Michigan football's 2013 recruiting class ranked No. 1 in country by Scout

The Wolverines are the first team other than Texas to earn the top spot in Scout's initial team rankings. They were followed this year by the Longhorns, with Texas A&M, Ohio State and Notre Dame rounding out the top five.

Other Big Ten teams to make the top 20 include Penn State (12th), Nebraska (17th) and Michigan State (20th).

But the Wolverines clearly are the cream of the crop at this early point.

Their class has grown to 17 commits, the most in the country. Morris, ranked among the top five quarterbacks according to each of the major services, remains the headliner. He's No. 3 according to Scout.

The strength of the class, though, is the guys charged with protecting him.

Patrick Kugler is considered by Scout as the No. 1 guard in the country. Another guard, David Dawson, is No. 1 in the country according to ESPN.

Guard Chris Fox and tackles Logan Tuley-Tillman and Kyle Bosch round out a five-man group that is currently the best in the nation.

The overall class has a distinct Midwestern flavor, with eight commits hailing from Ohio and another five from Michigan. Of the four remaining commits, only Fox (Parker, Colo.) resides outside of Big Ten country.

Michigan averages 4.06 stars per recruit according to Scout, the best in the Big Ten.

It has room for about six or seven more players in its 2013 class.

National signing day is Feb. 6.