Examining The Perceived Talent Gap Between Michigan And Ohio State
Everybody seems to have an opinion on why the Michigan Wolverines' football program hasn't been able to beat Ohio State in recent years, with most of the arguments surrounding a talent gap both on the field and recruiting trail, not enough year-round focus on OSU from the U-M side of things, etc.
We've decided to take a look at the former argument, and compare the amount of talent each team's roster possessed in 2019 from a recruiting standpoint.
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The Maize and Blue have recruited incredibly well during head coach Jim Harbaugh's tenure (since 2015), putting together three top-10 classes (2016, 2017 and 2019) and back-to-back No. 4 hauls in 2016 and 2017.
As a result, U-M's official 2019 roster held five five-stars and 34 four-stars, giving it a combined 39 athletes between the two star rankings.
The Buckeyes' recruiting efforts have been off the charts, however, arguably outperforming every team in the nation not named Alabama since 2016.
OSU pulled in the No. 3 class in 2016, and followed it up with back-to-back No. 2 hauls in 2017 and 2018, before seeing a dip to No. 21 nationally with the 2019 crop.
Ohio State possesses 10 five-stars on its 2019 roster and 42 four-stars, giving it a combined 52 players between the two star ratings, 13 more than Michigan's 39.
A deeper dive into the numbers reveals a huge disparity, though, in the number of top-100 athletes each club owns.
Michigan's current roster holds 11 players who were rated in the top-100 out of high school, dating back to the 2016 recruiting cycle.
Ohio State's, however, possesses 31, with 15 of those 31 ranking in the top-50 during their prep days.
| Stars | Player (Numerical Rank out of HS) | Class |
|---|---|---|
|
5 |
QB Shea Patterson (3) |
Senior |
|
5 |
WR Donovan Peoples-Jones (12) |
Junior |
|
5 |
DT Chris Hinton (15) |
Freshman |
|
5 |
S Daxton Hill (24) |
Freshman |
|
5 |
LB Jordan Anthony (26) |
Redshirt Sophomore |
|
4 |
C Cesar Ruiz (41) |
Junior |
|
4 |
LG Ben Bredeson (60) |
Senior |
|
4 |
RB Zach Charbonnet (60) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
DE Luiji Vilain (74) |
Redshirt Sophomore |
|
4 |
WR Tarik Black (76) |
Redshirt Sophomore |
|
4 |
OT Trente Jones (90) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
WR Nico Collins (120) |
Junior |
|
4 |
DE Aidan Hutchinson (129) |
Sophomore |
|
4 |
QB Dylan McCaffrey (131) |
Redshirt Sophomore |
|
4 |
DT Mazi Smith (142) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
CB Ambry Thomas (146) |
Junior |
|
4 |
RG Mike Onwenu (147) |
Senior |
|
4 |
WR Cornelius Johnson (171) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
LG Chuck Filiaga (175) |
Redshirt Sophomore |
|
4 |
CB Lavert Hill (176) |
Senior |
|
4 |
S Quinten Johnson (182) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
CB Jalen Perry (190) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
LB Cam McGrone (195) |
Redshirt Freshman |
|
4 |
OG Nolan Rumler (199) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
QB Joe Milton (200) |
Redshirt Freshman |
|
4 |
OT Trevor Keegan (208) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
DT Carlo Kemp (215) |
Senior |
|
4 |
LB Josh Ross (222) |
Junior |
|
4 |
WR Giles Jackson (233) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
S Brad Hawkins (235) |
Junior |
|
4 |
TE Erick All (N/A) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
OT Karsen Barnhart (N/A) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
TE Nick Eubanks (N/A) |
Redshirt Junior |
|
4 |
CB Gemon Green (N/A) |
Redshirt Freshman |
|
4 |
DT Donovan Jeter (N/A) |
Redshirt Sophomore |
|
4 |
RT Jalen Mayfield (N/A) |
Redshirt Freshman |
|
4 |
QB Cade McNamara (N/A) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
DE Mike Morris (N/A) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
TE Mustapha Muhammad (N/A)* |
Redshirt Freshman |
| Stars | Player (Numerical Rank out of HS) | Class |
|---|---|---|
|
5 |
QB Justin Fields (2) |
Sophomore |
|
5 |
DE Chase Young (8) |
Junior |
|
5 |
LB Baron Browning (9) |
Junior |
|
5 |
OT Nick Petit-Frere (11) |
Redshirt Freshman |
|
5 |
CB Tyreke Johnson (14) |
Redshirt Freshman |
|
5 |
CB Jeffrey Okudah (16) |
Junior |
|
5 |
LB Teradja Mitchell (20) |
Sophomore |
|
5 |
RG Wyatt Davis (22) |
Redshirt Sophomore |
|
5 |
DE Zach Harrison (23) |
Freshman |
|
5 |
CB Shaun Wade (24) |
Redshirt Sophomore |
|
4 |
WR Garrett Wilson (32) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
DE Tyreke Smith (34) |
Sophomore |
|
4 |
DT Taron Vincent (40) |
Sophomore |
|
4 |
WR Jaelen Gill (41) |
Redshirt Freshman |
|
4 |
OL Harry Miller (44) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
LB Justin Hilliard (55) |
Fifth-Year Senior |
|
4 |
C Josh Myers (55) |
Redshirt Sophomore |
|
4 |
RB J.K Dobbins (66) |
Junior |
|
4 |
RB Demario McCall (66) |
Redshirt Junior |
|
4 |
DE Tyler Friday (68) |
Sophomore |
|
4 |
TE Jake Hausmann (71) |
Redshirt Junior |
|
4 |
DT Tommy Togaia (76) |
Sophomore |
|
4 |
DE Jonathan Cooper (78) |
Senior |
|
4 |
S Josh Proctor (80) |
Sophomore |
|
4 |
WR Jameson Williams (87) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
WR Binjimen Victor (91) |
Senior |
|
4 |
S Brendon White (91) |
Junior |
|
4 |
WR Austin Mack (96) |
Senior |
|
4 |
LB Cade Stover (96) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
DT Antwuan Jackson (98) |
Redshirt Junior |
|
4 |
LB K'Vaughan Pope (100) |
Sophomore |
|
4 |
TE Jeremy Ruckert (101) |
Sophomore |
|
4 |
DT Haskell Garrett (119) |
Junior |
|
4 |
DT Jashon Cornell (123) |
Fifth-Year Senior |
|
4 |
OT Enokk Vimahi (129) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
WR K.J. Hill (157) |
Fifth-Year Senior |
|
4 |
OT Matthew Jones (160) |
Redshirt Freshman |
|
4 |
WR Kamryn Babb (174) |
Redshirt Freshman |
|
4 |
WR Jaylen Harris (198) |
Junior |
|
4 |
LB Tommy Eichenberg (213) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
S Ronnie Hickman (215) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
TE Luke Farrell (224) |
Redshirt Junior |
|
4 |
RB Master Teague (231) |
Redshirt Freshman |
|
4 |
CB Amir Riep (243) |
Junior |
|
4 |
OL Max Wray (244) |
Redshirt Freshman |
|
4 |
RB Marcus Crowley (N/A) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
LB Dallas Gant (N/A) |
Sophomore |
|
4 |
TE Cormontae Hamilton (N/A) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste (N/A) |
Redshirt Freshman |
|
4 |
DE Noah Potter (N/A) |
Freshman |
|
4 |
LB Pete Werner (N/A) |
Junior |
|
4 |
CB Marcus Williamson (N/A) |
Junior |
Michigan's average recruiting class ranking since 2016 (Harbaugh's first full class) has been 10.5, while Ohio State's has been seven.
The two clubs are once again off to fabulous starts in 2020 as well, with U-M currently holding the No. 10 overall haul and OSU sitting at No. 3.
The top-end talent is where the biggest disparity once again remains, however, and that trend appears to be continuing in 2020.
Ohio State already has 25 commits and Michigan 23, with the Buckeyes owning nine pledges inside the top-100 and the Wolverines just three.
Baltimore St. Frances four-star running back Blake Corum is the highest rated commit in Michigan's 2020 crop at No. 67 overall nationally, while OSU has pledges from seven players rated higher than Corum.
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