No conference recruits football players like the SEC. It's commonplace for a fan of a school to celebrate a top-20 recruiting class on National Signing Day, and then soon after realize that his or her school was bested by more than half of the conference. Such is life in the SEC.
Here, every school pulls in good talent. But not all pull in elite talents. One way to demonstrate this is with an all-conference recruiting team.
The format is simple. Using the 247 Sports Composite of the four major recruiting rankings (Scout, Rivals, ESPN and 247), here are the top QB, two RBs, three WRs, TE, five OL, five DL, four LBs, and five DBs currently committed to SEC schools. We plan to update this team once a month or so through Signing Day in February.
Note: Every effort was made to slot players at the positions they'll be playing in college. Analysis follows the table.
Hello: LB Christian Miller (Alabama), DL Deondre Clark (LSU), DL Lamont Gaillard (Georgia), OL Roderick Taylor (Ole Miss), OL Isaiah Wynn (Georgia), WR Dominique Booth (Tennessee), WR Shaq Davidson (South Carolina)
Goodbye: LB Bryson Allen-Williams (South Carolina), DL Dontavius Russell (Georgia), DL Denzel Ware (Kentucky), OL Joshua Casher (Auburn), OL Will Clap (LSU), WR Thaddeus Snodgradd (Kentucky), WR Jamoral Graham (Mississippi State)
| Player | From | Stars | Committed to |
Quarterback | |||
| Quite a few teams have quarterbacks rated four-stars or higher, and this race was very tight. | |||
| Kyle Allen | Scottsdale (Ariz) Desert Mountain | 5 | Texas A&M |
| Allen is the most college-ready quarterback in the country, and will have a good shot to start as a freshman should Johnny Football leave early for the NFL. | |||
Backs | |||
| The running backs haul for the conference is absolutely ridiculous. Two five-star talents were left off the list in Jalen Hurd and Bo Scarbrough. | |||
| Sony Michel | Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage | 5 | Georgia |
| Michel is the consensus No. 2 back nationally. For more on Georgia football recruiting, visit Dawg Sports. | |||
| Dalvin Cook | Miami (Fla.) Central | 5 | Florida |
| Cook is the consensus No. 4 back nationally. | |||
Wide Receiver | |||
| The SEC has started a bit slow when it comes to receiver recruiting, and I would expect to see movement at this position. | |||
| Shaq Davidson | Gaffney (S.C.) | 4 | South Carolina |
| Davidson is an explosive receiver recruit. | |||
| Dominique Booth | Indianapolis (In.) Pike | 4 | Tennessee |
| Booth is a very solid receiver prospect who can make the tough catches. | |||
| Derek Kief | Cincinnati (Ohio) La Salle | 4 | Alabama |
| Alabama landed Kief over Ohio State and Kentucky. The 6'5 receiver could be an immediate red-zone threat. For more on Alabama football recruiting, visit Roll Bama Roll. | |||
Tight End | |||
| Jacory Washington | Westlake (La.) | 4 | LSU |
| Washington is a good athlete with a very good tight end frame (6'5, 220 pounds). For more on LSU football recruiting, visit And The Valley Shook. | |||
Offensive Line | |||
| The five highest-rated offensive linemen, regardless of position (tackle, guard or center). | |||
| Roderick Taylor | Jackson (Miss.) Callaway | 4 | Ole Miss |
| Taylor is arguably the top guard in the country. | |||
| Andy Bauer | St. Louis DeSmet | 4 | Ole Miss |
| Bauer is a very solid tackle prospect at 6'6 and 300 pounds. For more on Ole Miss recruiting, visit Red Cup Rebellion. | |||
| Garrett Brumfield | Baton Rouge (La.) University Lab | 4 | LSU |
| Brumfield is one of the best guards in the Southeast. | |||
| Isaiah Wynn | St. Pete (Fla.) Lakewood | 4 | Georgia |
| Wynn is an incredibly athletic guard. | |||
| Viane Talamaivao | Corona (Calif.) Centennial | 4 | Alabama |
| Talamaivao is one of the West Coast's best guards. | |||
Defensive Line | |||
| These are the four highest-rated defensive linemen, be they ends or tackles. The SEC routinely recruits the best defensive linemen by an obscene margin. | |||
| Lamont Gaillard | Fayetteville (N.C.) Pine Forest | 4 | Georgia |
| Russell is a massive and nimble interior defensive lineman at 6'3 and 310 pounds. | |||
| Justin Thornton | Mobile (Ala.) Vigor | 4 | Auburn |
| Thornton is a great pass rusher at 6'5 and 222 pounds. He committed early to Auburn to focus on academics and ensure he qualifies. For more on Auburn football recruiting, visit College and Magnolia. | |||
| Khairi Clark | Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madona | 4 | Florida |
| Clark has excellent athleticism for his size, though he needs to show up in Gainesville at around 300 pounds, not the 325 he was carrying at the Miami Nike Camp. | |||
| Deondre Clark | Oklahoma City Douglas | 4 | LSU |
| Clark is a powerful end who plays with good leverage. | |||
Linebacker | |||
| The competition here is very tight, and will grow even tighter if more five-stars commit to the SEC, as is likely. | |||
| Hoza Scott | La Porte (Tx.) | 5 | Texas A&M |
| Scott is widely considered the top outside linebacker nationally. For more on Texas A&M football recruiting, visit Good Bull Hunting. | |||
| Tre' Williams | Mobile (Al.) St. Paul's | 4 | Auburn |
| Williams is a thick 'backer who brings the big hits. | |||
| Christian Miller | Columbia (S.C.) Spring Valley | 4 | Alabama |
| Miller is a dynamic athtele and edge rusher. | |||
| Zach Whitley | Houston (Tx.) North Shore | 4 | Alabama |
| Whitley is extremely active. | |||
Defensive Back | |||
| With teams playing more and more nickel and dime defense, it was appropriate to include five defensive backs. | |||
| Edward Paris | Arlington (Tx.) Mansfield Timberview | 5 | LSU |
| Paris is an excellent safety recruit with great range. | |||
| Nick Harvey | Richmond (Tx.) Travis | 4 | Texas A&M |
| The 5'9 Harvey makes up for his lack of height with excellent quicks. | |||
| Todd Kelly | Knoxville (Tenn.) Webb School | 4 | Tennessee |
| Kelly is a very versatile safety. For more on Tennessee football recruiting, visit Rocky Top Talk. | |||
| Dylan Sumner-Gardner | Mesquite (Texas) West | 4 | Texas A&M |
| Sumner-Gardner is excellent against the run. | |||
| Malkom Parrish | Quitman (Ga.) Brooks County | 4 | Georgia |
| Parrish makes up for his 5'9 stature with quickness and agility. | |||
The 25-member team breaks down by school as follows:
It's interesting to see that Tennessee and Kentucky, which various recruiting websites designated with No. 1 recruiting class status in May and June, respectively, are behind the more traditional powers in terms of bringing in elite recruits. Kentucky doesn't even have a single player on the team!
The SEC is, however, by far the most balanced league. Compare this list to that of the ACC, where three teams have 80-percent of the team members, or the Big Ten, where Ohio State and Michigan combine for 60-percent.
Is this balance a good thing? How do you think this list will change? Will The top six schools on the list further separate from the bottom eight? Or will Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Kentucky or Missouri get on the board? Let me know in the comments section.
I'll update the results next month, so be sure to check SB Nation's recruiting hub regularly.