FORT WAYNE –

Purdue

The Boilermakers quietly assembled the fourth-best recruiting class in the Big Ten, according to Rivals.com.

“They just kind of snuck up on everybody,” said Josh Helmholdt, the Midwest Analyst for Rivals.com. “They went around the entire country and picked kids off.”

The Boilermakers announced the signing of 23 players Wednesday. Along with two early enrollees, Purdue has a 25-member class with players from 13 states.

“We have states that we recruit in, and we did a good job of going into our recruiting areas and landing a lot of the top prospects. But there were several other states that we landed prospects in that were outside of our normal recruiting area. I think a lot of it had to do with the efforts of coach (Paul) Gonnella (the team’s director of player personnel) identifying prospects on a national level,” coach Danny Hope said.

Hope said Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland were among the states outside of Purdue’s prime recruiting areas where the team had success this year.

Ryan Watson, a 6-foot-3, 270-pound defensive lineman from Our Lady of Good Counsel in Olney, Md., is a four-star recruit. Michigan State and Pittsburgh were among the other schools in the running.

“Ryan Watson is a guy who had offers from a ton of big-name schools and picked Purdue over all of them,” Helmholdt said. “He’s a guy who can play the defensive end, a strong-side defensive end position or defensive tackle.”

Indiana

The Hoosiers signed 25 players.

“When you have a large class, you’re able to take a little bit more risk on a few guys,” Helmholdt said. “I thought they did a great job in the state of Ohio, but they also got some good names in state.”

IU signed 13 defensive players, 11 offensive players and one athlete. The Hoosiers added six defensive linemen, four defensive backs and three linebackers and four offensive linemen, two quarterbacks, two receivers, two tight ends and a running back.

“We tried to address a lot of needs. We’ve got some balance, some offense, defense and more junior college players than normal, but we’re excited about those guys,” IU coach Kevin Wilson said. “We’ve got some length, some range and some great bodies to work with, but as always, it is what we can do with these guys once they get here. I think the talent we recruited physically is pretty good, but I like the talent of the kids.”

Receiver Kevin Davis (5-foot-11, 175 pounds) and linebacker Jordan Wallace (6-0, 230), brothers out of Warren Central, are among the impact players.

“Davis is a play-making wide receiver that can stretch the field vertically,” Helmholdt said. “Wallace, even though he doesn’t look like the typical Big Ten linebacker, makes a lot of plays.”

Ball State

Ball State welcomed 23 signees from 10 states, including the usual – Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois – and the more far-flung.

Among the latter were cornerback Darius Conaway and safety Martez Hester from North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Ga.; safety Aaron Taylor from Central Gwinnett High School in Lawrenceville, Ga.; cornerback Tyree Holder from Tampa Catholic in Thonotosassa, Fla.; safety Chris Pauling from T.W. Andrews High in High Point, N.C.; and offensive lineman Connor Stefanski from Waukesha (Wis.) West High School.

Among the haul were seven defensive backs, five offensive linemen, five defensive linemen and three wide receivers.

“We were able to successfully address specific needs at positions such as offensive line, defensive line, wide receiver and safety,” Ball State coach Pete Lembo said.

Saint Francis

Coach Kevin Donley says there are more coming, but he’s pleased with the 15-player class so far.

“We’ve got some really talented players,” said Donley, who will begin his 14th season this fall. “Got some transfers, and got some local players who are really going to help us.”

Kevin Bush, a linebacker from Homestead who played at Indiana, is one of six college transfers who will attend Saint Francis. Others are Jeremy Hill, receiver and Ball State transfer; Aaron Kaczmarski, an offensive lineman, Central Michigan; Steve Kiermaier, linebacker from Bishop Luers and Arizona Western; and quarterback Nathan Scully and receiver Brendton Williams, both from Tiffin University.

The Cougars also landed Ray Beverly, a receiver from Indianapolis Pike.

“The kid is extremely athletic with 4.4 speed,” Donley said.

Dru Durnell, a defensive tackle from Homestead, Zac Haydock, a running back from Woodlan, and Logan Rehrer, a quarterback from Columbia City, are local athletes who signed with Saint Francis.