National Signing Day 2012: The Top Commitment from Every SEC School

The SEC is the most competitive conference in college football. In order to win consistently, coaches must sign the best players.

The addition of Missouri and Texas A&M only force coaches to work harder on the recruiting front.

Most teams in the conference had a solid recruiting class, but each group has one player that stands out among the rest.

Here are the top commitments from each school in the SEC. 

Alabama

Landon Collins, Safety

Cyrus Jones might have a more immediate impact at wide receiver with his speed and playmaking ability, but Alabama has built its dynasty on defense.

Landon Collins will continue the great tradition of defense that Nick Saban has instilled with the Crimson Tide, even if his mom wanted differently.

Collins is great in both coverage and against the run, and by the end of his time at Alabama, he should be one of the best defensive players in the country.

He will definitely help make up for all the players leaving the school to play in the NFL after this past season.

Arkansas

Jonathan Williams, Running Back

Arkansas fans are still holding out hope that their team will sign one of the top players in the country, wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, but as of now the best commitment is Jonathan Williams.

The running back is very fast for his size and will be able to break a lot of long carries for the Razorbacks.

Since the team did not really utilize the run last season, Williams could step in right away and give some relief to quarterback Tyler Wilson.

With the right opportunity, Williams could be one of the biggest-impact freshman in the conference next season.

Auburn

Ricky Parks, Tight End

Auburn received a few solid commitments this season from defensive studs like Cassanova McKinzy, Tyler Nero and Josh Holsey.

However, Ricky Parks has the biggest potential of the entire class.

With the NFL starting to utilize tight ends more often, everyone wants to find the guy who can create mismatches. That is exactly what Parks can do.

He has incredible athleticism that allowed him to play quarterback and linebacker in high school, but he has the size and speed to be elite at tight end.

It might take a few years for him to realize his potential, but Parks will be one of the best in the country at his position by the time he is done.

Florida

D.J. Humphries, Offensive Tackle

D.J. Humphries is as solid as they come.

The offensive tackle has perfect form and knows exactly how to play his position well. 

He will need to add some weight in order to succeed at the college level, but standing at 6'6", he will have room to put on plenty of mass with a collegiate strength program.

Once he adds that size, Humphries can become the most dominant offensive lineman in the country and be a weekly fixture at left tackle for the Florida Gators.

Georgia

Jordan Jenkins, Defensive End

Georgia pulled in a solid recruiting class this offseason, but Jordan Jenkins might be the best of the bunch.

The local defensive end selected the Bulldogs over Alabama, and the Crimson Tide will be sorry to lose him.

Jenkins has as much speed as anyone at the position, and he will perfectly fit into Georgia's 3-4 scheme with a similar role to current Bulldog Jarvis Jones.

In addition to Jenkins, Georgia also boosted the offense with highly touted running backs Keith Marshall and Todd Gurley.

Kentucky

Patrick Towles, Quarterback

The most important thing Kentucky can do on the recruiting front is make sure they keep the most talented local players from leaving.

The Wildcats were able to do that this season by securing Mr. Football from Kentucky in quarterback Patrick Towles.

During his senior season, Towles totaled 42 passing touchdowns and another 15 on the ground. Still, the quarterback only threw one interception all year. This speaks highly about his accuracy and decision-making ability.

It should not be long before Towles is starting under center for the Wildcats.

LSU

Torshiro Davis, Outside Linebacker

LSU did not get a lot of elite talent in this year's recruiting class, but there are a ton of solid players that will build into another great team for the school.

The best recruit of this offseason is most likely Torshiro Davis, an outside linebacker who will be able to rush the quarterback as well as anyone in the country.

He still has to improve in coverage, but with the coaching of Les Miles, he will be a star in a few years.

Ole Miss

Channing Ward, Defensive End

Without the addition of Channing Ward, Ole Miss would have had one of the worst recruiting classes in the country, but fortunately Ward is a legitimate stud.

The defensive end decided to stay with his local school despite scholarship offers from Alabama, Auburn and LSU.

He has great technique on the line and is very skilled at getting past his opponent.

This will translate well to the college level, even when offensive lineman get bigger, stronger and faster.

Mississippi State

Quay Evans, Defensive Tackle

Often in football, the defensive tackle only has one job to do—take on blockers and let everyone else do the rest.

Quay Evans not only does that, but he makes tons of plays by himself.

The defensive tackle has great strength to push back the linemen, plus has enough speed to disrupt the action in the backfield.

He is a force at the position and will be able to slow down running games all by himself.

Evans already has solid size, so he should be making an impact for the Bulldogs relatively soon.

Missouri

Evan Boehm, Offensive Lineman

If Missouri wants to be able to compete in the SEC, it will have to start recruiting as well as the rest of the conference.

This year's class was light on top talent, but the Tigers were able to get a commitment from offensive lineman Evan Boehm.

Boehm was an Under Armour All-American and can play anywhere on the offensive line, although he will most likely settle in at center.

According to Scout.com, Boehm is rated as the top center in the country.

South Carolina

Shaq Roland, Wide Receiver

South Carolina had a great recruiting class this offseason, and no one was a bigger commitment than wide receiver Shaq Roland.

Roland is not the tallest player on the field, but he has the ability to go up and grab a jump ball as well as anyone in the country.

He has great speed and will be able to immediately replace the departed Alshon Jeffery as the go-to receiver on the team.

On a side note, there a lot of kids coming through recruiting named "Shaq" nowadays. The Big Diesel must be proud. 

Tennessee

LaDarrell McNeil, Safety

Some safeties stop passes over the middle by consistently showcasing great coverage.

LaDarrell McNeil chooses to hit people so hard no player wants to come near him again.

McNeil is an excellent tackler to help the team defend against the run and provides enough intimidation to assist in the passing game.

Although the safety technically is still considering other schools like Oklahoma State, the Volunteers should feel pretty good about retaining this quality athlete.

Texas A&M

Trey Williams, Running Back

Trey Williams will not be the biggest running back, but it will not matter if no one can get a hand on him.

The Houston native is one of the best in the country at his position, and it is thanks to his outstanding speed.

If Williams is given even the smallest of holes, he can break through for a long gain.

He will have to work his way up to being the feature back for Texas A&M, but as a threat to score from anywhere on the field, you can be certain that he will get plenty of carries right away for the Aggies.

Vanderbilt

Brian Kimbrow, Running Back

Defensive end Josh Dawson could end up being the best player in the class for Vanderbilt, but he is still considering Georgia despite a verbal commitment to the Commodores.

In the meantime, Brian Kimbrow is more than worthy of this selection.

With a 40-yard dash time of 4.28, the running back is one of the fastest players in the country at any position. In reality, one of the fastest in any sport.

He has the ability to turn short plays into long ones and can be valuable either in the backfield or as a returner on special teams.

With a solid overall class, coach James Franklin is slowly changing the culture at Vanderbilt toward a winning program.