No conference comes close to recruiting the level of talent the SEC does. But could the SEC put together a better all-star lineup than all the other conferences could combined? We'll update this monthly through National Signing Day in February in order to find out.
To find out, we used the 247 Sports Composite recruiting rankings (in which the current top three teams belong to the SEC, along with eight of the top 13) to take the top 2015 recruits currently committed to SEC teams and the top recruits currently committed elsewhere, then put them into separate two-deeps.
What we found was that the SEC's best two teams are comprised of 11 five-stars and 37 four-stars, while the combined rest of FBS has seven five-stars and 41 four-stars. That's a very small difference, but it is still ridiculous that one conference can out-recruit all the other conferences by any measure at all.
The major five-star advantages for the SEC came along the defensive line, where the top three in the country are all committed, and the defensive backfield. The line edge is unsurprising, because the South overwhelmingly has more elite defensive line recruits than any other region in the country.
It's impressive for a school to have more than a player or two make it, but Alabama has a ridiculous 13 on the two teams. That's more than Texas A&M, which has seven, and Georgia, which has six, and almost triple the number from any other SEC school.
On the non-SEC side of the docket, Clemson leads the way with six, while Florida State Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame and USC each contribute four.
First teams
| The SEC | The world | |||||
| Player | School | * | Player | School | * | |
| Blake Barnett | Alabama | 5 | QB | Josh Rosen | UCLA | 5 |
| Barnett is known as a runner, but his arm strength, accuracy and football IQ impressed on the summer camp circuit. | Rosen has advanced knowledge of the game and a big arm. He's been one of the best in high school for several years. | |||||
| Kerryon Johnson | Auburn | 4 | RB | Taj Griffin | Oregon | 4 |
| Johnson is an electric athlete with great return skills. | Griffin is one of the most explosive players in the country, and we hope he comes back healthy from his recently torn ACL. | |||||
| Derrius Guice | LSU | 4 | RB | Johnny Frazier | Florida State | 4 |
| Guice runs with great balance | Frazier plays lackluster competition but dominates like a star back is expected to. | |||||
| Calvin Ridley | Alabama | 5 | WR | Deon Cain | Clemson | 5 |
| Ridley is almost 20 years old, and the South Florida star plays like it, getting open downfield and making tough catches look easy. | Cain's routes and instincts at the position are all the more impressive when you realize that he plays QB in high school. | |||||
| Preston Williams | Tennessee | 5 | WR | George Campbell | Florida State | 4 |
| At 6'4 with very nice speed, Williams likely has the most potential of any receiver in this class. | Campbell is a tall receiver with blazing speed. | |||||
| Van Jefferson | Georgia | 4 | WR | Brian Cole | Michigan | 4 |
| Jefferson is an electric athlete. | Cole is an explosive prospect capable of taking any play the distance. | |||||
| Hale Hentges | Alabama | 4 | TE | Aliz'e Jones | UCLA | 4 |
| Hentges is a versatile, balanced tight end prospect. | Jones is extremely athletic and could turn into a matchup nightmare. | |||||
| Maea Teuhema | LSU | 5 | OL | Mitch Hyatt | Clemson | 5 |
| Teuhema is a massive tackle prospect out of Texas and should be a dominant run blocker early in his career. | Hyatt has such light feet for a player of his frame and length. He could be a superstar tackle as he adds bulk. | |||||
| Lester Cotton | Alabama | 4 | OL | Chuma Edoga | USC | 5 |
| The Tuscaloosa product has impressive potential at several spots on the line. | Edoga has some of the quickest feet I have seen in a lineman, and that drive allows him to play tackle despite less-than-ideal length. | |||||
| Richie Petitbon | Alabama | 4 | OL | Keenan Walker | Arizona | 4 |
| Petitbon is an extremely strong guard prospect for the Tide. | Walker has good length and athleticism. | |||||
| Drew Richmond | Ole Miss | 4 | OL | Jake Fruhmorgen | Clemson | 4 |
| Richmond is a tackle with great power who could also play guard. | An NFL legacy, Fruhmorgen could make a great book-end to Hyatt at Clemson. | |||||
| Jack Jones | Tennessee | 4 | OL | Tristen Hoge | Notre Dame | 4 |
| Jones is a versatile line commit for the Volunteers. | Hoge could turn into a very good college center or guard. | |||||
| Trent Thompson | Georgia | 5 | DL | Breiden Fehoko | Texas Tech | 4 |
| Thompson is a dominant 6'4, 292-pounder who is actually young for his grade level. | Fehoko has a nice blend of size and quickness. | |||||
| Khalil McKenzie | Tennessee | 5 | DL | Jashon Cornell | Ohio State | 4 |
| Son of Raiders GM and NFL star Reggie McKenzie, the 6'4, 325-pounder has rare quickness for a man of his size. | Cornell was a cornerstone signing for the Buckeyes class. | |||||
| Daylon Mack | Texas A&M | 5 | DL | Jacob Daniel | USC | 4 |
| Mack is an explosive player who plays with good leverage at 6'1, 325. | Daniel is a massive prospect who will be an anchor in the middle of the Trojans' defensive line. | |||||
| Shy Tuttle | Tennessee | 4 | DL | Clelin Ferrell | Clemson | 4 |
| Tuttle is very nimble for his size | Ferrell could develop into a dominant pass rusher. | |||||
| Leo Lewis | Ole Miss | 4 | LB | Justin Hilliard | Ohio State | 5 |
| Lewis might be the best inside linebacker in the country. | Hilliard is an explosive hitter and good in coverage as well. | |||||
| Darrell Williams | Auburn | 4 | LB | Jerome Baker | Ohio State | 4 |
| Williams has good mobility. | Baker is an explosive linebacker recruit | |||||
| Eli Brown | Kentucky | 4 | LB | Jahvoni Simmons | Virginia | 4 |
| Brown is a versatile linebacker with upside in coverage. | Simmons is a productive linebacker recruit. | |||||
| Kevin Toliver II | LSU | 5 | DB | Derwin James | Florida State | 5 |
| Toliver is a lockdown cornerback from Jacksonville and a long-time LSU commit | James is far and away the best safety in the country and has been committed to FSU for several years. | |||||
| Terry Godwin | Georgia | 5 | DB | Eric Glover-Williams | Ohio State | 4 |
| Gowdin is an extremely quick athlete with good size at 6'. He could play receiver or corner in Athens. | Glover Wiliams shows tremendous quickness at cornerback. | |||||
| Minkah Fitzpatrick | Alabama | 5 | DB | Isaiah Langley | USC | 4 |
| Fitzpatrick is one of the top cornerbacks in the country and has great size. | Langley showcases a lot of athleticism at the cornerback position. | |||||
| Deionte Thompson | Alabama | 5 | DB | Tyrek Cole | West Virginia | 4 |
| Thompson is a safety with great range and length. | Cole is one of the best pure cover corners in the country. | |||||
| Jamal Peters | Miss. State | 4 | DB | Shaun Crawford | Notre Dame | 4 |
| A big-time hitter with 6'3 size who can play in the box. | Crawford has elite quickness. | |||||
Second teams
| The SEC | The world | |||||
| Player | School | * | Pos | Player | School | * |
| Kyler Murray | Texas A&M | 5 | QB | Jarrett Stidham | Texas Tech | 5 |
| Desherrius Flowers | Alabama | 4 | RB | Larry Scott | Michigan State | 4 |
| Eric Swinney | Ole Miss | 4 | RB | Jordan Scarlett | Miami | 4 |
| Jordan Davis | Texas A&M | 4 | TE | Chris Clark | Michigan | 4 |
| Daylon Charlot | Alabama | 4 | WR | Ray Ray McCloud | Clemson | 4 |
| Derrick Dillon | Florida | 4 | WR | Alex Ofodile | Oregon | 4 |
| Jalen Christian | South Carolina | 4 | WR | John Burt | Texas | 4 |
| Connor Lanfear | Texas A&M | 4 | OL | Sterling Jenkins | Penn State | 4 |
| Keaton Sutherland | Texas A&M | 4 | OL | Abdul Bello | Florida State | 4 |
| Trevor Elbert | Texas A&M | 4 | OL | Patrich Vahe | Texas | 4 |
| Dallas Warmack | Alabama | 4 | OL | Toby Weathersby | Texas | 4 |
| Tyler Carr | Auburn | 4 | OL | Jerry Tillery | Notre Dame | 4 |
| Mekhi Brown | Alabama | 4 | DL | Darian Roseboro | N.C. State | 4 |
| Shameik Blackshear | S. Carolina | 4 | DL | Adam McLean | Penn State | 4 |
| Jonathan Ledbetter | Georgia | 4 | DL | Austin Bryant | Clemson | 4 |
| Natrez Patrick | Georgia | 4 | DL | Marquise Overton | Oklahoma | 4 |
| Joshua McMillon | Alabama | 4 | LB | Joah Barajas | Notre Dame | 4 |
| Richard McBryde | Auburn | 4 | LB | Cameron Smith | USC | 4 |
| Sherrod Pittman | S. Carolina | 4 | LB | Darrin Kirkland, Jr. | Michigan | 4 |
| Mark Fields | S. Carolina | 4 | DB | Garrett Taylor | Michigan | 4 |
| Shawn Burgess-Becker | Alabama | 4 | DB | John Reid | Penn State | 4 |
| Justin Dunning | Texas A&M | 4 | DB | Eric Lee | Nebraska | 4 |
| Rico McGraw | Georgia | 4 | DB | P.J. Mbanasor | Oklahoma | 4 |
| Xavier Lewis | LSU | 4 | DB | Jordan Whitehead | Pitt | 4 |
And this map shows each conference's currently committed five-stars (blue for the SEC, and red for everyone else):