Four years after the fact, most of the top defensive tackle prospects from the class of 2011 have closed the book on their college career. The results of those careers were hit and miss, as a handful of tackles ascended to the NFL when all was said and done, while others never panned out at the college level.

How did the 2011 class turn out? SDS takes a look as we continue to look at the position groups.

Revisiting 2011 recruiting

Note: Recruiting rankings are in reference to 247sports’ industry composite from 2011. 

SEC Spin

The SEC claimed the No. 1 defensive tackle in the class in Anthony Johnson, who spent three years at LSU before entering the 2014 NFL Draft, as well as five other tackles ranked among the top 25 at the position in the 2011 class.

Johnson went undrafted despite leaving school a year early, and he spent his rookie season as a member of the Miami Dolphins before suffering a season-ending injury in December. He was a freshman All-American at LSU in 2011, but never earned all-conference honors again as he closed out his collegiate career with 35 tackles, 3 sacks and a pick in 2013.

The SEC’s other five tackles from the top 25 of the 2011 class were hit and miss throughout their careers. Auburn’s Gabe Wright, the No. 5 defensive tackle in the class, spent multiple years as a starter along the defensive line and is now slated to be a mid-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.

In three seasons at South Carolina, Phillip Dukes, the No. 11 defensive tackle in the class, has just 36 total tackles and zero sacks to his name, although he has forced two fumbles during his career.

Mickey Johnson, another LSU commit, has just seven tackles in three seasons of playing time with the Bayou Bengals, and Alabama’s LaMichael Fanning has recorded the same number of tackles during the first three years of his career in Tuscaloosa.

Outside the prospects that originally ranked in the top 25 at the position, there aren’t many SEC defensive tackles from the 2011 class worth noting. Johnson is the only SEC defensive tackle from the class of 2011 to reach the NFL to this point, although Wright will be joining him after April’s draft.

Biggest Bust

Four-star defensive tackle Christian Heyward was regarded as the seventh-best tackle in the 2011 recruiting class, but his play on the field never lived up to the hype.

The San Diego native originally signed with USC and head coach Lane Kiffin, but after redshirting as a freshman in 2011 and then undergoing offseason shoulder surgery, Heyward’s debut season with the Trojans was forgettable. As a redshirt freshman in 2012, he recorded just three tackles to begin and end his stat line for the season.

He left USC following the season and sat out the 2013 campaign while completing his associate’s degree at a junior college. He then returned home to San Diego and joined the football team at San Diego State, where he recorded 31 tackles, 5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks as a productive member of the defensive line.

Heyward has one year at SDSU remaining, and he might still have a pro future in front of him, but to this point he’s been nowhere near the caliber of a four-star prospect even after a productive season in 2014.

Biggest Overachiever

Christian Covington closed his high school career at Vancouver Prep College in Vancouver, Canada, and was among the more unheralded defensive tackles in the 2011 class. 247Sports rated him as a two-star prospect and as the 125th best defensive tackle in the class, landing him at Rice University of Conference USA, one of little-known programs of the FBS.

However, upon making the move from Canada to Texas, the 6-foot-3 mammoth in the middle blossomed into one of the most productive tackles in the nation. In three season of action he’s recorded 122 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and a blocked kick, and although his numbers dropped slightly in 2014 it’s only due to the added attention his success on the field warranted.

Covington has now elevated his game enough that NFL scouts have taken notice, and he’s now slated as a mid-to-late-round selection in this year’s NFL Draft.

Re-Grading the Top 10

2011 No. 1: Anthony Johnson, LSU
New No. 1: Timmy Jernigan, Florida State

Johnson was never a dominant superstar, but he was always a productive starter in a physical SEC West. He went undrafted in 2014 but caught on with the Miami Dolphins nonetheless, and if he can recover from a late-season injury this offseason he’ll have a chance to extend his time in the league be it in Miami or somewhere else.

Jernigan starred at Florida State, earning first-team All-America honors in 2013, and he was selected higher in the 2014 NFL Draft than any other defensive tackle from the class of 2011.

2011 No. 2: Jernigan
New No. 2: Johnson

See above.

2011 No. 3: Desmond Jackson, Texas
New No. 3: Danny Shelton, Washington

Jackson put up modest numbers for the Texas Longhorns in his first three years in Austin, but he made a much bigger impact as a run-stopper and lane-clogger than those numbers indicate. He suffered a season-ending injury early in his senior season in 2014, but was granted a medical redshirt and will get a do-over as a fifth-year senior in 2015.

Shelton was the 23rd-best defensive tackle in the 2011 class according to 247Sports, but he played like a top 5 tackle during his career at Washington. He recorded at least 45 tackles in each of his final three years of school, and logged a whopping 93 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss and 9 sacks as a senior in 2014.

2011 No. 4: Villami Moala, Cal
New No. 4: Gabe Wright, Auburn

Moala weighed 387 pounds when he first arrived at Cal in 2011, but upon the request of then-coach Jeff Tedford he dropped more than 60 points to get into better game shape. He recorded just four tackles as a true freshman (he was one of just three true freshmen to appear for Cal that year) and just seven tackles as a sophomore. But as a junior in 2013 he erupted for 38 tackles (4 for loss) with 1.5 sacks and two forced fumbles, leaving Cal for the NFL after the season only to go undrafted.

Wright started for multiple years at Auburn, recording just 6 career sacks but 27 career quarterback hurries as one of the better pass-rushing tackles in the SEC. He was a preseason All-SEC selection to begin the 2014 season and is now projected to be a mid-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.

2011 No. 5: Wright
New No. 5: Jackson

See above.

2011 No. 6: Delvon Simmons, Texas Tech
New No. 6: James Castleman, Oklahoma State

Simmons began a promising career at Texas Tech as a freshman All-Big 12 selection in 2011, following that season with 27 tackles, 6 tackles for loss and 2 sacks in 2012. He sat out the 2013 season upon transferring to USC, and in 2014 broke into the starting lineup to record 44 tackles, a sack and a blocked kick. He’ll return to USC for his final collegiate season in 2015.

Castleman is another cinderella story among the 2011 defensive tackles, beginning his career as a three-star recruit and the No. 45 player at the position in the class. He overcame that perception to prove himself as one of the most versatile defensive tackles in the nation. Not only did he record 45 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks as a senior in 2014, but he also intercepted a pass, took a handoff for a one-yard goal line touchdown run and even caught a 48-yard pass along the way.

2011 No. 7: Christian Heyward, USC
New No. 7: Christian Covington, Rice

See “Biggest Bust” and “Biggest Overachiever” above.

2011 No. 8: Jordan Wade, Oklahoma
New No. 8: Grady Jarrett, Clemson

Wade originally committed to Oklahoma in 2011, but never arrived in Norman until 2012. He redshirted as a freshman in 2012 and in two seasons of action he registered just 26 tackles and 2 sacks. However, he did block two kicks in 2013, and he should take another huge step forward in his development in 2015.

Jarrett was once considered the 76th best defensive tackle prospect in the 2011 class, but he’s now considered an NFL Draft prospect in the 2015 draft class. Jarrett is as good as they come as far as run-stopping is concerned, recording 10 of his 45 tackles as a senior in 2014 behind the line of scrimmage in addition to forcing two fumbles.

2011 No. 9: Kris Harley, Virginia Tech
New No. 9: Chucky Hunter, TCU

Harley was a touted prospect heading to play for legendary defensive coordinator Bud Foster at Virginia Tech, but he never lived up to that billing while playing for the Hokies. He only saw action in two seasons at Tech, recording a combined eight tackles in that time with just 0.5 tackles coming from behind the line of scrimmage. He did record an interception in his debut season in 2012, but after the 2013 season Virginia Tech granted his release, allowing him to transfer to Western Illinois to close his career.

Hunter was yet another defensive line prospect who overachieved while playing in Gary Patterson’s defense at TCU. The No. 31 defensive tackle in the 2011 class recorded at least 36 tackles in each of his final three seasons with the Horned Frogs, recording 21.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles in that time. He’ll likely be selected in the middle rounds of the 2015 NFL Draft.

2011 No. 10: Antwaun Woods, Southern Cal
New No. 10: Mustafa Jalil, Cal

Woods, like Heyward, began his career with USC and then-coach Lane Kiffin, and after redshirting in 2011 he began making a steady impact on the defense despite never earning the name recognition of a star. He only logged 16 tackles as a redshirt freshman, but 4.5 of those tackles came behind the line of scrimmage in addition to 3 sacks. By his redshirt junior year in 2014 he was an established member of the USC defensive line, recording 37 tackles despite just 1 tackle for loss and 1 sack.

Jalil began his career at Cal in 2011, the same year as Moala, but unlike his counterpart he completed a successful career with the Golden Bears. He recorded just 19 tackles in 2011-12 combined and missed the 2013 season with injury, but he returned in 2014 to register 35 tackles, including 5.5 for loss. He’ll return to Cal for his senior year in 2015 and is likely to be a selection in the 2016 NFL Draft provided he stays healthy this fall.