Let’s check in on IU football recruiting real quick, shall we?

It’s been a week and a half since Indiana received it’s last football commitment, a verbal pledge from four-star Lawrence North quarterback Donaven McCulley. And yet, even in that time of relative quiet, IU’s class has gone through some small cosmetic changes.

That starts with McCulley, who recently moved up one spot in the 247 Sports rankings for the state of Indiana. The dual-threat prospect is now ranked second in the state behind Notre Dame commit Blake Fisher, a four-star tackle out of Avon. Looking at the in-state top 10, Indiana currently has three of those players — McCulley, defensive end Cooper Jones and tight end Aaron Steinfeldt — committed to its 2021 class. Steinfeldt, a three-star Bloomington North product, also made a recent jump, moving up eight spots to No. 9. Jones, a three-star recruit out of Valparaiso, dropped two spots to No. 7.

Another highly-regarded Hoosier State prospect, Brownsburg tackle Joshua Sales, is a priority target for Indiana. Sales recently rocketed nine spots in the 247 rankings to No. 3 in the state. If IU were to land Sales (and keep him, along with everyone else, committed through signing day, of course), it would give Indiana its most top-10 in-state recruits since Tom Allen began recruiting from the head coach’s office during the class of 2018 cycle. In 2019, Allen landed three recruits ranked inside the state’s top 10, per 247 Sports: Sampson James (4), Cameron Williams (6), Beau Robbins (7).

Altogether, IU’s current nine-man class is ranked No. 14 in the Big Ten and No. 62 nationally — nothing particularly special at first glance. However, it should be noted that IU’s average rating per player (.8648) is the highest in program history. That average also ranks Indiana ninth among conference programs at the moment.

Allen said in March that he expects the 2021 class will be the program’s smallest since he arrived as an assistant in 2016, and given the current construction of the group, IU seems committed to its approach of quality over quantity.