BLOOMINGTON — Ohio State goes into this year’s Big Ten title game with only one starter who was ranked outside the top 1,000 as a recruit coming out of high school, per 247 Sports composite rankings.
Indiana football has 14 of them
The No. 2 Buckeyes (12-0) will trot out four 5-star ranked players at Lucas Oil Stadium led by wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, the former No. 1 overall player in the 2024 signing class while the No. 2 Hoosiers (12-0) haven’t landed a player of that caliber.
Indiana’s starting lineup has two 4-stars and only one player (former Clemson receiver E.J. Williams Jr.) who was a top 100 recruit. Ohio State’s starting offense and defense features 10 former top-100 recruits.
The wildest difference? The Hoosiers will start eight players on Saturday that had no stars. The lowest ranked players in OSU’s starting lineup are a pair of 3-star transfers (starting right tackle Phillip Daniels and tight end Max Klare).
Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of the recruiting rankings that highlight the much different path IU’s players took to get to the Big Ten title game:
Indiana football’s quarterbacks vs. Ohio State
Indiana football’s skill positions vs. Ohio State
Indiana football’s offensive line vs Ohio State
Indiana football’s defensive line vs. Ohio State
Indiana football’s linebackers vs. Ohio State
Indiana football’s secondary vs. Ohio State
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: How IU football’s starters stack up against OSU? What the star rankings say
Reporting by Michael Niziolek, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
