SEC Media Days 2012: The Top Incoming Freshman for Each SEC School

The SEC Media Days are taking place this week and keep it here at Bleacher Report all the way through, as we'll have some fantastic coverage of the event wall to wall. Whether you want direct updates, reactions or more, we've got you covered. 

For this read, I'm going talk about incoming freshmen. The stars of tomorrow for the SEC as most of these soon-to-be freshmen are set to join their programs for camp coming up. Let's just take a quick rundown of each program's top incoming freshman.

Vanderbilt: Brian Kimbrow, RB/ATH

Kimbrow is a 5'9", 165-pounder that plays the game fast. He does it with quick feet, agility, burst and elusiveness. He can be deployed anywhere on the field from RB to in the slot to Wildcat QB.

Also, I think Kimbrow can factor as a both a punt and kick-off returner. Look for his speed to get him in on the field as a true freshman for James Franklin.

Texas A&M: Matt Davis, QB

I could have gone with Trey Williams, the jitterbug scat back, but Davis is a good one. He goes in the 6'1", 211-pound range and is a dual threat type.

He hurt his knee as a junior, but his sophomore film showed him making plays. He rebounded with a solid senior season and is already around to learn Kevin Sumlin's offense in College Station.

Davis has great arm strength, foot quickness, play speed and athleticism. 

Tennessee: LaDarrell McNeil, S

McNeil is a back end defender that can play both safety spots. He stands 6'2" and about 190 pounds and can hit like a mack truck. McNeil isn't Eric Berry, but he can play and factor early in his career.

From Texas, McNeil can quickly read run, locate the ball and squeeze down in the box with speed to make a stop. His length and size also allow him to battle for balls vs TEs and big WRs.

South Carolina: Shaq Roland, WR

From South Carolina, Roland joins the likes of Alshon Jeffrey, Marcus Lattimore and Jadaveon Clowney as top Palmetto State prospects to go play in Columbia.

A speedy and silky smooth 6'1", 180-pound WR, Roland is raw in his route running and nuances of the WR spot, but offers a big time high ceiling. His height, speed, quickness and RAC ability spell he could be special for Steve Spurrier.

Missouri: Dorial Green-Beckham, WR

This was a no brainer pick, as DGB is the top rated freshman nationally. He's a 6'6", 220-pound lumbering oak tree on the field that has excellent speed as well.

DGB can combat press with strength, work upfield with great build up speed, cut with ease at junction points to separate and has a strike zone the size of a city's zip code. He can make plays after the catch and also should grow into a great blocker too.

Mississippi State: Quay Evans, DT

Evans is a big time talent at DT that goes 6'2" and over 310 pounds. He flies off the ball at the snap, but it's his power and strength that are shocking. 

Evans can play as big as an elephant at the point of attack, as his strength allows him to punch blockers with thump, escape their clutches and go pursue the ball.

It's rare to see a trench player impact in the SEC as a true freshman, but Evans possibly could do just that for Dan Mullen. 

Ole Miss: Channing Ward, DE

I give Hugh Freeze credit in landing Ward, as he didn't commit to Ole Miss until after Freeze got there. Ward was a hot commodity among the SEC and chose to stay home after being sold on Freeze.

A 6'4", 240-pound DE/OLB, Ward has a thickly built frame to go along with length, good strength, snap quickness and pursuit speed.

He's athletically versatile and can be asked to an array of things from rushing the passer from the edges, standing up to combat the run and even dropping into the flats in zone coverage. 

LSU: Kwon Alexander, OLB

I wouldn't fault the LSU coaches or Alexander if they felt he should redshirt this year and get his knee all the way healed up. However, the 6'2", 210-pound defender could just be too good to be kept off the field.

Alexander has excellent range. Thanks to great speed, ability to sift through traffic laterally beating offensive linemen to spots and ball location skills to make tackles.

He's effective as a blitzer and can even hang in coverage with TEs and RBs.

Kentucky: Patrick Towles, QB

Towles is a big field general that has great size at 6'5" and nearly 235 pounds. He can see over the rush, keep himself downfield, survey the field and deliver strikes. It's going to be interesting to see how he develops for Kentucky.

Georgia: Keith Marshall, RB

In my opinion, Marshall is the most important true freshman in the SEC.. With the release of Isaiah Crowell, Georgia needs some more depth at the RB position.

However, Marshall won't just be a depth player in Athens, as this guy can ball with the best of 'em. A 5'11", 200-pounder from North Carolina, Marshall has elite speed and is one of the faster players already in the SEC.

He has a surging burst to run through alleys, good elusiveness and can skate to the endzone. 

Florida: D.J. Humphries, OT

Humphries is a remarkable athlete for a 6'6", 275-pounder.

He plays a lot like D'Brickashaw Ferguson of the Jets as he can just shadow rushers with set quickness, athleticism adjust and re-direct, natural knee bend and length.

Look for him to earn a ton of playing time as a true freshman for Florida. In fact, I predict Humphries to be starting as we come down the home stretch of the season.

Auburn: Avery Young, OT

Young is headed to The Plains via Florida, as the 6'5", 290-pounder can play all over the OL front. Young is gifted to play the LT position as he is very athletic.

He can hold his own on the power side of the front at RT while using his size and athleticism to be a great OG if needed. With Auburn building up their front over the past three recruiting cycles, look for Young to be among their better offensive linemen.

Arkansas: Jonathan Williams, RB

Williams comes to Arkansas after de-committing from Missouri then seeing Bobby Petrino fired, only to stick with his pledge. 

He's a talented 5'11", 205-pound rock toter with a great ability to finish runs with pop. Williams will attack the hole with speed and power, runs with solid vision and can shimmy out of traffic to get upfield. 

Alabama: Landon Collins, DB

From Louisiana, Collins has the combination of football talent and football smarts to get himself some playing time in Nick Saban's complicated defensive scheme as a true freshman.

He's 6'0", 210 pounds and can play FS, SS and even come down and play OLB. Collins has excellent play instincts, reads and recognizes both run and pass quickly, plays with great speed, athleticism and can factor in the box as well as on the back end.

He could be the next Mark Barron in Tuscaloosa. 

Edwin Weathersby has worked in scouting/player personnel departments for three professional football teams, including the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns and the Las Vegas Gladiators of the Arena League. He spent a year evaluating prep prospects & writing specific recruiting and scouting content articles for Student Sports Football (now ESPN Rise-HS). A syndicated scout and writer, he's also contributed to WeAreSC.com, GatorBait.net and Diamonds in the Rough Inc., a College Football and NFL Draft magazine.