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          On The Trail

          Best of the college football recruiting visits: Big Ten

          • Tom VanHaaren, ESPN Staff WriterNov 22, 2015, 04:25 PM
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            • ESPN staff writer
            • Joined ESPN in 2011
            • Graduated from Central Michigan
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          With only a few games left in the season, the opportunities to get recruits on campus to experience a game atmosphere are shrinking. The Big Ten home teams made the most of the weekend and had some important visiting prospects on campus. Here is a look at some of those visits in the eyes of the prospects themselves:

          The Ohio State Buckeyes had one of the bigger visitor lists, in terms of importance and the number of visitors, for its game against Michigan State.

          One of the bigger targets in the 2016 class, ESPN 300 defensive lineman Antwuan Jackson, made his way up to Ohio State.

          Jackson has the Buckeyes among his top group, so this was an important visit for both sides.

          ESPN 300 defensive back Damar Hamlin also made the trip and also has Ohio State among his top group along with Notre Dame, Penn State and Pitt.

          The Ohio State staff also had ESPN 300 linebacker Daelin Hayes back in for a visit. Hayes has the Buckeyes, Michigan State and Notre Dame in his top group.

          The coaches had some big 2017 prospects in attendance as well, including athlete Antjuan Simmons, who made the trip from Michigan.

          Weston Bridges, a 2017 prospect, gave the fans a video look at what warmups looked like from the sideline.

          The big game brought in prospects from all over and across a few different recruiting classes, including 2018 Jackson Carman.

          The Penn State Nittany Lions hosted Michigan for a "whiteout" game in Happy Valley, an occasion which brought in some big recruits.

          Nathan Proctor, Jordan Anthony, Cameron Spence and Robert Hainsey, all ESPN Junior 300 prospects, posed for a picture together.

          Zech McPhearson, a 2016 commit, posted a photo of himself with a few of the other Penn State commitments in attendance.

          Penn State didn’t win the game against the Wolverines, but the coaches did receive some good news before the game started. ESPN Jr. 300 linebacker Dylan Rivers committed to the Nittany Lions while on his visit, giving Penn State two commitments in the 2017 class.

          The staff also extended a few offers during the day, including Proctor.

          They even offered a 2018 recruit in linebacker Teradja Mitchell.

          The Wisconsin Badgers, much like Penn State and Ohio State, also came away with a loss, but had a good recruiting weekend.

          The staff brought in 2017 linebacker Pete Werner for the game and extended him an offer on the visit.

          The coaches were also able to convince Rutgers defensive back commit Patrice Rene to take a visit for the game against Northwestern.