SEC has most dominant DLs in America. Which recent recruiting class was the best?

Perhaps more so than any other position, dominant defensive line play has been the hallmark throughout the SEC’s decade-plus of dominance.

SEC coaches are hoping they found some diamonds in the rough this past recruiting class. In terms of blue-chip (4- or 5-star) defensive lineman signees, the 2017 class has the lowest number signed (18) since 2012.

Of those 18 prospects, the top five SEC signees went exclusively to Alabama and LSU. The No. 6 defensive lineman, LaBryan Ray, announced he was choosing the Crimson Tide over Florida and Tennessee on National Signing Day. Alabama also signed No. 16 DL Phidarian Mathis.

In a move which only Alabama can pull off, the No. 15 DL, Jarez Parks, has committed to the Crimson Tide and agreed to take a grayshirt, meaning he will not go on scholarship at Alabama or join the football team until January 2018 due to limited scholarships.

LSU gave its defensive line, coach Ed Orgeron’s area of expertise, a big boost with No. 8 lineman K’Lavon Chaisson and No. 10 Tyler Shelvin.

Both Georgia (No. 17 Robert Beal, No. 23 Malik Herring, No. 45 Devonte Wyatt) and Florida (No. 19 Zachary Carter, No. 54 Elijah Conliffe) also added multiple blue-chip defensive linemen. The Gators also intend to use 4-star OG Tedarrell Slaton on the defensive line.

Time will tell how this class turns out. But as the college results and NFL Draft have shown, there’s no denying the talent who came before them.

Here’s the past five defensive classes in the SEC, ranked:

1. 2013

Four of the top six defensive linemen from the 2013 recruiting class signed with SEC schools, headlined by Robert Nkemdiche following his older brother to Ole Miss. Two of the four, Nkemdiche and Mississippi State’s Chris Jones, are already in the NFL. Nkemdiche’s career is off to a shaky start, but Jones has impressed in Kansas City. They should be joined this season by Auburn’s Montravius Adams and Carl Lawson.

The class also produced NFL bound linemen in Alabama’s Tim Williams, Florida’s Caleb Brantley and LSU’s Lewis Neal. While Williams and Brantley were both blue-chip recruits, Neal was an under-the-radar 3-star prospect.

Technically, this group doesn’t include Alabama’s Jonathan Allen, who was listed as a 5-star outside linebacker coming out of high school.

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Allen developed into a dominant defensive end who is in the mix to become the No. 1 pick in the April draft.

Edit: Lewis Neal was previously referenced as a first-round pick. Those projections were old, and more recent projections have him going in the mid-to-late rounds.

2. 2014

Two of college football’s top pass-rushers this past season, Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett and Tennessee’s Derek Barnett, were part of the SEC’s defensive line class of 2014. Garrett was the No. 1 defensive lineman, while Barnett was No. 40. This past season, many have argued that Barnett, UT’s new sack leader, deserved more of the spotlight than Garrett, who battled injuries. While Vols and Aggies can continue the debate, football fans should get used to seeing both play on Sundays.

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This class might have been the highest-ranked of the five years if everyone’s career had gone as planned. Florida lost two highly rated linemen – No. 8 Gerald Willis and No. 11 Thomas Holley – to transfer (Willis) and injury (Holley). Travonte Valentine, the No. 10 lineman in the class, was recently dismissed from LSU for a second time.

3. 2015

Heading into its third year, the class of 2015 shows a lot of promise and a few players we expect to be seeing make it to the pros. With NFL scouts watching closely, this is the money year for Georgia’s Trent Thompson and Florida’s Cece Jefferson, who were No. 1 and No. 4 in the class respectively.

Injuries have hampered Terry Beckner Jr. from adding to Mizzou’s “D-Line U” legacy. Fellow blue-chippers Da’Ron Payne (Alabama), Shy Tuttle (Tennessee) and Arden Key (LSU) are all expected to give SEC offenses headaches in 2017. Sleepers from the class include former 2-star prospect Walter Brady, who made the SEC All-Freshman Team, but was dismissed from Missouri, and 3-star recruit Jabari Zuniga, who redshirted in 2015 at Florida and made the conference All-Freshman team this past season.

4. 2016

The 2016 class hasn’t done much yet, but it has the most potential. Of the past five classes, 2016 produced the most blue-chip recruits signed by the SEC, with 28. It was an unusually deep class at defensive line, with the No. 76 overall defensive lineman (Florida’s Jordan Smith) receiving a 4-star rating. In most other classes, 4-star DLs extend into the high 50s.

Auburn’s Derrick Brown, Arkansas’ McTelvin Agim, Mississippi State’s Jeffery Simmons, LSU’s Rashard Lawrence and Ole Miss’ Benito Jones were 5-star prospects who ranked in the top 10 among all DL.

While it might seem counterintuitive to rank a large group of freshmen over a 2012 class that has produced some notable draft picks, the deep haul of 28 deserved some sort of recognition.

5. 2012

For Florida, one might argue this is the top class, as it produced Dante Fowler Jr., Jonathan Bullard and Alex McCalister. For the SEC on the whole, however, it wasn’t such an impactful haul.

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Ole Miss’ Channing Ward, currently on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ practice squad, has long been considered a bust. Georgia’s Jordan Jenkins saw rookie playing time this past season with the New York Jets. Alabama’s Dalvin Tomlinson recently boosted his draft stock at the Senior Bowl.

Fowler, Jenkins, Bullard and Tomlinson could give this class a decent NFL legacy, but it’s low on blue-chip signees (18) and similarly low on big-time SEC players. In all likelihood, the class of 2016 will come out looking better.