SEC Football: Jadeveon Clowney and Top 10 Storylines After National Signing Day
With analysts ranking as many as eight SEC schools among the nation's Top 20 recruiting classes, it's clear that the conference will be feeling the effects of this recruiting season for a long time. And of course, the recruiting season isn't even over, thanks to two of the country's top high schoolers (including consensus #1 DE Jadeveon Clowney) delaying their decisions.
Who came out on top? Who still has work to do? Read on for ten stories to watch for in college football's toughest conference.
10. Vanderbilt Gets a Glimmer of Hope
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Perpetual cellar-dwellers in the SEC East, the Commodores made a surprisingly strong push in recruiting behind new head coach James Franklin. Offensive talents like hulking (6’7”, 240) TE Dillon van der Wal and QB/ATH Lafonte Thourogood were pried away from programs like Arizona State and Virginia Tech.
The new additions aren’t going to magically turn Vandy into a contender. But as building blocks for the future, they look a lot better than fans have seen in recent years.
9. Mississippi State Misses an Opportunity
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The Bulldogs are coming off a nine-win season, a rarity in recent years in Starkville. Head coach Dan Mullen needed to parlay that success into a strong recruiting class to keep Mississippi State on the right side of .500 in the future.
Instead, the Bulldogs landed talented DT P.J. Jones…and no other recruits above three stars.
Two high-profile recruits, LB C.J. Johnson and WR Nickolas Brassell, both switched their decisions from State to Ole Miss in spite of last year’s 4-8 finish in Oxford. The Bulldogs could be set to spend several years thinking about what might have been.
8. Steve Spurrier Keeps Building Momentum
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The South Carolina head coach has stayed patient throughout the process of building the Gamecocks into a team that must be taken seriously on the national stage. As he showed last year by holding onto in-state star Marcus Lattimore, Spurrier is starting to reap the benefits of his program-building.
This year’s class, even without yet-to-sign DE Jadeveon Clowney, features 5-star O-lineman Brandon Shell. Standout defenders like DT Phillip Dukes and S Sheldon Royster also give fans reason to believe that South Carolina isn’t going away anytime soon.
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7. Tennessee's Rebuilding Project Won't Be Finished Overnight
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After a rough few years in Knoxville, fans are counting on coach Derek Dooley to bring the national spotlight back to Rocky Top.
They’ll need to wait a few more years.
The Vols recruiting class is deep and talented, but lacks the kind of star power that would change the team’s fortunes in the immediate future. A solid crop of offensive linemen anchored by Antonio Richardson provides a strong foundation, but isn’t a recipe for a quick fix.
OLB A.J. Johnson and OLB/DE Curt Maggitt may have to contribute soon to bolster a pass rush, of which no one had more than 5 sacks a year ago.
6. Will Muschamp Is Off To a Fine Start at Florida
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Despite having less than two months to hit the recruiting trail since being hired in Gainesville, Muschamp put together a high-impact class. DBs Marcus Roberson (formerly an Auburn commit) and Louchiez Purifoy will help the Gators stand up to the SEC’s perennial supply of NFL-bound QBs.
On the offensive side, Muschamp plans to move away from Urban Meyer’s spread and may have found his quarterback of the future in Jeff Driskel, the country’s top-rated signal-caller. Driskel will have help from the likes of FB Hunter Joyer and TE A.C. Leonard, also among the best at their positions.
5. The Future Is Now For Georgia
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The Bulldogs are coming off a 6-7 season in which they didn’t beat a single team with a winning record. Even without impressing on the field though, the Bulldogs must have impressed recruits, because they brought home a dazzling 2011 class.
Georgia nabbed two 5-star recruits, DE Ray Drew and RB Isaiah Crowell, the latter plucked from the jaws of Alabama on Wednesday. LB Kent Turene also picked the ‘Dogs (over USC) on Wednesday, joining DBs Malcolm Mitchell and Damian Swann in a tremendous defensive crop.
Now Mark Richt has to decide which of these prized additions to immediately throw into the SEC fires as the Bulldogs look to regroup in 2011.
4. Auburn Digs In To Defend Its Title
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There’s little doubt that Auburn’s national championship had a major impact on their fortunes in recruiting. Gene Chizik and his staff seem to have made the best of that advantage, and their recruiting class is universally regarded as among the best in the country.
The Tigers’ traditional strength on the offensive line looks to continue well into the future with the additions of Christian Westerman and Reese Dismukes. The backfield also got some promising additions with RBs Quan Bray, Tre Mason and QB Kiehl Frazier.
Possibly the biggest signings though, were two standout DBs, Erique Florence and Jonathan Rose. These players should soon be able to provide relief for a secondary that looked shell-shocked at times last season.
3. Alabama Wins The Last-Minute Signee Battle...For Now
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The Tide landed two high-profile surprises on Wednesday when DE Jeoffrey Pagan and RB/LB Brent Calloway chose Alabama after previously committing to Clemson and Auburn, respectively.
But Wednesday wasn’t the end of the recruiting trail. Two of the top recruits in the country, OL Cyrus Kouandijo and DE Jadeveon Clowney, have yet to sign anywhere.
Alabama is in the running for both stars. Kouandijo committed to Auburn on national TV, then decided that he hadn’t decided yet. Clowney hasn’t announced anything.
If Auburn lands Kouandijo, he could make this race a dead heat. If ‘Bama gets either of the two unsigned players, they’ll cement their position as the best finishers of this recruiting season.
2. Cyrus Kouandijo Keeps Everyone in Suspense
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After a nationally-televised announcement of a player’s choice of school, his signing a letter of intent is usually automatic.
But not for Cyrus Kouandijo.
Kouandijo, the top offensive line prospect in the country, had been expected to join his older brother Arie at Alabama, but appeared to be wavering as signing day approached. Wednesday, he announced that he’d chosen arch rival Auburn instead.
But Kouandijo’s letter of intent still hasn’t reached Auburn, or Alabama or anyone else. No one knows when Kouandijo will sign, or where, but speculation is rampant that his delayed decision may be a good sign for ‘Bama.
Both the Tigers and the Tide have superior recruiting classes without Kouandijo, but whoever lands him will get a major confidence boost heading into the spring.
1. South Carolina Remains the Front-Runner for Jadeveon Clowney
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Clowney, a defensive end uniformly regarded as the top prospect in the country, hails from Rock Hill, SC. If Spurrier and company can convince him to stay at home (and he appears to be theirs to lose), they’ll get a significant boost to what was already a strong class.
But until Clowney signs (which is expected to happen on his birthday, Feb. 14), he’ll be a very large target for other schools.
Clemson, which pulled off a coup in grabbing two 5-star linebackers on Wednesday, also has the home-state appeal going for them. Alabama is also thought to be high on Clowney’s list, and if they can land him, the Tide will have an overwhelming argument for the top class in the country.
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