that the quick, thief-in-the-night departure of Marcus Coker has left the team with. Rated as a top fifteen back in most recruiting circles, he should get every opportunity to prove himself because of a need and the talent that the ultra-quick, break-away back possesses. It should be an interesting development through spring ball.

Bart:

It’s a tough road to hoe getting to play as a freshman at Michigan generally, especially along the line, but there is a gaping, Nevada-sized hole at DT where all-everything Mike Martin is gone, and someone will have to step up in his stead. Last year, Will Campbell, a former 5 star guy, was expected to, but he fell to 3rd string to start the season to Quinton Washington during their 3-4 packages at times. Ondre Pipkins will hopefully push him, or even maybe get some tick as a true freshman. The defense needed bodies, and Pipkins is a big one, literally and figuratively. At 6’3, 320, he could be a name you hear sooner rather than later.

(v) What B1G team recruit is most likely to be a Heisman finalist?



Phil:

Well--since there are not a lot of upper echelon skill players to be found faxing their letter of intents to the Midwest this year, we’ll go with the best one that did, at a position known for Heisman finalists. Ohio State signee Bri’onte Dunn was originally committed to Michigan through the tattoo fiasco, but once Urban Meyer picked up the phone, it didn’t take much to sway the kid from Canton to change his mind and enroll early in Columbus.

Dunn is an FBS ready physical specimen with great patience, vision, and footwork. Though he’s not a speed burner, if he gets a seam, he has plenty of burst to break a big one. There’ll be a lot of comparisons to Beanie Wells, and they might not be that far off. If Dunn can break into the clogged OSU backfield in the next couple of years and start toting the mail and being the workhorse experts expect, he could put up big numbers in the not too distant future and be in the Heisman conversation for sure.

Bart:

I’m I’ll get bludgeoned for saying this, but I’ll take a wild flier on Vonte Jackson, a running back recruit for Wisconsin. For all the pomp and circumstance about how Wisconsin didn’t have a great class, can you really go wrong projecting good things for a running back with the red W on their helmet? Jackson’s profile states that he’s elusive, with good hands out of the backfield. And he’s going to a system that relies on the running back. To be honest, this is like your buddy hooking you up with a girl for a blind date and saying “don’t worry, she’s a cheerleader at Arizona State.” Yeah, I’ll play the odds there and just go with this.

Follow Phil on Twitter @PhilHarrisonCFN and Bart @Bart_CFN