The goal in recruiting is to build for the future, not the present. Coaches seek out and bring in hyper-talented blank slates they can mold into perfect fits for their program, all in the hopes of laying the foundation for future success.

But sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. Sometimes a team is forced to call on one of those blank slates earlier than expected, forcing the future to arrive early, often out of desperation. This offseason has been no exception.

While many of the SEC’s traditional contenders find themselves loaded with talent, allowing their rookies to take a more traditional, developmental path to playing time down the road, there are certainly some teams who’ll need their newcomers to step up right away.

Todd Gurley, Leonard Fournette, Jadeveon Clowney and others have proven this is not a kiss of death, even in the daunting SEC, but to be fair there are numerous examples of freshman-heavy teams falling short of expectations as well.

So which teams in the SEC will need the greatest immediate impact from their 2015 recruiting hauls? Five come to mind right away, and the success of their respective seasons could hinge on the play of stars yet to play a down of SEC football.

Without further ado, here are the SEC’s five most impactful recruiting classes from the past recruiting cycle:

1. Mississippi State

The Bulldogs lost more than half their starters on both sides of the ball off last year’s 10-win team, meaning they have more talent to replace than the team’s remaining players can handle on their own. Thus, it will be this year’s recruiting haul that’s called upon to fill in the gaps and keep the team operating at a high level in the daunting SEC West. The Bulldogs’ 2015 recruiting haul includes more four- and five-star signees than any other class in the Dan Mullen era, likely the result of last year’s remarkable success. If MSU hopes to prove last year wasn’t just a flash in the pan, it’ll need at least some of those touted signees to deliver right away, especially before Dak Prescott — likely the program’s greatest player ever — departs for the NFL after the coming season.

2. Tennessee

The Vols are still an incredibly young team, and with few rising juniors and seniors returning at key positions for the coming season, they’ll once again need their talented newcomers to take on a heap of responsibility right away. The team’s new offensive and defensive line signees could be called into action early in the season, and junior college transfer Alvin Kamara may be among the team’s most dynamic weapons. Once again Butch Jones proved he’s the man capable of returning Tennessee to its former glory by attracting his third top-25 class, his second straight top-10 class and his first-ever top-5 class in three recruiting cycles on the job. He’s done a good job during his Tennessee tenure of bringing that young talent up to speed quickly, and he’ll need to do so again in a down SEC East.

3. Auburn

Will Muschamp was hired to revive Auburn’s struggling defense in 2015, and if his success on the recruiting trail alongside Gus Malzahn in only two months’ time is any indication, Muschamp is up to the challenge. He added a slew of four- and five-star talents on the defensive side of the ball like defensive end Byron Cowart (a top 5 player in the entire class by most accounts), linebacker Jeffery Holland and defensive backs Tim Irvin, Kerryon Johnson and Jordan Colbert to aid what is currently a frighteningly thin secondary. Add in Malzahn’s work in recruiting more playmakers to join his explosive offense, like top junior college tailback Jovon Robinson, and this is a class that could make waves right away for a true SEC contender.

4. South Carolina

There’s no need to be cute about it — South Carolina’s defensive line was unacceptably poor in 2014, and while it’s unfair to blame an entire season on any one position group, one could argue the Gamecocks’ defensive line deserves the most blame for last year’s 7-6 season. But to Carolina’s credit, the Gamecocks revamped their defensive line this offseason with a half-dozen new defensive line signees, three of which were rated four-stars or better and two of which enrolled in school early, allowing them to get up to speed quicker on Jon Hoke’s new defensive scheme. If players like Marquavius Lewis and Dexter Wideman can even hold their own in the trenches, the entire Gamecocks defense will benefit.

5. Florida

By Gators’ standards, this class isn’t anything special. But considering how barren the cupboard is in Gainesville after the disappointing Muschamp era, this class is still on the short list of those capable of making an immediate impact this fall. Florida only returns one offensive lineman with any meaningful experience in the SEC, which is why signing five-star offensive tackle Martez Ivey was so huge, especially considering many rated him as the top overall talent from the 2015 class. He’ll not only start right away, but one can argue he’s already Florida’s top offensive lineman before even arriving on campus. Four-star tailback Jordan Scarlett can provide playmaking ability to an offense that desperately needs it (right now the offense appears very Demarcus Robinson-or-bust oriented) and five-star defensive end Cece Jefferson is the perfect bridge from Muschamp’s defensive holdovers to the new Geoff Collins regime. If the Gators hope to return to the postseason in Jim McElwain’s first year on the job, their freshman will have to step up in a big way.