The football season is just about over for the SEC, as the Alabama Crimson Tide have a chance to bring the national title back to SEC country after a two year absence. The rest of the conference can look towards the offseason and recruiting, as the rest of the conference remains in catchup mode behind Alabama. Here is the SEC recruiting status report.
SEC Recruiting Status Report
SITTING PRETTY
Ole Miss
Hugh Freeze continues to prove that he is the best recruiter in college football today, as the Ole Miss Rebels have yet another top five class with a month remaining until signing day. The two headliners for the Rebel’s class are quarterback Shea Patterson and left tackle Gregory Little, both of whom are the top recruits in the country at their respective positions. Ole Miss is far from finished on the recruiting trail, as they are set to host nine recruits on the final weekend before signing day. These visitors include Nate Craig-Myers and Terrell Hall, the top wide receiver and defensive end in the 2016 recruiting class.
Star of the Class: OT Gregory Little
Sleeper: RB Jarrion Street
Dream Recruit: WR Nate Craig-Myers
Florida
The Gators shocked many in year one under Jim McElwain, as they rode a stingy defense to the SEC title game, where they lost to Alabama. The Gators have also done great work on the recruiting trail, as Florida currently has 26 commitments with three members of the class already enrolled. The headliner is cornerback Chauncey Gardener II, a talented athlete who will get first crack at replacing departed All-American Vernon Hargreaves. The Gators are far from finished with this class, as they are scheduled to host a staggering 19 prospects during the month of January, with the headliner being five star middle linebacker Lyndell Wilson.
Star of the Class: CB Chauncey Gardener II
Sleeper: QB Kyle Trask
Dream Recruit: MLB Lyndell Wilson
LSU
Les Miles survived a tumultuous year in Baton Rouge, and now he can look forward to an experienced team in 2016 led by Heisman frontrunner Leonard Fournette. Les has also been doing great work on the recruiting front, as LSU currently holds 19 commitments with a month remaining until signing day. The headliner is free safety Saivion Smith, a product of IMG Academy in Florida who chose the Tigers over his hometown Miami Hurricanes. Expect LSU to add more members to their class soon, as Louisiana native and overall freak athlete Devin White is expected to announce his commitment to LSU on Friday. LSU will also be hosting seven prospects on January 22nd, the headliner being offensive tackle E.J. Price.
Star of the class: FS Saivion Smith
Sleeper: CB Andraez Williams
Dream Recruit: OT E.J. Price
Alabama
Alabama has been the class of college football under Nick Saban for one simple reason, they dominate the line of scrimmage on offense and defense. Therefore it should be no surprise that Saban has brought in the best offensive line class in the country, headlined by five star tackles Charles Baldwin and Jonah Williams. Alabama will now look to fortify their defensive line in January, as they will be hosting four defensive end prospects in January, most notably five star Juco transfer Jonathan Kongbo.
Star of the Class: OT Jonah Williams
Sleeper: TE Miller Forristall
Dream Recruit: DE Jonathan Kongbo
Auburn
The Tigers had a disappointing year, as they went from being a top five preseason team to the last place finisher in the SEC west. Head coach Gus Malzahn hasn’t let the on field disappoint affect his recruiting however, as the Tigers currently have 18 commitments heading into the final month. The star of the class is defensive end Marlon Davidson, the number one defensive end recruit in the country who chose Auburn over in state rival Alabama. Auburn is poised for a busy January with eight visitors scheduled in January, headlined by defensive tackle prospect Derrick Brown.
Star of the Class: DE Marlon Davidson
Sleeper: DT Tashawn Manning
Dream Recruit: DT Derrick Brown
DOING PRETTY GOOD
Kentucky
The clock is ticking on Mark Stoops and his staff at Kentucky, as he has yet to bring Kentucky back to a bowl game despite three stellar recruiting classes. Stoops has yet another fantastic class in the works, as the Wildcats currently have 22 commitments heading into the final month. The headliner of the class is left tackle Tate Leavitt, a junior college transfer that gives Kentucky a desperately needed upgrade in the trenches. The Wildcats are basically in protect mode for the rest of the recruiting cycle, as several SEC foes (most notably Tennessee) are trying to steal some of their current commitments.
Star of the class: LT Tate Leavitt
Sleeper: TE Justin Rigg
Dream Recruit: OLB Jaleel Laguins
Texas A&M
Its been a wild couple of weeks in College Station, as the number one and number two quarterback both transferred in search of greener pastures, forcing Kevin Sumlin to bring in former Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight as a graduate transfer for 2016. The internal chaos hasn’t affected the Aggies recruiting pitch however, as they currently hold 18 commitments heading into signing day. The star of the class is left tackle Kellen Diesch, a Trophy Club, Texas native who stuck with the Aggies over offers from Oklahoma and Tennessee. The Aggies now head into January looking to reinforce their secondary, as highly touted defensive backs Byron Murphy, Brandon Jones, and Eric Cuffee all have Texas A&M in their final group.
Star of the Class: LT Kellen Diesch
Sleeper: WR Kendrick Rogers
Dream Recruit: CB Byron Murphy
Arkansas
The Razorbacks once again finished the season strong, as they shook off a 2-4 start and won six of their final seven games, with their only loss coming in a 51-50 thriller against Mississippi State. Now coach Bielema and company have to replace a talented senior class, and they’ve gotten off to a pretty good start, reeling in 17 commitments with a month remaining until signing day. The headliner of the class is local product McTelvin Agim, a disruptive defensive end who chose the Razorbacks over Texas A&M. The Razorbacks now can look to reinforce their offensive line, an area that loses three starters heading into 2016.
Star of the Class: DE McTelvin Agim
Sleeper: WR Kofi Boateng
Dream Recruit: OT Scott Lashley
South Carolina
South Carolina stumbled through an ugly 2015 season, winning only three games and seeing their beloved coach Steve Spurrier retire midseason. New head coach Will Muschamp was brought in to a less than enthusiastic response from Gamecock nation, but the fiery coach has hit the ground running on the recruiting front. South Carolina currently holds 17 commitments with a month remaining until signing day. The headliner of the class is quarterback Brandon McIlwain, a dynamic dual threat athlete who chose the Gamecocks over his home state Penn State Nittany Lions. South Carolina will look to finish the recruiting cycle strong, as they will be hosting 11 prospects during January headlined by Miami wide receiver commit Sam Bruce.
Star of the class: QB Brandon McIlwain
Sleeper: DE Keir Thomas
Dream Recruit: WR Sam Bruce
HAS SOME WORK TO DO
Tennessee
Butch Jones and his Volunteers finished the season with a bang, crushing Northwestern 45-6 in the Outback Bowl. Now Tennessee can look forward to a bright 2016 where they return 17 starters. In order to take the next step and win the SEC East however, the Volunteers still need to get some work done on the recruiting front. Tennessee currently holds 16 commtiments, with the headliners being the Kansas JUCO trio of wide receiver Jeff George, cornerback Desmond Henerson, and defensive tackle Alexis Johnson. Unfortunately, the Volunteers may have missed out on a game changer in defensive end Jonathan Kongbo, a five star JUCO transfer who pledged to Tennessee before backing off a couple of days ago. The Vols will be hosting 14 prospects this January, so it is still very possible for them to once again have a top 20 class.
Star of the class: WR Jeff George
Sleeper: CB Corey Henderson
Dream Recruit: SS Nigel Warrior
Georgia
Kirby Smart was brought in to great fan fare as the replacement to Mark Richt, but the former Alabama defensive coordinator has got some serious work to do in Athens. With running back Devwah Whaley flipping to Arkansas, the Bulldogs currently have just 14 commitments. The star of the class is easily quarterback Jacob Eason, who stuck with the Bulldogs despite a visit to Florida. Plus Georgia still has several top prospects heading towards signing day, as wide receiver Cavin Ridley, and tight end Isaac Nauta are both considered Georgia leans.
Star of the Class: QB Jacob Eason
Sleeper: CB Tyrique McGhee
Dream Recruit: TE Isaac Nauta
Mississippi State
The Bulldogs are set up for a transition year, as they will have to make due without superstar quarterback Dak Prescott for the first time in three years. One way to compensate for the loss would be to bring in a big time recruiting class, but that hasn’t happened in 2015. The Bulldogs currently hold just 15 commitments in their class, with the headliner being Greenwood, Mississippi defensive end Marquiss Spencer. Dan Mullen and his staff have made a habit of finding under the radar gems in Louisiana and Alabama, and they will need to do so once again to fill out their recruiting class.
Star of the Class: DE Marquiss Spencer
Vanderbilt
The Commodores were a lot better than most people thought in 2015. They won just four games in 2015 but they have a young and talented defense to work with in 2016. Recruiting as always, has been a challenge for Vanderbilt, with the Commodores currently having just 16 commitments in their class. The star of the class is strong safety Joejuan Williams, who chose his in state Commodores over a strong push from the LSU Tigers. Vanderbilt will look to add some skill position players to spark their offense in 2016 and wide receiver Kalija Lipscomb and tight end Noah Fant are two targets that the Commodores will push hard for.
Star of the class: SS Joejuan Williams
Sleeper: QB Deuce Wallace
Dream Recruit: TE Noah Fant
Missouri
The Tigers went through a tumultuous season in Columbia, as their head coach retired due to cancer, their star quarterback was suspended from the team, and the entire football team nearly went on strike due to racial tensions. This instability has led to new head coach Barry Odom only having 12 commitments in his class with less than a month remaining until signing day. The star of the class is Columbia native Tre Williams, a long and athletic defensive end that fits the mold of former great Missouri defensive linemen. Watch for Odom and his staff to scour Texas, Tennessee, and Florida for overlooked prospects in order to fill out their class.
Star of the Class: DE Tre Williams
Sleeper: CB Jerod Alton
Dream Recruit: WR Javon Wims
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