Big Ten Links: One look at the Big Ten the day after Signing Day

Still lots of recruiting news buzzing about the college football ladnscape, but let?s start with this: new Ohio State QB coach Tim Beck says Braxton Miller is certain to return.

That?s interesting.

Here is a nice look at all of the Big Ten signing classes. It was a day that Ohio State won-convincingly. (SURPRISE!) The Buckeyes aren?t going anywhere. It?s going to be fun to see where Urban Meyer can take this program.

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We interrupt your recruiting coverage to tell you that Purdue may have the No. 2 spot in the Big Ten. Last night, the Boilermakers dispatched Ohio State in Mackey Arena. It was Purdue?s fourth victory in a row and fifth in six games. This team is playing some good defense and getting a great effort from big man A.J. Hammons. Three of the Boilers? next four games are on the road. This will be a nice test to see how good Matt Painter?s team is.

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When you have won double-digit games four times in five years, you can sell results-and not hope. That?s exactly what Mark Dantonio peddles at Michigan State.

Dantonio said those wins have helped expand the Spartans' recruiting base. The 2015 class includes two players from Texas and others from Florida, Arizona, California and Utah, among others.

"We've been able to capitalize that in recruiting  and build a base not just as a football team in the Midwest and the Big Ten but as a national program," Dantonio said.

MSU is rolling.

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By recruiting guru?s measuring stick, Michigan didn?t have a great recruiting class. But that was because Jim Harbaugh didn?t get hired until late December-and the Wolverines inked a small class. Listen and watch Mlive scribes Nick Baumgardner and Brendan Quinn discuss.

You know Harbaugh will have highly ranked classes in future seasons.

Speaking of Harbaugh ? he impacted Iowa?s recruiting class by flipping running back Karan Higdon.

Higdon committed to Iowa in late October, two weeks after backing out on a pledge to South Florida. And Wednesday morning, when binding National Letters of Intent could first be signed, he flipped again. Black and Gold out, Maize and Blue in. By a young man who recently said he was "110 percent" committed to Iowa.

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Pennlive.com has a tale of two flipped recruits in Saquon Barkley and Adam McLean. I love stuff like this.

Barkley was a one-time Rutgers commit with signed with Penn State; McLean was a one-time Penn State commit who left for Maryland. Six members of Penn State's 2015 class were committed elsewhere at one point. Pennlive.com notes that de-committing is not a new trend, though it has seen an uptick in the past few years.

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Steve Politi of NJ.com chronicles how Rutgers reeled in an ex-Tennessee four-star recruit late.

Politi writes that Marques Ford accepted a scholarship to play for Tennessee in July, only to have Tennessee essentially call six months later and pull it, saying that it didn't have a scholarship for him. Bummer. Vols head coach Butch Jones had no problem breaking a commitment to a teenager just days before the process was supposed to be over. But don?t weep too much. Just remember, recruits: The door swings both ways. Kids often leave coaches high and dry by bolting for other schools after committing to another.

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High-profile recruits? They are nice to have. But Wisconsin has done just fine without them, thank you very much. At least that?s what Andy Baggot of Madison.com thinks.

To wit: J.J. Watt and Russell Wilson were two-star recruits. Jared Abbrederis wasn?t even ranked. Chris Borland? He was a measly three-stars. Enough said. Keep that in mind before crying over your school?s lack of five-star recruits.

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Illinois was one of the big surprises on Signing Day, as Tim Beckman had his best recruiting haul yet. A fast finish helped make Wednesday a fun day in Champaign. Listen to Matt Daniels of the Champaign News-Gazette discuss the class.

Indiana also was a Signing Day surprise.

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