Conference Recruiting Roundups: SEC

Next in our breakdown of conference recruiting classes is the SEC - winners, losers, and programs in long-term trouble. All rankings are from the 247Sports composite, with 4-year national ranks weighted more heavily on most recent classes.

Winners:

SEC Supremacists: Half of the top 14 classes on signing day belonged to members of the SEC. 14 of 25 five-star recruits signed to SEC schools, with the one uncommitted player in that group (Demetris Robertson) looking more and more likely to stay down South each day.

Programs that have signed five or more five-star players over the past four recruiting classes:

• SEC (7): Bama, LSU, UGA, Auburn, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Florida
• Pac- 12 (2): USC, UCLA
• ACC (2): FSU, Clemson
• Big 12: Zero
• Big Ten: Zero

Even the bottom of the league has recruited at a level that would put squarely in the middle of the pack if they were members of the other power five conferences. Mississippi State is 11^th in the SEC over the past four years, but would 6^th in the Pac-12, 4^th in the ACC, 5^th in the Big Ten, and 4^th in the Big 12. There's certainly a built-in advantage when your states produce more talent per capita than the rest of the nation (Mississippi, Louisiana) and also produce some of the highest volumes of talent as well (Florida, Georgia, Texas). But whatever you think of their methods or the amount of bias that may exist in recruiting rankings, it's a pretty safe assertion that the SEC is head and shoulders above any other conference in today's recruiting

Alabama: The Crimson Tide are on an unprecedented recruiting run as they ink the top class in the nation year after year. There's advantages in having the highest percentages and number of blue chip recruits, but no one does better in landing the cream of the crop - Alabama has signed almost double the number of composite five-star players (20) than the next closest program (USC, 11). You can make the argument that Nick Saban has placed the Tide really in a tier all by themselves in terms of recruiting talent - the number two school in the 4-year composite, FSU, has signed 18 fewer blue chip recruits over the same time period and 11 fewer five-star players. If anything, the biggest "storyline" to keep an eye on is if Ohio State's incredible start to the 2017 class is a sign that Alabama may suffer the humiliation of finished second on signing day next year.

UGA: The Bulldogs haven't won the SEC East since 2012, but despite some disappointing seasons Georgia has staked a firm claim as the third best recruiting program in the conference behind Alabama and LSU. Even with a complete overhaul of the coaching staff with Mark Richt's exit and Kirby Smart's entrance UGA finished #7 nationally with their 2016 signees. The state of Georgia produces so much quality talent that even with fierce competition from the who's who of the SEC and ACC - the Dawgs signed only two of the top 10 player of the state - UGA still signed 9 blue-chip in-state players. Add in landing a five-star QB in Jacob Eason and the top TE in the '16 class in Isaac Nauta and you have a really nice foundation for Smart to start with.

LSU: Not much outside the norm for Les Miles in terms of the overall recruiting success with this class, but special recognition for dominating the Bayou State. There were a massive 21 blue chip recruits in Louisiana in 2016, and the Tigers signed 15 of them, including 11 of the top 13.

Auburn: Despite barely finishing over .500, the Tigers brought in a fourth consecutive top 10 recruiting class. Gus  Malzahn's crew did their usual thing around the southeast, hauling in four blue chips recruits from Georgia, two from Alabama, and three from Florida. They even extended their range all the way into Ohio to sign top 250 DE Prince Sammons from Cincinnati. Add in a few strong JUCO pickups and Auburn should be poised to bounce back next year if they can find more consistent offense (it feels weird typing that about a Malzahn team).

Losers:

Texas A&M: Finishing with the #18 class nationally and getting placed into the "losers" bucket is an example of the SEC's first-world problems. But there's no denying the drop-off in momentum in College Station - the days of the Swag Copter and Kevin Sumlin as one of the hottest names in all of coaching feel like a long time ago. Sumlin's offense has fallen off each of the past three seasons, and the 2016 class only features two offensive skill position players (both WR) ranked in the composite top 250. It's a missed opportunity for the Aggies - Texas is in a pretty terrible stretch right now, and they still finished with a better class than A&M.

Mizzou: At least the Tigers are in the East division? It was a tumultuous year in Columbia with Gary Pinkel's emotional retirement and campus conflict and protest, and while it's certainly not a cause and effect relationship, Mizzou also struggled on the recruiting trail. It was a down year for talent in-state with just one four-star recruit, but the Tigers still were able to land just three of the top ten players at home (gotta build a fence around the state!). If anything, Missouri illustrates the struggle for non-traditional powers - follow-up two SEC East division titles with a down season and vanish to the 51^st ranked class nationally. In other conferences that's survivable, but it bodes poorly for Barry Odom's first couple of years competing against star-studded classes from UGA, Florida, and Tennessee.