On The Trail

          Best of the visits: Big Ten

          Ohio State, Penn State, Nebraska and Michigan all had a few big recruiting visitors on campus this past weekend. Of course those recruits took to social media to share their experiences and document what happened.

          Offensive lineman Branden Bowen is currently committed to Utah, but he made the trip out to see the Buckeyes play Illinois.

          As Bowen noted in his tweet, he is from Utah, where it was significantly warmer than Ohio. The weather wasn't terrible in Columbus, but it got pretty cold at the game given that it was at night.

          Bowen didn't come very prepared and ended up wearing shorts to the game. If he ends up choosing Ohio State I'm sure he will invest in a pair of long pants for the winter. The Buckeyes also got the chance to entertain one of their newest commitments, linebacker Jerome Baker. The ESPN 300 linebacker flipped from Florida and was excited to take in the game with no stress. Ohio State had another in-state linebacker on campus outside of Baker in Cincinnati native Anthony McKee. McKee doesn't have an offer yet, but depending on how the class plays out he could find himself with an offer down the line.

          Maryland coach Randy Edsall was hoping to build a rivalry with conference opponent Penn State and the game this past weekend might have been a nice foundation for that rivalry.

          The Terps players refused to shake hands with the Penn State players at the opening coin toss, which caused quite a stir on Twitter among recruits. There were plenty of prospects in attendance to see the incident as well, including ESPN Jr. 300 commit Shane Simmons and ESPN Jr. 300 target Robbie Robinson. The staff was expecting another ESPN Jr. 300 target in E.J. Price, but he tweeted that he was unable to make it to the game.

          Wisconsin wasn't at home on Saturday as it took on Rutgers, but that doesn't mean the Badgers' targets weren't watching.

          One of the bigger 2016 recruits, ESPN Jr. 300 running back Antonio Williams, has been paying close attention to most of Wisconsin's games this season, including this one. Williams has said the Badgers lead for him as of right now and as the No. 148-ranked prospect in his class, he would be a huge addition.

          Michigan also had some prospects on campus, mainly from the 2016 and 2017 class.

          Sophomore quarterback Andrew Marty tweeted a picture from the end zone before the game. Two of the bigger targets on campus, ESPN Jr. 300 defensive end Prince Sammons and offensive lineman Michael Jordan, both got to spend some time together as well. Finally, Nebraska was hosting a few official visitors for the 2015 class for its game against Purdue.

          Offensive lineman Zach Robertson and receivers A.D. Miller and Tony Brown were the three most prominent.

          Miller is an Illinois commit, who initially was trying to keep his visit under wraps, got a first-hand look at the Nebraska fan base. The Huskers beat Purdue and gave the targets a good game to come and see. The atmosphere was exciting and the prospects all enjoyed their time in Lincoln.