College football’s 2025 recruiting class ends Wednesday with February’s Signing Day. While the hay is in the barn for the most part from December’s Early Signing Period, some recruitments are lingering into this week and the 2026 cycle is taking shape.

As such, 247Sports‘ team of national recruiting analysts is closing the book on the senior class and looking ahead to the junior cycle with the top developments in each region.

Here’s a closer look at the Midwest.

1. BRYCE UNDERWOOD AND A NEW-LOOK MICHIGAN OFFENSE

The biggest storyline in the Midwest (and arguably the country) is Bryce Underwood. Michigan flipped the five-star recruit from LSU and kept him in state.

Now the expectations are as high as they’ve been for any recruit — certainly in the past decade, if not the internet era. Underwood is equipped to handle it, though. He’s on campus now, and early returns from anyone who has seen a football leave his hand are that the talent is obvious.

A lot has changed quickly in Ann Arbor, Michigan, especially on offense. There is a new offensive coordinator, Chip Lindsey. Underwood is there, as is Fresno State quarterback transfer Mikey Keene. Then Alabama running back Justice Haynes transfers in, and the receiver room will look different with transfers and freshmen coming in. Plus, tight end Colston Loveland is off to the NFL.

Those who love Michigan (and those who hate Michigan) will undoubtedly be ready to see how this offense performs and how soon Underwood is the starter.

2. DOES A NATIONAL TITLE LEAD TO A NO. 1 CLASS FOR OHIO STATE?

Ohio State signed the 2025 247Sports Composite Team Rankings‘ No. 5 recruiting class, and it’s a good one led by five-star quarterback Tavien St. Clair.

Those pieces were locked up by the time the Buckeyes were beating Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship, though. The subsequent title celebration at Ohio Stadium had quite a few in-state recruits visiting, some of whom the Buckeyes lead for. But a championship ripple effect should go national.

Ohio State has four 2026 commits, but the Buckeyes are battling away programs for elite wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. They’re in the race for five-star talent like offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell. But offensive line coach Justin Frye left for the NFL, as did offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.

So, where does Ohio State end up in the 2026 recruiting rankings? Ryan Day has brought in many top-five and top-10 classes, and he now has a national championship behind him. This will be an interesting case study in how much that shifts the minds of top-level recruits in the NIL era.

3. DOES THE MIDWEST CONTINUE TO BE A HOT BED FOR DIII TO GROUP OF FIVE TRANSFERS?

I’ve had some incredulous messages and phone calls during portal season:

“Wisconsin took a guy from Bethel?”

Yes, it did.

“Michigan really took the offensive lineman from Ferris State?”

Absolutely, and both of those guys will probably play.

The Midwest has really good FCS and DII football. If you extend the Midwest over to the Dakotas, it’s the best FCS football in the country. As such, those schools are in a new era of having to protect their rosters — although some have become resigned to the fact that if a high-major wants players on their roster, there’s nothing they can do but wish them well.

Looking at those recruiting classes this year, this is not likely to stop. 247Sports bumped South Dakota State signee Landon Dulaney to a four-star, and his tape and athleticism suggest that he will be star there. If that happens, schools who missed him during the recruiting process will come calling.

There are guys going to DII schools with 10.5-second 100-meter-dash times and Ivy commits with great tape and multi-sport athleticism. Then there are those big-body types who may be underdeveloped now but can turn into the next NFL Draft pick from a Wisconsin-Whitewater, North Dakota State or Northern Iowa. What would have happened if Quinn Meinerz had played in the transfer portal era?

At 247Sports, we have dug deeper into those classes for that reason. Power Four schools in the region certainly dig deeper now when it comes to getting a variety of players to camp and combing those signing classes. In response, our understanding is that some of those schools may not release their signing list. They know that the sharks are already circling.

4. WHO BREAKS THROUGH IN THE BIG TEN?

Indiana just showed that, even in a restructured and more-crowded Big Ten, there is room for a surprise.

Illinois was right there as another surprise double-digit-win team, and Minnesota was closer than some realize to 10 wins depending on some bounces of the ball.

All three schools did it with transfers at quarterback but also talent that was under-recruited and that they found and developed on both lines of scrimmage.

So, are there more stories like that to come? Or will the “expected” programs put a stop to any Cinderella stories?

Rutgers and Maryland signed 2025 classes that should give those programs optimism that they could be one of those programs, especially with the Terps bringing in a quarterback like Malik Washington.

Wisconsin signed a typically-strong class on the lines, but it’s Michigan flip Carter Smith and transfers Danny O’Neil and Billy Edwards at quarterback who could elevate the Badgers.

The same can be said at Iowa where the Hawkeyes always play good defense and run the ball but have now flipped their quarterback room, a move that they hope will get them over the hump.

And the Fighting Illini and Hoosiers are off to fast recruiting starts in 2026, showing that they are not planning on 2024’s success being a temporary thing.

5. IS THERE A MAC COACH READY TO SPRING BOARD?

It has been quite a while now since P.J. Fleck and Matt Campbell shook hands at midfield as head coaches of Western Michigan and Toledo, then left for Minnesota and Iowa State.

The thought was that their success may lead to a run of MAC coaches coming to the Power Four ranks.

That has not really happened as planned.

But there is still good football in the conference, and good coaches. Toledo signed the conference’s top class and Jason Candle was linked to, among other jobs, the offensive coordinator gig at Michigan mentioned above. He stayed, but the Rockets are reloading and Candle always has his name mentioned in openings.

Miami (Ohio) has the conference’s No. 2 class, and Chuck Martin and a loyal staff have won conference titles and have the talent to potentially have another good season.

At No. 3 is Northern Illinois, which could rise further on Signing Day. The Huskies, of course, beat Notre Dame this season. They recruit and develop well, and Thomas Hammock may be a name that starts getting talked about more as a Big Ten candidate.

Chris Creighton has had great success at Eastern Michigan. Scot Loeffler had Bowling Green in a bowl game. And around the coaching industry, Western Michigan’s Lance Taylor is thought of as a young coach on the rise.

Get the latest football and basketball transfer portal news from 247Sports.

So, will one of these coaches be on BTN in a couple years breaking down a Big Ten signing class? Or will the conference look more to rising young coordinators or to programs like James Madison where Indiana found Curt Cignetti?