Don’t sweat Indiana’s football recruiting ratings



By Pete DiPrimio

BLOOMINGTON -- Indiana football recruiting commitments continue to come -- up to 11 now -- but national respect doesn’t follow.

Is this a problem?

Not exactly.

IU’s class currently ranks No. 14 in the Big Ten with its Class of 2018, which is last.

Mr. Obvious says, that is not good.

It is No. 74 overall, which also isn’t what it needs to be.

The good news -- it’s way early, which means there is plenty of time for coach Tom Allen and his staff to pick up the pace.

More good news -- it’s not about ratings as much as it is development and performance, which we won’t know for a couple of years.

Of course, good ratings often does lead to good performance, which is among the reasons why Ohio State and Alabama do so well.

Anyway, IU is getting good players. Ten of its 11 commitments are three-star prospects. You can win with three-star guys if they are competitive and motivated, if they are developed and well coached and positioned for success.

The best appears to be Aidan Rafferty, a 6-6, 280-pound offensive lineman out of Washington D.C. Also highly regarded is Georgia safety Aaron Casey.

The newest commitment is Florida defensive end James Head. At 6-5 and 213 pounds, he picked the Hoosiers over Oregon, Michigan State, Baylor, South Carolina, Tennessee and Mississippi State.
That’s an impressive group.

The Hoosiers have one in-state commitment, and that’s from Lowell safety Jordan Jusevitch, who is considered the state’s No. 25 prospect.

Meanwhile, the annual Big Ten football gathering is about here. It will run Monday and Tuesday in Chicago.

In the annual media poll, Ohio State is the favorite to win the Big Ten. This is no surprise. The poll, organized by Cleveland.com’s Doug Lesmerises, has had the Buckeyes atop the preseason list three straight years and four out of five.

The problem – the poll has not been right for six straight years.

Anyway, Ohio State is picked to win the Big Ten East. Wisconsin is the favorite to win the Big Ten West.

The Buckeyes are favored to beat the Badgers in the conference title game. That will be in December
in Indianapolis.

Penn State running back Saquon Barkely is the preseason Big Ten offensive player of the year. He generated 30 first-place votes. A distant second was Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett.

IU receiver Simmie Cobbs got one vote.

The Big Ten defensive player of the year favorite was Ohio State defensive lineman Tyquan Lewis. He was just ahead of Iowa linebacker Josey Jewell.

IU All-America linebacker Tegray Scales was fourth in the voting.

The Hoosiers, by the way, were picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten East, behind Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State.

So now you know.


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