Derrick Brown Tweets Top 8 Schools: Which Team Holds Edge for 5-Star DT?

Derrick Brown has everything a program wants in a defensive tackle. Strength. Size. Agility. A mean streak.

Brown has 25 offers, but on Monday, the 6'4", 309-pound brick wall trimmed his list to eight schools—all eight representing the SEC. He tweeted that Georgia, Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and LSU made the cut.

We know the conference, but when looking at favorites, keep your eye on the first three schools he tweeted. And consider the last school one to watch, as well.

Georgia has to be considered an early favorite. Georgia was one of his first offers, and with the campus being less than an hour from his home of Buford, Georgia, proximity will have an advantage. In an interview last month with Jake Reuse of Rivals.com, Brown said he speaks frequently with head coach Mark Richt, defensive line coach Tracy Rocker and defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt.

Georgia is the leader according to the 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions, but Auburn, LSU and Alabama are three schools who could challenge the Bulldogs in the race. Auburn and Alabama both are within reasonable driving distance from home, and both are contenders for SEC championships each year. Brown has made multiple unofficial visits to both schools.

And then there's LSU, a school Brown wanted to visit for last week's junior day but, according to Justin Rowland of Rivals.com, couldn't make the trip because of a scheduled student council retreat. He told Rowland that he was a fan of the team's defense, and an unofficial visit could take place around spring break.

Since November, Brown has been to Mississippi State, Alabama and Vanderbilt. He also wants to make visits to the four aforementioned schools, per Rowland.

Player-coach relationships will be very important as Brown looks to trim his list from eight. Defensive line coach Rodney Garner has been his primary contact at Auburn. Defensive coordinator Kirby Smart and defensive line coach Bo Davis are Brown's contacts at Alabama.

LSU is a wild card because of his budding relationships there. Defensive line coach Ed Orgeron is Brown's recruiting contact, and he told Rowland that while everything is still new, he likes Orgeron's passion for the game.

The winning school gets someone who can be an immediate impact player on the defensive line. Brown could be an all-conference player early in his career.

Georgia is hoping he'll be that kind of player in Athens. The other schools are hoping to do enough to make Georgia a runner-up in the race.

Damon Sayles is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. All player ratings are courtesy of 247Sports' composite ratings. Follow Damon via Twitter: @DamonSayles