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Big Ten's top recruiting visits

It’s another week and another opportunity for Big Ten teams to impress prospects. There are a few games within the conference that could have major recruiting implications, so here are the three biggest events of the weekend.

Penn State at Rutgers:

Rutgers has the biggest recruiting event of the weekend, hosting its first Big Ten game and plenty of big recruits.

The most important prospects that will be on campus are the local kids, providing Rutgers with an outstanding opportunity to show the targets what the team can do on the field.

ESPN Jr. 300 prospects Kareem Walker, Rashan Gary, Brad Hawkins and Dwayne Haskins will be on campus, joined by Hasise Dubois, Jordan Fuller and possibly Naseir Upshur.

Those are all local prospects and targets Rutgers needs to impress. The only downside of this event for the Scarlet Knights is that most of the visitors are also Penn State targets.

Since the Nittany Lions recruit New Jersey and the surrounding areas so heavily, there is also an opportunity for Penn State to impress the recruits. This could be a big matchup for future recruiting implications, especially in the state of New Jersey.

West Virginia at Maryland:

The Terapins are not only going to be sporting fancy new uniforms for this game, but they will be hosting some big targets from near and far.

Maryland has done well with in-state prospects and recruits from Washington, D.C. The coaches are hoping to continue that success with ESPN Jr. 300 offensive lineman Richard Merritt, who will be watching from the stands.

Merritt is the No. 87 ranked prospect in the 2016 class and would be a huge get for Maryland.

Merritt will have company with a few other underclassmen, but the headliners at the game will be ESPN 300 defensive lineman Byron Cowart and athlete Ryan Davis.

The friends are coming from Florida and bump up Maryland’s visitor list tremendously. Cowart is the No. 2 ranked prospect in the country, so just getting him on campus is a huge deal for coach Randy Edsall and his staff.

Michigan vs Miami (Ohio):

Michigan has a chance to reset the season and recruiting with this game. It isn’t a prime opponent, but getting back on track and getting a win at home could be what the Wolverines need.

It won’t be a huge visit weekend, but even prospects watching at home will benefit from seeing a game at the Big House where Michigan takes care of business.

Quarterback commit Alex Malzone will be in attendance as well as receiver and teammate Grant Perry. Michigan hasn’t offered Perry yet, but the 2015 receiver has been in front of the coaches plenty of times. He might earn an offer eventually, so the face time is a good start.

A few other commitments and prospects could make the trip, including Mike Weber, Brian Cole and potentially a few 2016 in-state prospects.

This game will be a good chance for Michigan to get things back on track with recruits, and maybe even the fans.