College football’s June recruiting blitz is just weeks away.
While the transfer portal’s prominence continues to grow by the year, no method of roster construction rivals high school recruiting. It’s no coincidence that the sport’s recent national champions, Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia, Alabama and LSU, all deliver terrific year-in, year-out results on the high school recruiting trail. Yes, the Buckeyes complemented their results with a season-defining transfer class. But the team’s core mostly consisted of former high school signees.
Specifically, Ohio State finished fifth nationally in the class of 2024, fourth in 2023, fourth in 2022 and second in 2021. That performance set the baseline for the team’s recent title run.
But while high school recruiting remains paramount, there is one ongoing shift to note. That is: a move toward average player rating as the most effective way to measure high school recruiting output. Due to the prominence of the portal and the sport’s constant roster turnover, a sheer volume of commitments doesn’t have the same impact in 2025 as it did 10 years ago. Instead, a smaller class with, on average, higher-ranked players has become the best blueprint for success.
With that in mind, it’s time for another check-in on the Big Ten class of 2026 recruiting rankings, now nearly midway through May. Each class below is ranked by average player rating, instead of 247Sports’ full composite score. It’s no surprise that the conference’s top powers already lead the rankings, nearly three weeks before the cycle truly heats up.
Ranking every Big Ten football recruiting class of 2026 by average player rating
- Oregon Ducks
- Class Recap: Eight commits, six blue-chip (two five-stars), No. 15 national ranking
- Average Player Rating: 93.54
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Class Recap: 12 commits, 10 blue-chip (two five-stars), No. 3 national ranking
- Average Player Rating: 92.91
- USC Trojans
- Class Recap: 27 commits, 17 blue-chip (one five-star), No. 1 national ranking
- Average Player Rating: 92.10
- Maryland Terrapins
- Class Recap: Four commits, one blue-chip (one five-star), No. 52 national ranking
- Average Player Rating: 90.48
- Michigan Wolverines
- Class Recap: Five commits, three blue-chip, No. 44 national ranking
- Average Player Rating: 89.89
- Penn State Nittany Lions
- Class Recap: 16 commits, nine blue-chip, No. 4 national ranking
- Average Player Rating: 89.72
- UCLA Bruins
- Class Recap: Four commits, two blue-chip, No. 55 national ranking
- Average Player Rating: 89.21
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- Class Recap: Nine commits, four blue-chip, No. 25 national ranking
- Average Player Rating: 88.56
- Washington Huskies
- Class Recap: 10 commits, four blue-chip (one five-star), No. 19 national ranking
- Average Player Rating: 88.40
- Rutgers Scarlet Knights
- Class Recap: Eight commits, three blue-chip, No. 35 national ranking
- Average Player Rating: 88.26
- Nebraska Cornhuskers
- Class Recap: Four commits, one blue-chip, No. 57 national ranking
- Average Player Rating: 88.15
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- Class Recap: 13 commits, one blue-chip, No. 11 national ranking
- Average Player Rating: 87.70
- Minnesota Golden Gophers
- Class Recap: 10 commits, two blue-chip, No. 28 national ranking
- Average Player Rating: 87.68
- Michigan State Spartans
- Class Recap: Four commits, one blue-chip, No. 58 national ranking
- Average Player Rating: 87.67
- Indiana Hoosiers
- Class Recap: Eight commits, one blue-chip, No. 32 national ranking
- Average Player Rating: 87.45
- Wisconsin Badgers
- Class Recap: Seven commits, zero blue-chip, No. 38 national ranking
- Average Player Rating: 87.38
- Purdue Boilermakers
- Class Recap: Six commits, zero blue-chip, No. 46 national ranking
- Average Player Rating: 86.41
- Northwestern Wildcats
- Class Recap: Three commits, zero blue-chip, No. 67 national ranking
- Average Player Rating: 86.48
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