It's getting to be a broken record when it comes to football recruiting. Last week's recruiting numbers are debatable as to just where teams finished in the national rankings-it is, after all, subjective. But what is not debatable is that once again when the smoke cleared, the SEC had brought home the best haul of them all.
Oh sure, there are other schools that were outstanding in the process, like Florida State, Texas and USC, but as a conference nobody outdid the Southeastern Conference.
In the ESPN rankings, six of the top 13 schools were SEC schools, with Alabama No. 2 and Auburn No. 3, and nine of the top 25 teams from Mike Slive's conference. In the Rivals.com rankings, the SEC placed four teams in the top seven, with Alabama ranked No. 1, and nine out of the top 24.
That's why the SEC has produced three of the last four Heisman Trophy winners and the last five national champions.
In other words, this past recruiting class is just simply a matter of the rich getting richer. Here are some of the players who made this an outstanding recruiting class and names you need to be familiar with from all across the conference.
At Alabama, defense was again a priority, which comes as no surprise given Nick Saban's penchant for defense. Four-star safety Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix of Orlando, Fla. has a size and speed and looks to be a sure bet to restock the Crimson Tide defense immediately. Defensive end Jeoffrey Pagan is a pass-rusher whom the Tide landed to help make up for the loss of Marcell Dareus to the NFL Draft. Defensive end Xzavier Dickson and outside linebacker Trey DePriest also round out a nice defensive class.
Auburn also did well by landing Christian Westerman from Chandler, Ariz. He is considered one of the top offensive tackles in the country, which is a big need for the defending national champions, who saw four off their offensive linemen graduate. Center Reese Dismukes is one of the top centers in the country and could step right into Ryan Pugh's vacated spot. Also keep an eye out for Kiehl Frazier, a quarterback from Springdale, Ark., who could be the next Cam Newton down the road.
There is no question that Mark Richt is under the gun to win right away at Georgia, and he brought in a class to reach that goal right away. Defensive end Ray Drew of Thomasville, Ga., is big and strong and has all the tools to create havoc off the edge for the Bulldogs. Five-star running back Isaiah Crowell was a big hit on signing day when he held up a bulldog puppy wearing a red Georgia sweater, which gives him props for originality and endeared him to Georgia fans. Richt called his signing class the "Dream Team" and with good reason.
LSU, again, had another outstanding class for Les Miles, which is par for the course. The highlight has to be "The Freak"-defensive tackle Anthony Johnson from New Orleans. Right up there with him is homegrown talent La'El Collins, a five-star prospect at left tackle.
The Florida Gators struggled last year settling on a replacement for Tim Tebow, but they might have their man in Orlando native Jeff Driskel. He has the size, arm strength and athleticism to step in and solve that problem for Will Muschamp and make an immediate impact behind center. If Driskel needs somebody to throw to, Ja'Juan Story of Brooksville, Fla., just might be his man for the next three or four years.
The Tennessee Vols have always had above-average receivers, and Derek Dooley reached all the way to Michigan for the next great one in DeAnthony Arnett of Saginaw. He has big-play ability as a pass-catcher and can do great things with the ball in his hands after the catch. The Vols also added the National Gatorade Player of the Year in quarterback Justin Worley of Rockhill, S.C.. He threw for 5,313 yards and 64 touchdowns as a senior in high school.
The lower tier of SEC teams in recruiting also brought in some players of note. Arkansas signed Mitch Smothers of Springdale, Ark., who is a talented offensive lineman. South Carolina landed safety Kadetrix Marcus and tight end Drew Owens. They also signed the brother of star receiver Alshon Jeffery, Shamier.
Ole Miss can boast of landing wide receiver Tobias Singleton and Cody Prewitt, who could help the Rebels on either offense or defense. They also did well with linebackers C.J. Johnson and Serderius Bryant. You can never have enough linebackers. Kentucky did great by signing offensive tackle Zach West, a Lexington native. Joker Phillips' aim was to beef up his offensive line and he did just that.
Mississippi State's biggest signee was wide receiver Joe Morrow from Ocean Springs, Miss., while Vanderbilt's best prospect is Lafonte Thourogood of Virginia Beach, Va., a versatile quarterback prospect.
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