Recruiting season has become all about following the nation’s top high school and junior college talents and witnessing where they land to begin their college careers.

But just because a player is surrounded by hype as he makes the transition to the college game doesn’t mean he’s going to end up a star in the NCAA.

For every five-star recruit who never pans out there’s a two-star prospect who steals the spotlight by the end of his college career. The SEC, despite dominating on the recruiting trail during the last decade, is no exception. The conference hauls in as many four- and five-star recruits as any in the country, but it has claimed just as many hidden gems along the way that reshaped the conference and sometimes the FBS as a whole.

With less than a week remaining until National Signing Day, SDS took a look at the SEC’s best two-star-or-worse recruits of the last 10 years. You’ll find that many of these recruits played at schools that were unheralded at the time of their recruitment, allowing them a chance to show their true worth at the college level.

These programs include Kentucky, a basketball school dependent on lesser talents overachieving. There’s South Carolina during Steve Spurrier’s first years in Columbia, Texas A&M during its Big 12, Mike Sherman-led days, and a couple of Mississippi schools that struggled with mediocrity throughout the 2000s.

So without further ado, here are the SEC’s greatest hidden gems on the recruiting trail since 2005:

Ahmad Black, Florida (2007): Regarding that rule about many of the following players hailing from lesser schools with more opportunities for lesser recruits — ignore it in Black’s case. The former Urban Meyer signee joined a Florida program just months removed from a BCS National Championship, and although it took some time for him to earn a starting job he made the most of it when he did. Black led the Gators with 7 interceptions and 2 defensive touchdowns as a sophomore in 2008, and two years later he closed his UF career with 108 tackles, 5 interceptions, 3 forced fumbles and another defensive touchdown as a senior in 2010. After he closed the book on his college career he played three years with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2011-13.

Randall Cobb, Kentucky (2008): Cobb grew up just outside of Knoxville, Tenn., but was overlooked by the Tennessee Volunteers when he signed with Kentucky as an unrated player in 2008. He proved himself to be one of the most versatile players in the SEC’s recent history, starting at quarterback for Kentucky for half of his true freshman season only to move back to his natural position at wideout and lead the team in receiving the next two seasons. Cobb could throw, run, catch and return kickoffs and punts, and he had a knack for making game-changing plays using all those disciplines. He closed his career with 2,974 yards and 35 touchdowns from scrimmage, and 5 touchdown passes to complement a passer rating of 103.6. He’s now one of the NFL’s most dynamic receivers as a member of the Green Bay Packers since 2011.

Stevie Johnson, Kentucky (2006): Johnson was once an unheralded junior college wideout whom Kentucky took a chance on, and it paid off in a big way for the Wildcats. In his final season at UK in 2007 he caught 60 passes for 1,041 yards and 13 touchdowns, and he caught one of the most historic touchdown passes in Kentucky history in that year’s Governor’s Cup showdown with Louisville. Johnson managed to slip behind the UL defense with Kentucky trailing in the final minute of regulation, and Andre Woodson found him for a 57-yard touchdown to win the game for Kentucky. The play is known as Stevie got loose and it will forever be a part of his legacy. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 2008 and remains in the NFL to this day.

Corey Peters, Kentucky (2006): Peters never posted the gaudiest of numbers while wreaking havoc as a defensive tackle at Kentucky, but he was as effective as anyone at the position in the SEC. He registered 12 tackles for loss as a senior in 2009, and for his career he batted down 12 passes at the line of scrimmage, including 5 in ’09 alone. He was a third round selection by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2010 NFL Draft, and he still remains with the team.

Danny Trevathan, Kentucky (2008): Trevathan was an undersized linebacker who flew under the radar amidst the bevy of top talents from his home state of Florida. But upon arriving at Kentucky he worked his way into the starting lineup and eventually led the SEC in tackles twice in 2010 and 2011 (he recorded 287 tackles in that 12-game span). He hauled in four interceptions as a senior, and during the course of his career he forced 11 fumbles, nine of which he forced in 2010-11. He was eventually taken in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos, the same organization he plays for today.

Anthony Dixon, Mississippi State (2006): Dixon was recruited to Mississippi State by former head coach Sly Croom, and by the end of his career he rushed for 1,000 yards twice under two different head coaches. He posted 1,066 yards and 14 touchdowns as a sophomore on Croom’s 2007 squad, then became Dan Mullen’s first 1,000-yard rusher as a head coach when he ran for 1,391 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior in 2009. Dixon went on to be drafted by the San Francisco 49ers, and he now serves as a backup tailback with the Buffalo Bills.

Preston Smith, Mississippi State (2011): Smith elevated his game from unknown when he began his college career to above-average following productive sophomore and junior campaigns. However, it was his senior season in 2014 that qualified him as a hidden gem in the SEC. Smith recorded 9 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, two interceptions, two blocked kicks and a touchdown, winning the SEC’s Defensive Lineman of the Week award for three straight weeks to open the season. He shined brighter than many other SEC alums at last week’s Senior Bowl, and could be selected as high as the first round of this April’s NFL Draft.

Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri (2006): Weatherspoon played his Missouri career in the Big 12, graduating before the Tigers made their move to the SEC, but he’s a hidden gem nonetheless. He recorded more than 100 tackles for three straight seasons from 2007-09, and he recorded 43 combined tackles for loss, 12 sacks, 4 interceptions, 4 forced fumbles and 2 touchdowns in that time. Weatherspoon was perhaps the most unblockable player to make this list, and he went on to be drafted by the Atlanta Falcons, for whom he just completed his fifth pro season.

Danario Alexander, Missouri (2006): Alexnader was quietly productive during the first three seasons of his career at Mizzou, but he erupted as a senior in 2009 to earn himself a spot on this list. The former two-star recruit hauled in 113 receptions for 1,781 yards and 14 touchdowns in 13 games to announce his abilities to the football world. Nevertheless, Alexander went undrafted in 2010, but never let that slow him down. He caught on with the St. Louis Rams following the draft and spent two seasons in St. Louis before spending two more with the San Diego Chargers.

Mike Wallace, Ole Miss (2005): Wallace has emerged as one of the fastest and most explosive wideouts in the NFL, but his career truly began as a two-star receiver prospect playing for an Ole Miss team reeling after the graduation of Eli Manning. In three seasons with the Rebels Wallace only caught a total of 101 passes, but he amassed more than 1,900 yards from those receptions and scored 15 career touchdowns from scrimmage. He averaged 18.9 yards per reception for his college career, and returned a kickoff for a touchdown in each of his final two seasons in Oxford. His obvious speed earned him a third-round selection in the 2009 NFL Draft, and he’s been a star in the league ever since.

Eric Norwood, South Carolina (2006): Norwood was as productive as any SEC defender during his career at South Carolina. He recorded at least 69 tackles in each of his final three years at SC, recorded at least 9.5 tackles for loss and at least 6 sacks in all four of his collegiate seasons and forced four turnovers in addition to scoring three career touchdowns. He spent two years in the NFL before eventually ending up in the Canadian Football League, but at the college level as as consistent as they came.

Antonio Allen, South Carolina (2008): Allen’s final two seasons at South Carolina arrived just as Spurrier began elevating the program to a legitimate contender in the SEC East. In 2010-11 he recorded 158 tackles and 20 tackles for loss in addition to four interceptions (two returned for touchdowns) and six forced fumbles, one of which he returned for a score. Allen did a little bit of everything from his safety position (he also played linebacker), and his versatility made him that much more valuable to the Gamecocks defense. He was a seventh round draft pick by the New York Jets in 2012 and still remains a member of the team.

Dylan Thompson, South Carolina (2010): Thompson did not have an illustrious career, spending just one year as a starter at quarterback following the career of Conner Shaw, perhaps the greatest quarterback in South Carolina history. He’s not going to have a professional career either. So why does he make this list? Well, believe it or not, the Gamecocks signal caller led the SEC in passing this season with more than 3,500 yards through the air for an offense that averaged more than 32 points per game. For a player to make his collegiate debut and lead the SEC in passing is pretty darn impressive, and that’s why Thompson makes this list filled otherwise by eventual NFL players.

Michael Bennett, Texas A&M (2005): Bennett has become the best pass rusher on the best defense in the NFL in Seattle, leading the Seahawks to back to back NFC championships and potentially back to back Super Bowl titles. However, his career began as an unrated defensive end prospect for Mike Sherman’s Texas A&M Aggies, then competing in the Big 12. His numbers by the end of his career match the numbers some of the players on this list posted in just one season (112 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, 6 passes defended and 3 forced fumbles), but still showed NFL scouts he had tremendous ability as a pass rusher. He went undrafted in 2009 but eventually caught on with Seattle to begin what has become a brilliant NFL career.