Ohio State signed the nation’s top-rated tight end and defensive tackle, then held off hard-charging Georgia for the nation's best recruiting class after the first day of the early signing period on Wednesday.
The Buckeyes signed 20 players, including Florida five-star defensive tackle Taron Vincent — son of former NFL cornerback Troy Vincent — and four-star tight end Jeremy Ruckert of Lindenhurst, N.Y. The haul was enough to fend off Georgia, which landed three five-star recruits on Wednesday and surge to No. 2 overall.
The Bulldogs have six five-star players in their class.
Ohio State also signed five-star running back Jaelen Gill, from the Columbus suburb of Westerville, and settled for three-star quarterback Matthew Baldwin of Austin, Texas, after four-star QB Emory Jones flipped his commitment to Florida.
Penn State has the nation's No. 4 class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, after signing five-stars Micah Parsons (DE), Justin Shorter (WR) and Ricky Slade (RB).
Michigan's class ranked No. 12 overall and third in the Big Ten.
Maryland, fourth in the Big Ten, signed 22 of its 24 committed players, including former five-star defensive tackle Byron Cowart, who started his career at Auburn.
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Cowart, a three-star prospect out of Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Fla., was the nation's No. 1 recruit in 2015, according to Rivals and ESPN. He played as a freshman and sophomore at Auburn, but never developed into an impact player.
He'll be eligible next season.
Michigan State was fifth in the Big Ten (No. 25 nationally), followed by Minnesota (No. 29), Iowa (No. 34), Wisconsin (No. 37), Rutgers (No. 40), Indiana (No. 41), Nebraska (No. 47), Purdue (No. 48), Northwestern (No. 51), Illinois (No. 61).
Wisconsin's class included five players from Michigan. River Rouge three-star safety Reggie Pearson was the highest-rated of the in-state prospects. Gibraltar Carlson athlete Jaylan Franklin, Milan offensive tackle Michael Furtney and West Bloomfield wide receivers Taj Mustapha and AJ Abbott also signed with the Badgers.
Rockford quarterback Jason Whittaker signed with Northwestern and Detroit King wide receiver Erik Gibson signed with Minnesota.
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