Early Signing Day may not have the intrigue it once had, but high school recruiting is still the backbone of most teams’ success. Using the composite rankings from our friends at On3, here’s a look at the SEC Recruiting Class Power Rankings.
SEC Recruiting Class Power Rankings
The rankings next to each team are from On3’s composite rankings.
16) Vanderbilt – Ranking: 40
Total Commits: 20
Highest Ranked Recruit: Dontae Carter, No. 10 Safety
It will always be tough sledding at Vanderbilt, but Clark Lea and company have quietly assembled a strong class. The Commodores’ top three recruits are from the Southwest as they continue to recruit that region well.
MORE: What’s the Latest on Jordan Seaton, the Nation’s No. 1 Tackle?
The biggest weakness in this class is a lack of impact linemen. Time will tell if the Commodores can develop some lower-ranked offensive linemen into quality SEC starters.
15) Arkansas – Ranking: 30
Total Commits: 17
Highest Ranked Recruit: Charleston Collins, No. 11 DL
Arkansas has lost quite a bit of talent in the transfer portal, and this feels like a make-or-break class for Sam Pittman. This is a smaller class for the Razorbacks, with some talented players at the top. However, the Razorbacks haven’t gained a new commitment in nearly five months and just lost highly-touted running back Jadan Baugh.
Arkansas needs some momentum but does have three recruits ranked inside the top 300 in this class.
14) Mississippi State – Ranking: 27
Total Commits: 22
Highest Ranked Recruit: JJ Harrell, No. 32 WR
As is often the case, recruiting in the SEC is extremely difficult. The Bulldogs and new head coach Jeff Lebby sit 28th overall in the On3 composite rankings but next to last in the SEC. Lebby has mostly tried to keep the class together while using previous relationships to flip a player or two.
The Bulldogs secured late commitments from two of their top five players in the class, including quarterback Michael Van Buren.
13) Kentucky – Ranking: 25
Total Commits: 21
Highest Ranked Recruit: Brian Robinson, No. 14 EDGE
Kentucky has put together an excellent transfer class and will supplement it with a strong defensive class from the high school ranks. The Wildcats have four players ranked inside the top 300, all defenders.
Defensive linemen Robinson and twins Jerod and Jacob Smith highlight the top of the class.
12) Missouri – Ranking: 24
Total Commits: 20
Highest Ranked Recruit: Williams Nwaneri, No. 1 EDGE
Missouri has pulled a number of five-star recruits in recent seasons, largely thanks to an influx of talent in the St. Louis area. Nwaneri is ranked as the top overall recruit in the country by On3 and is the only player in the top five of all four services.
The Tigers just secured a commitment from four-star receiver Courtney Crutchfield, who joins Nwaneri as the gems of a top-heavy class.
11) South Carolina – Ranking: 20
Total Commits: 16
Highest Ranked Recruit: Dylan Stewart, No. 3 EDGE
South Carolina has quietly put together one of the best top-end classes in the country. For the first time in rankings history, the Gamecocks will sign two five-star recruits in Stewart and offensive tackle Josiah Thompson.
Joining Thompson in one of the country’s best offensive line classes are in-state tackle Kam Pringle and Blake Franks. Overall, the Gamecocks will sign nine top 300 recruits, which is still only good for the 11th-best SEC class.
10) Ole Miss – Ranking: 19
Total Commits: 21
Highest Ranked Recruit: Kamarion Franklin, No. 8 DL
Ole Miss is still on fire in the transfer portal this season, so the Rebels don’t have to worry as much about high school recruiting. Still, they’ve put together a balanced recruiting class.
Franklin can play as a freshman, and the Rebels also signed the top junior college receiver in the country, Deion Smith.
9) Florida – Ranking: 16
Total Commits: 18
Highest Ranked Recruit: DJ Lagway, No. 2 QB
This may end up being known as the class that could have been for the Gators, but they did a nice job of holding onto Lagway and five-star defensive lineman LJ McCray despite late pushes from top-ranked programs.
MORE: Timeline of Events During DJ Lagway’s Signing Day
Still, the Gators lost several high-profile commits late in the process and dropped out of the top five and almost out of the top 10 entirely.
8) Tennessee – Ranking: 13
Total Commits: 21
Highest Ranked Recruit: Mike Matthews, No. 6 WR
The Volunteers don’t have the flashiest class in the country, but it’s a strong group from top to bottom.
Matthews is one of 11 top 300 recruits in a group that includes three offensive linemen, a quarterback, and several players at skill positions. This is one of the deeper classes in the SEC.
7) Texas A&M – Ranking: 12
Total Commits: 16
Highest Ranked Recruit: Terry Bussey, No. 2 Athlete
Even through a coaching change, the Aggies could keep a good part of their already strong class together. The commitment numbers are low, but it’s a strong class at the top.
The Aggies hold commitments from eight top 300 prospects, including Bussey and defensive lineman Dominick McKinley, both five-star recruits.
6) LSU – Ranking: 10
Total Commits: 27
Highest Ranked Recruit: Trey’Dez Green, No. 1 TE
The Tigers boast the second-best class in the country that doesn’t contain a five-star. They put together such a class by stacking highly-ranked four-star recruits from across the country, led by the local product, Green.
The Tigers have 13 players ranked inside the top 300 and did well in-state, locking down nine of the top 11 recruits from Louisiana.
5) Oklahoma – Ranking: 8
Total Commits: 27
Highest Ranked Recruit: David Stone, No. 1 DL
Despite some recent transfers out of the program, the sky is not falling for Oklahoma. The Sooners gained the signature of the top interior defensive lineman in the country in Stone and grabbed a nice haul at the skill positions.
Oklahoma still needs to fill some holes along the offensive line, but did grab 11 total players from the top 300 in the rankings.
4) Auburn – Ranking: 7
Total Commits: 21
Highest Ranked Recruit: Cam Coleman, No. 2 WR
The Tigers took advantage of a strong in-state class in Hugh Freeze’s first full recruiting cycle by inking four of the top 100 recruits in the country, all from the state of Alabama.
Coleman is the jewel of the class and will pair nicely with fellow five-star receiver Perry Thompson in what should be a very good passing attack in the near future.
3) Texas – Ranking: 5
Total Commits: 22
Highest Ranked Recruit: Collin Simmons, No. 2 EDGE
In its first Signing Day as an SEC team, Texas had a strong showing, pulling in multiple five-star recruits and flipping 4-star safety Xavier Filsaime from Florida.
The Longhorns have assembled a strong class that includes players from all over the country. They certainly improved with this class and built on the momentum of making the College Football Playoff.
2) Alabama – Ranking: 2
Total Commits: 25
Highest Ranked Recruit: Julian Sayin, No. 1 QB
Perhaps no team finished out the Early Signing Period as well as the Crimson Tide as they were able to flip multiple highly-rated recruits from other national powers.
The gem of the class is obviously Sayin, the country’s top passer from California, who chose Alabama over the likes of Georgia, LSU, and others.
1) Georgia – Ranking: 1
Total Commits: 28
Highest Ranked Recruit: Ellis Robinson IV, No. 1 CB
Georgia yet again finishes a recruiting cycle at the top. The Bulldogs took early commitments from most of their class and held on wire-to-wire while pulling off a few late flips.
The icing on top was flipping five-star safety KJ Bolden from Florida State at the last minute to give the Bulldogs three of the top 13 recruits in the country.