Indiana has made a splash in recent days with a wave of high-profile commits in the high school recruiting class of 2027.
And with their number of verbal commitments now in the double digits, it’s time to start periodically monitoring how the Hoosiers are faring relative to their FBS and Big Ten peers in the rising senior class.
As of Thursday afternoon, Indiana’s 11-player class is ranked No. 29 nationally by On3/Rivals, and No. 30 by 247Sports. Both outlets say IU’s class is just the 11th best in the Big Ten at the moment.
ESPN only has rankings for the top-20 team classes, and Indiana is not included.
IU isn’t far from its best-ever class ranking of 25th in 2022.
Class size does factor into the team rankings, and only four teams ranked above IU currently have less verbal pledges than the Hoosiers. But when the list at On3/Rivals is sorted for average player rating, Indiana still comes in at No. 29. Indiana has just three composite 4-stars in the class and no 5-stars, while some of the top programs in the rankings have double-digit 4-stars and/or multiple 5-stars.
Should the defending 16-0 national champs have a better 2027 class?
First and foremost, there is still a long way to go.
But a couple factors might keep Indiana from breaking into the top-20 this cycle.
First, a major part of head coach Curt Cignetti’s legend is talent evaluation. He just won the title despite having a team made up almost entirely of 0-stars to 3-stars. So while he acknowledges evaluating high school prospects is more challenging than transfers, he won’t be compelled to reach for the stars.
Second, the market rates for high school players has grown exponentially in the last couple years.
How much?
“The market right now is three to five times what it was last year,” Cignetti said on a recent BTN interview. “It’s scary to me, it really is as a person in this industry. Like, how can we possibly sustain this down the road with what’s going on?”
While IU has had competitive financial resources over the last two years, those funds are not unlimited, and certainly nowhere near programs like Texas Tech, Texas, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Miami and others.
So Cignetti has to be selective with his budget, and given his admission about the challenge of evaluating high school prospects, it seems he’ll be less likely to get into bidding wars for many of these young and unproven players.
Still, there are opportunities to close some seriously high profile high school players in the 2027 class who can give IU a major boost in the rankings.
5-stars like defensive end Jalen Brewster and wide receiver Monshun Sales are still on the board with IU heavily involved. Both took official visits to IU recently and gave very favorable reviews.
And prominent 4-stars such as linebackers Roman Igwebuike and Jalaythan Mayfield, running backs Tre Segarra and Elijah Kimble, offensive linemen Kal-El Johnson and Caleb Johnson, and safeties Davion Jones and Junior Tu’upo could also move IU up the charts with a commitment.
Most of the remaining high profile commitments should come in the next month — and it will be interesting to monitor the results.
For complete coverage of IU football recruiting, GO HERE.
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