7 months away, national signing day looks promising for Michigan football team

By Rich Rezler Freelance Sports Reporter

Posted on Fri, Jul 1, 2011 : 10 a.m.

Flipping the calendar to July means two things for college football:

1) We’re exactly two months from the first full weekend of actual games. There will be 28 games played on Thursday, Sept. 1.

2) We’re exactly seven months from national signing day. On Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012, high school seniors will make their college choices official by signing national letters of intent.

While we eagerly await those real games, let’s take a look at the only competition going on … the recruiting battles.

For a Michigan fan base hungry for wins, that’s a good place to look. First-year head coach Brady Hoke and his staff have already received verbal commitments from 18 players and the Wolverines’ class is being mentioned among the nation’s best (second on CBS Sports/MaxPreps rankings, sixth on ESPN.com’s).

Of course verbal commitments are non-binding and there are plenty of undecided big-name recruits (nearly 100 of the Rivals top 250 are still being courted).

So while recruiting classes will change as often as a 17-year-old’s mind over the next seven months, the following is a look at how Big Ten Conference teams are faring to date, using data from the four major recruiting websites: Rivals.com, Scout.com, ESPN.com and 247Sports.com.

ILLINOIS
Commitments: 4

5-Star Recruits: None

4-Star Recruits: None

INDIANA
Commitments: 11

5-Star Recruits: None

4-Star Recruits: None

IOWA
Commitments: 5

5-Star Recruits: None

4-Star Recruit
ATH Maurice Fleming (ESPN)

MICHIGAN
Commitments: 18

5-Star Recruits: None

4-Star Recruits
OL Blake Bars (Rivals)
LB Joe Bolden (Rivals, Scout, ESPN, 247)
DE Pharaoh Brown (Rivals, 247)
TE Devin Funchess (Scout, ESPN, 247)
DE Matt Godin (247)
LB Royce Jenkins-Stone (Rivals, Scout, ESPN, 247)
OL Erik Magnuson (Rivals, Scout, ESPN, 247)
DE Mario Ojemudia (Scout, ESPN)
DB Terry Richardson (Rivals, Scout, ESPN, 247)
LB Kaleb Ringer (Scout)
LB James Ross (Rivals, Scout, ESPN, 247)
DE Tom Strobel (Rivals, Scout, 247)

MICHIGAN STATE
Commitments: 10

5-Star Recruits: None

4-Star Recruits
DE Se’von Pittman (Rivals, Scout, ESPN, 247)
OL Ben McGowan (ESPN)
QB Tyler O’Connor (247)

MINNESOTA
Commitments: 10

5-Star Recruits: None

4-Star Recruit
WR Andre McDonald (Rivals, ESPN)

NEBRASKA
Commitments: 5

5-Star Recruits: None

4-Star Recruits
DE Greg McMullen (Rivals, Scout, 247)
LB Michael Rose (Scout, ESPN, 247)
OL Paul Thurston (Rivals, Scout, ESPN, 247)
WR Jordan Westerkamp (Scout, 247)

NORTHWESTERN
Commitments: 12

5-Star Recruits: None

4-Star Recruits: None

OHIO STATE
Commitments: 9

5-Star Recruit
RB Bri’onte Dunn (Scout)

4-Star Recruits
Dunn (Rivals, ESPN, 247)
RB Warren Ball (Rivals, Scout, 247)
DB De’van Bogard (Rivals, Scout, 247)
OL Jacoby Boren (247)
LB Josh Perry (Rivals, Scout, ESPN, 247)

PENN STATE
Commitments: 11

5-Star Recruit
DT Jarron Jones (Scout, 247)

4-Star Recruits
Jones (Rivals, ESPN)
OL J.J. Denman (Rivals, Scout, ESPN, 247)
OL Brian Gaia (ESPN)
OL Joey O’Connor (Rivals, ESPN)
DT Jamil Pollard (Rivals, 247)
DE Brent Wilkerson (Rivals, 247)
LB Camren Williams (Rivals, Scout, ESPN, 247)

PURDUE
Commitments: 6

5-Star Recruits: None

4-Star Recruits: None

WISCONSIN
Commitments: 8

5-Star Recruits: None

4-Star Recruits
LB Vince Biegel (Rivals, Scout, ESPN, 247)
OL Kyle Dodson (Rivals, Scout, 247)
RB Vonte Jackson (Rivals, Scout, 247)
QB Bart Houston (Scout, ESPN, 247)
OL Dan Voltz (Rivals, Scout, ESPN, 247)