Who Are the Early SEC Leaders and Losers in Football Commits for 2010?

Here we are, not even in fall practice, and the kids that haven't even played their senior season in high school are already committing to universities across the nation. Recruiting seems to get bigger, faster, and more publicized every year.

With a little help from my friends at Scout.com, let's look at the early leaders and losers in the SEC.

It seems that there have been and always will be the haves and have-nots in the SEC when it comes to recruiting. For years, Tennessee and Florida filled the NFL with much talent. Both have a long history of good recruiting.

Sadly, teams like Vanderbilt, South Carolina, and Mississippi have been getting the leftovers.

Recruiting is so important that it's one of the main factors in hiring a new head coach. The much kicked around Lane Kiffin was hired not for his ability as a game day head coach; quite frankly, that record sucked. 

What he does have a good history of is recruiting, and that's what tipped the scales in Tennessee's decision to hire him.

Tennessee's recruiting became stagnant the last year or two of the Phil Fulmer era, and it showed on the field. Building the talent base back up was job one for this new hire.

Auburn likewise went with a coach with a dismal head coaching record, but went with Gene Chizik because he had worked this area hard before and had friends in the high school coaching ranks that could help Auburn get a leg up on recruiting.

It was something they need being in the same state with the current King of Recruiting, Nick Saban.

The other new hire was Dan Mullen at Mississippi State, which needed an offensive-minded coach, which Mullen was, and also someone who could recruit the talent needed to make that offense work.

So how are the SEC haves doing against the recent have-nots? Starting at the top we have Alabama, ranked No. 2 overall (just behind Texas) and No. 1 in the SEC.

Top 25                                                  Top    5 Star   4 Star   3 Star  Not yet rated  

N'tl Rank  Team     Commits   Points   100    *****   ****    ***

2.       Alabama         14            2258       2         2           5          6                 1

3.       Florida            12            2105       2         1           6          5

8.       LSU                12            1473       3         0           4          8

17.     Georgia             5              913       1         0           4         1

21      Tennessee         8              697       1         1           0         4

These are clearly the haves since they are nationally ranked in the top 25. Lane Kiffin isn't quite living up to expectations so far.

Now let's look at the other "newbies" recruits so far.

N/R     Auburn               6                       0         0         0         4

N/R     Miss. State         4                       0         0         2         0

So far it seems that Auburn and Mississippi State may continue to be bottom feeders for a while longer, but the recruiting season is far from over.

The other conclusions you can draw from this, at least at this time, and it is purely based on the numbers right now: Tennessee is clearly ahead of the other new hires, but then Tennessee has been ahead of them no matter who the coaches have been for the last 20 years.

So far, the conclusion on Tennessee is, he's landed one great one and some ho-hum players. Tennessee is ranked about the same this year as many years past.

Though Kiffin has certainly brought attention to the program, it remains to be seen if he can fill all the holes. One great recruit doesn't fill the shelves.

Auburn's Tiger Prowl, with coaches dressed up like Good Humor ice cream salesmen riding around in limos and letting the recruits see all of the assistants at one time, got some headlines, some chuckles, and few quality recruits so far.

Tommy Tuberville has taken to duck hunting in recent years over playmaker hunting. Whether Chizik can do better is anybody's guess right now. So far it's a less than hoped for effort.

So far, the Bulldog head coach Dan Mullen has done little to help shed the nickname it's earned lately, Misery State. 

Everyone knew this would be the hardest team to work back into respectability quickly. 

Though rumors are that he's lining up a solid class, what he's put up so far shows that he may suffer what ultimately led a good coach, Sylvester Croom, to walk away—not enough good recruits.

For a more thorough breakdown of the numbers, the recruits themselves, and where your favorite team stands, go to our friends at Scout.com: http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=9&c=14&yr=2010

You can also check back here at Bleacher Report for more updates from myself and your favorite writers. 

Just remember, the game isn't over until the final whistle blows, and it's not even halftime yet. So if your favorite school is not doing well, it can get better, but not by a wide margin.

History tells us that teams ranked outside the top 25 at this point rarely make the top 10, and those like Mississippi State and Auburn rarely make it to the top 25, but there's always the exceptions.

Here's hoping your team is one of them.