SEC Football: Power Ranking the Conference's 2011 Recruiting Classes
The SEC is the top and most competitive conference in college football—bar none. There is a reason that the last five BCS national champions have all hailed from this tough conference.
About recruiting, retired Florida coach Urban Meyer has recently said: "Whatever stories or myths you've heard about the recruiting battles in the SEC, they're true. Trust me."
Let's rank the SEC's incoming recruiting classes at this point.
12. Vanderbilt
1 of 12
Total commits: 12
5-star commits: none
4-star commits: none
Running back JJ Keels is the top player in the class and his 4.4 speed will be welcomed by the new staff at Vandy. Watch out for Derek King: He is listed as an athlete but he could play receiver, running back and corner, as well as return kicks with his quickness and ability to change directions.
This is a heavy offensive-laden class, including four offensive linemen to beef up the trenches. Both defensive players are ends, including Keith Heitzman, who could be moved to outside linebacker.
11. Kentucky
2 of 12
Total commits: 19
5-star commits: none
4-star commits: one
The Wildcats have to be stoked with the pledge of East St. Louis defensive back Glenn Faulkner, a big defensive back at 6'2" and nearly 200 pounds, who could see time at safety and corner. Coaches will fight over where John Davis will line up, as the 6'3", 230-pound stud has 4.6 speed and could be a tight end, linebacker, defensive end or dynamic fullback.
Kentucky is also still hot for in-state linebacker Lamar Dawson, who they have let it be known how badly he is wanted by the Wildcats.
10. Mississippi State
3 of 12
Total commits: 21
5-star commits: none
4-star commits: one
Dan Mullen lost out on Tobias Singleton, yet defensive back pledge Jermaine Whitehead has the talent to match up with him for the next four years. Receiver Joseph Morrow is a 6'5" pass-catching threat who will look to use his size, and James Maiden is a potential impact player on the defensive line.
MSU has gone for athleticism and versatility in this class, as evidenced by the four players committed who are listed as athletes, along with four defensive backs.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
9. South Carolina
4 of 12
Total commits: 26
5-star commits: none
4-star commits: four
The Gamecocks, fresh off winning the SEC East division in 2010, were stunned when Lateek Townsend pledged to rival Clemson over them during the Army game last week. While losing out on Townsend is a blow, this class is still pretty talented.
Kenny Quarles and Brandon Shell are the top two players and both will beef up the defensive and offensive fronts, respectively. Shell is a 6'7" tackle who could play on the left or right, while Quarles has the strength to play tackle and athletic ability to play strong-side end.
The Gamecocks are also thick in the running for a certain defensive end prospect from pipeline South Pointe High School.
8. Tennessee
5 of 12
Total commits: 20
5-star commits: none
4-star commits: five
Derek Dooley has hit Round 2 of his recruiting cycle hard with four 4-star pledges for the Vols. Justin Coleman and Pat Martin give the Vols two playmaking defenders to deploy in the secondary, and Mo Couch is a load in the middle at defensive tackle.
Receiver DeAnthony Arnett is the crown jewel as he is a flat-out playmaker. While he is a bit thin at 6'0" and 170 pounds, some southern cookin' and weight training will fill him out. With strength and bulk, Arnett will combine his speed and instincts to score touchdowns in Knoxville.
7. Arkansas
6 of 12
Total commits: 27
5-star commits: none
4-star commits: six
Bobby Petrino has made his mark in football by being a dynamic offensive coach. So it's not a shock that his top three players in this recruiting class are offensive players. Brey Cook is college-sized right now at 6'7" and 315 pounds and has the tools to be an excellent tackle. Brandon Allen is more than a consolation prize for Kiehl Frazier at quarterback. Petrino also beat out Oklahoma for talented tight end Chris Barnett.
Not to put all his eggs in one basket, Petrino also has defensive tackle Lonnie Gosha and defensive back Tevin Mitchel in the fold.
6. Ole Miss
7 of 12
Total commits: 26
5-star commits: none
4-star commits: six
The Rebels are filling out their class in numbers, with 26 pledges to come to Oxford. They beat out UCLA and MSU for Tobias Singleton, who will form an admirable receiving tandem with Donte Moncrief. Both receivers are 6'2" and both can beat you deep. Aaron Morris and Ethan Hutson will give those two time to haul in touchdown passes with protection upfront.
Floyd Raven gives Ole Miss a big defensive back to patrol the top of the defense against SEC offenses.
5. Florida
8 of 12
Total commits: 16
5-star commits: one
4-star commits: seven
New coach Will Muschamp and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis have to be excited about quarterback Jeff Driskel, the nation's top prospect at his position. Driskel showed during the Under Armour game that he is more athletic than given credit for and he has a cannon arm. Running back Mike Blakely is a talented rock-toter who should dazzle in Gainesville.
Other talented future Gator stars include players like Jabari Gorman, AC Leonard and Louchiez Purifoy.
4. Georgia
9 of 12
Total commits: 18
5-star commits: none
4-star commits: nine
Hands down, right now, Christian LeMay is the star of the class. He is a talented quarterback who wins football games with his smarts and talent. The chance for him to watch current starter Aaron Murray work and step in when Murray leaves will add to LeMay's seasoning to be the starter of the future.
Damian Swann, while rumored to be wavering a bit in his commitment, gives the Dawgs versatility and athleticism, and Sterling Bailey surely will terrorize SEC quarterbacks.
3. LSU
10 of 12
Total commits: 21
5-star commits: one
4-star commits: nine
La'El Collins and Anthony Johnson have the makings to be all-SEC performers, while Kenny Hilliard is another future Baton Rouge star. Les Miles stayed at LSU for a reason: supreme talent. This class is loaded top to bottom and has a good amount of depth.
Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham could be a future touchdown-machine tandem at receiver, and incoming junior college quarterback Zach Mettenberger could unseat incumbent Jordan Jefferson by the time camp breaks in the late summer.
2. Auburn
11 of 12
Total commits: 17
5-star commits: one
4-star commits: seven
Jonathan Rose may have a future in recruiting after his playing days, as the newly-crowned national champs should thank him for luring Brent Calloway away from Tuscaloosa to pledge War Eagle.
Kiehl Frazier could be the heir apparent to Cam Newton and Gus Malzahn will be instrumental in his development at Auburn.
Aside from Rose, Frazier and Calloway, the Tigers have prep stars such as Quan Bray, Robenson Therezie, Greg Robinson and Jaylon Denson ready to play for Gene Chizik.
1. Alabama
12 of 12
Total commits: 21
5-star commits: one
4-star commits: 15
Not only does Alabama take the top spot in the SEC recruiting rankings, they also hold the national top spot as well.
We'll get to the prep commits for the Tide in a moment, but first we have to note that they have signed three 4-star JC players, including the top JC prospect, defensive tackle Jesse Williams, who certainly will have an impact immediately.
HaSean Clinton-Dix and Dee Hart are two of the most talented prospects overall in the country this year. Hart, a running back, chose the Tide over Michigan, and Dix, a safety, will look to stick with 'Bama over LSU.
The depth and star power in this class is amazing, with Marvin Shinn, Xzavier Dickson, Trey DePriest and Phillip Ealy just to name a few.
The scary thing is Alabama is not done as they are in the running for some of the top uncommitted prospects in the country.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
