BLOOMINGTON — There will be nine former 5-star recruits starting in this year’s Rose Bowl.
All of them play for Alabama.
Indiana football faces the same kind of challenge in the CFP quarterfinals as it did in the Big Ten title game against Ohio State. The Crimson Tide have more former top-100 recruits in their starting lineup (14) than the Buckeyes had (10), according to 247 Sports composite rankings.
The No. 1 Hoosiers (13-0) only have one.
That group of former five-stars starting for Alabama is nearly the double the amount that OSU had in the starting lineup (four).
The Crimson Tide have three starters who ranked in the top 10 in their respective signing class — wide receiver Ryan Williams was the No. 4 recruit in 2024, left tackle Kayden Proctor was the No. 10 recruit in 2023 and cornerback Domani Jackson was the No. 5 ranked recruit in 2022.
Indiana hasn’t signed a five-star player straight out of high school in program history. The Hoosiers have only two former four-stars in the starting lineup — receivers E.J. Williams and Omar Cooper Jr. — while all but four of Alabama’s starters had a four-star ranking or higher.
This year’s Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza was part of the same 2022 signing class as Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. Mendoza was a two-star recruit and ranked No. 2,149 (No. 140 quarterback) while Simpson was ranked 26th overall and No. 4 quarterback in the class.
Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of the recruiting rankings for this year’s Rose Bowl participants:
Indiana football’s quarterbacks vs. Alabama
Indiana football’s skill positions vs. Alabama
Indiana football’s offensive line vs Alabama
Indiana football’s defensive line vs. Alabama
Indiana football’s linebackers vs. Alabama
Indiana football’s secondary vs. Alabama
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 Indianapolis Star: How many 5-star recruits do Rose Bowl opponents Indiana, Alabama have?
Reporting by Michael Niziolek, The Herald-Times / Indianapolis Star
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