The epic recruiting battles of the SEC draw coaches around the region and nation on a week-to-week, if not day-to-day basis. But sometimes, geography and recruiting needs to align, and coaches find themselves keeping in-state kids at home. Here are three home state heroes per West team who are likely to be important contributors in 2016.

Alabama

TE O.J. Howard — A First-Team All-SEC pick, Howard is a 6-foot-6, 251-pound athlete who can block or catch. He snagged 38 passes for 602 yards and a pair of touchdowns in 2015. Howard hails from Prattville and played at Autauga Academy.

LB Reuben Foster — Another in-state First-Team All-SEC star, Foster is a rock in the middle of the Alabama defense. With 73 tackles, 9 passes broken up and 8 tackles for loss, he can do everything and probably will. The Tide snagged Foster from Auburn High in Auburn.

OG Alphonse Taylor — Hailing from Mobile and Davidson High, the 6-foot-5, 345-pound Taylor can clear a path in the run game. The Second-Team All-SEC choice started all 15 games last season and helped Derrick Henry run his way to the Heisman.

Arkansas

WR Drew Morgan — A Third-Team All-SEC preseason pick, Morgan caught 63 passes for 843 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2015. At 6-foot, 195 pounds, he’s hardly imposing but is incredibly sure-handed and consistent. Morgan is from Greenwood and played at Greenwood High.

TE Jeremy Sprinkle — Sprinkle is a 6-foot-6, 256-pound mountain of a tight end from White Hall and White Hall High. He played in the shadow of All-American Hunter Henry in 2015 but still had 27 catches, 389 yards and 6 touchdowns. A Third-Team All-SEC selection, he will almost certainly improve on those numbers in 2016.

LB Brooks Ellis — A fixture at linebacker for the last two-and-a-half seasons, Ellis had 102 tackles and 8 tackles for loss in 2015. A local boy making good, Ellis is from Fayetteville and played high school football at Fayetteville High.

Auburn

DB Johnathan Ford — A two-year starter at Auburn, Ford was chosen Third-Team All-SEC in the preseason. Ford came to Auburn from Big Cove and New Hope High. He has 211 tackles in the last two seasons and is a tough kickoff returner.

DL Marlon Davidson — A true freshman, the 6-foot-3, 273-pound Davidson impressed the Auburn coaches in the spring and will likely star lining up opposite Carl Lawson. Auburn won a fierce recruiting battle to keep the young man from Greenville and Greenville High close to home.

OL Austin Golson — Golson is a transfer from Ole Miss who started 11 games at center in 2015 for Auburn. Golson is out of Prattville and matriculated from Pratt High. A tough run-blocker who can play multiple positions, Golson is an important player for Auburn.

LSU

RB Leonard Fournette — You just may have heard of this young man from New Orleans and Saint Augustine High. The most explosive player in college football, Fournette is 13 yards shy of 3,000 rushing yards to begin the season. He is likely to become the Tigers’ all-time leading rusher and was an easy First-Team All-SEC pick.

LB Kendell Beckwith — Another First-Team All-SEC choice, Beckwith hails from Clinton and East Feliciana High. A starter for the latter half of 2014 and all of 2015, Beckwith has 172 tackles and 18.5 tackles for loss at LSU.

CB Tre’Davious White — A three-year starter already for LSU, White is another First-Team All-SEC home state guy. The pride of Shreveport and Green Oaks High, White is so good that teams rarely bother to throw at him. He has broken up 20 passes in three years and should improve on his four career interceptions.

Mississippi

DB Tony Conner — Conner is a hard hitter, and he had the misfortune to miss most of 2015 with injury, but he has racked up over 150 tackles and 18 tackles for loss in his career. The Second-Team All-SEC defender had a short trip to Oxford from nearby Batesville and South Panola High.

OG Javon Patterson — An immensely talented lineman, Patterson showed enough as a true freshman to be chosen Third-Team All-SEC this year. The 6-foot-3, 307-pounder is the pride of Petal and Petal High.

DB Tony Bridges — Bridges is a JUCO but hails from Collins and played at Hattiesburg High and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. He had 36 tackles, 9 passes broken up and 3 interceptions in 2015.

Mississippi State

DE A.J. Jefferson — The 6-foot-3, 280-pounder has 24.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks as a Bulldog. A Third-Team All-SEC pick, Jefferson is from Summit and played at North Pike High.

LB Richie Brown — A Third-Team All-SEC choice, Brown has nearly 200 tackles at State. Last year, he had 109 stops, 13 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. Brown is from Long Beach — that’s Long Beach, Miss. — and played at Long Beach High.

S Brandon Bryant — The rangy Bryant played his way into a starting spot midway through his freshman season and totaled 63 tackles and 3 interceptions. He’s from Tunica and graduated from Rosa Fort High.

Texas A&M

DE Myles Garrett — The top vote-getter on the defensive side of the ball in the preseason All-SEC polls, Garrett had 59 tackles and 12.5 sacks in 2015 as a sophomore. Garrett hails from Arlington and played high school ball at Martin High.

WR Ricky Seals-Jones — The 6-foot-5 Seals-Jones is a matchup nightmare and has over 1,100 receiving yards as an Aggie with 9 touchdowns. The Third-Team All-SEC selection is from Sealy and matriculated from Sealy High.

S Armani Watts — Watts is the top returning tackler in the SEC with 126 stops in 2015, including 6 tackles for loss. He was chosen Third-Team All-SEC in the preseason and is from Forney and North Forney High.