Big Ten links: Dive into Thursday's Signing Day news roundup

Well, Michigan and Jim Harbaugh stole the show on Signing Day 2016 with their big "Signing of the Stars" gala. The cherry on top of all of it was the signing of the nation's No. 1 recruit, DT Rashan Gary. If there was any doubt about the momentum of Michigan, this should end it.

Gary is the first No. 1-ranked prospect to commit to Michigan during the online recruiting era. Rivals.com began logging Internet rankings in 2002.

According to SuperPrep rankings (dating back to 1986), the only other top-ranked prospect to sign with Michigan was Amani Toomer in 1992. How much talent is Harbaugh going to have on campus in another two or three years? Scary thought.

[MORE: Read all off our Signing Day coverage ]

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Ohio State flexed its recruiting muscle once again. The power of the Buckeye brand and Urban Meyer are dynamic. Which new players could impact quickest? This video from Cleveland.com breaks it down.

Only four of the players Ohio State signed in 2015 actually played in 2015. The rest were given redshirts and will play their freshman seasons in 2016. So what will happen with this 2016 class? There are spots available, as Ohio State lost nine underclassmen to the NFL Draft, not to mention the Buckeyes seniors from 2015. Got to like DE Nick Bosa?s chances to play this fall.

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Here are the final rankings from Scout.com, Rivals.com, and 247Sports.com. Alabama is king ? again. Big Ten teams appearing in the various top 25s are Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State and Nebraska. Pretty strong showing overall.

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Here are ten interesting numbers to know about Wisconsin's class.

Check this out: UW inked just four recruits from the state of Wisconsin. That is the fewest in-state scholarship recruits for the Badgers since 2012, when UW only took three. It's also the second-lowest total in the last 11 years.

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Mark Dantonio just put the finishing touches on his best signing class since taking over in East Lansing in 2007. And, he expects many of these freshly minted signees to play in the fall. Has MSU gone from a ?developmental program? to a truly elite one that consistently will land decorated recruits? Perhaps.

"Recruiting is not a science, because you're investing in people, and people change and develop," Dantonio said. "That said, I'm very excited about this class. You're going to see a lot of them play as true freshmen."

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Penn State got much-needed help on the offensive line on Wednesday. And it did so despite seeing line coach Herb Hand bolt for Auburn after the season.

Despite losing Hand, PSU retained four touted linemen. And, that says a lot about the staff and school: four-star tackles Michal Menet and Will Fries, four-star center Connor McGovern, and three-star tackle Alex Gellerstedt, all signed with the program during National Signing Day. And they never thought about doing anything else. Don't be shocked if Menet starts as a freshman.

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Mike Riley inked a nice class. Who are some of the sleepers?

I like RB Tre Bryant, a kid I got to see in high school who is a special back. At one point, he was a commit to Kansas State, but the Huskers flipped him.

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Iowa's class was solid if not spectacular. Most of this group was lined up before the Hawkeyes capped a season of glory in 2015. Look for Kirk Ferentz and Co., to benefit more with the 2017 class from what it accomplished last season.

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