Rutgers Football: 2018 Recruiting rankings July update

June post on recruiting rankings, click here.

Here comes the Class of 2018

We’re back because you love this stuff.

Nothing says commitment like a recruit barbecue. And RU picked up one at that event on Saturday when EJ Turner said yes to the Knights. The class now sits at 15 commitments as we prepare for summer camp to open.

First, a pop quiz. Which Big Ten team dropped the most in the rankings over the last month? Here’s a hint: think khaki.

Right, Michigan has fallen a bit and it seems to be primarily because they have been at ten commits for weeks without any additions. And over the last month, Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern, too have added no additional players to their commitment lists.

Question 2: Which Big Ten team has moved up the most spots in that same time period? Hint: It’s the reason you read this blog.

Regardless of which service you check, Rutgers made the biggest jump in the national rankings, going up between 11 (247 Sports) and 16 spots up (Rivals). Chris Ash did it pretty much all based on three-star athletes.

Penn State moved up in all the rankings, also adding the most commits (seven), of any Big Ten team in the last month. In fact, using 247Sports as the guide, only Rutgers, Penn State, Maryland, Iowa, and Indiana moved up in the team rankings. All the others, except Ohio State which stayed the same, dropped.

Within the conference, Rutgers isn’t moving up that far, but it is closing the gap with some of the others in the middle of the pack.

Uh oh, PJ

After the initial media hoopla and rush of commitments - several of them flips from his former stop at Western Michigan - PJ Fleck’s work at Minnesota has leveled off. He’s still a top 30 class and top half of the Big Ten, but the Gophers are slowing down. Last post in late June, Minnesota was as high as 18 on Rivals.

On the national scene

Rutgers is slo-o-o-owly moving up. And it has jumped past Iowa in the Big Ten. It’s also immediately ahead of, for now, three pretty solid SEC schools as well as several ACC schools.

Just because we all feel that way about Nick Saban

A lot of people were very surprised with where Alabama sat in the recruitinbg rankings a month ago. Well, folks, they’re pretty much still there. The Tide has moved up from their prior mid- to upper-50’s rankings. But Bama only has seven commits, six of which are four star athletes, but seven? Suicide watch is still on in Tuscaloosa.