Recruiting hype isn’t much good now. At this point in August, coaches have had their hands on February’s darlings for a couple weeks of training camp, and the freshmen have started to show whether they’re ready to live up to the buzz or need more time to develop.
A handful of those newcomers have looked worthy of all that adulation on signing day, though. And after looking across the league at the fresh faces in position to help make a run at a title, the Big Ten reporting crew made some picks about who is likely to make the biggest early impact this season.