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In any recruiting class, a 5-star wide receiver gains plenty of attention, mostly for potential, which could translate to national championship or even Super Bowl appearances, or could lead to a transfer, legal trouble, or some combination of the two.
The SEC has more than held its own for keeping top-shelf wide receivers in its foot print, but how many 5-star passers have joined the conference?
In the past 10 years, 35 wide receivers have received a 5-star designation from the 247Sports Composite Rankings — 16 of whom committed to the SEC.
We took a look back at those 5-star wide receivers and the mark they left on the conference.
2007
Terrence Toliver, LSU: The No. 1-ranked wide receiver in this class, Toliver was not drafted after he caught 126 passes for 1,820 yards and 12 touchdowns. He signed as a free agent with the Houston Texans and played two seasons each with the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears before he moved to the CFL. In 2015, he returned to LSU to complete his degree and graduate.
Deonte Thompson, Florida: Thompson was the No. 3-ranked wide receiver in the class, and finished his college career with 101 catches for 1,446 and nine touchdowns. He played three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, one game with the Buffalo Bills, and two seasons with the Chicago Bears including 2016 when he started six games and had a career-best 22 catches.
2008
Julio Jones, Alabama: Jones had 179 catches for 2,653 yards and 15 touchdowns in three seasons for the Crimson Tide before he was drafted sixth overall by the Atlanta Falcons and quickly developed into the NFL’s best wideout. He was the top-ranked receiver in the nation, and the No. 3 player overall behind Da’Quan Bowers and Terrelle Pryor.
A.J. Green, Georgia: The No. 2-ranked wide receiver in this class, Green was the No. 2 player in South Carolina as a recruit from Summerville, S.C. He was drafted fourth overall by the Cincinnati Bengals after a Georgia career in which he had 166 catches for 2,619 yards and 23 touchdowns. He missed four games in the 2010 season after he was suspended by the NCAA for selling a bowl jersey for $1,000 to someone who qualified as an agent.
2009
Rueben Randle, LSU: Randle was the top-ranked receiver in this class, and the No. 1 player from Louisiana. At LSU, he had 97 catches for 1,634 yards and 13 touchdowns. He was selected in the second round, 63rd overall of the 2012 NFL Draft by the New York Giants where he spent four seasons. He’s now on the Philadelphia Eagles roster.
Andre Debose, Florida: Debose had 79 catches for 2,111 yards with just four touchdowns after he was ranked the fourth-best recruit in this class from Florida behind Jacobbi McDaniel, Trent Richardson and Gary Brown. He was drafted in the seventh round by the Oakland Raiders and is now with the Indianapolis Colts.
Marlon Brown, Georgia: Brown had 55 catches for 851 yards and eight touchdowns. After three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, with whom he signed as an undrafted free agent, Brown was on the Denver Broncos roster in 2016. Brown exited high school as the No. 1 player in Tennessee, Mr. Football in the state, the No. 3 receiver in America, and the No. 26 player overall.
2010
Da’Rick Rogers, Tennessee: The Calhoun, Ga., product played just two seasons in Knoxville before he transferred to Tennessee Tech following discipline problems at Tennessee. With the Vols, Rogers still collected 78 catches for 1,207 yards and 11 touchdowns. He played two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts before he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, but was released in 2015.
2011
Jarvis Landry, LSU: The No. 2-ranked receiver in this class behind George Farmer and ahead of Sammy Watkins, Landry played three seasons at LSU and finished with 137 catches for 1,809 yards and 15 touchdowns. He’s ranked 10th in LSU history in career receptions. He was drafted in the second round, 63rd overall of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins.
In case you were wondering, classmate Odell Beckham Jr., was a 4-star prospect in this class, the No. 26-ranked receiver.
2012
Dorial Green-Beckham, Missouri: He played two seasons for the Tigers, and had 87 catches for 1,278 yards and 17 touchdowns. He signed with Missouri as the No. 1 recruit in the country. But he was dismissed from the team in April 2014 after an altercation with his girlfriend and her friends. He also had two previous marijuana-related arrests. He transferred to Oklahoma, but NCAA rules forced him to sit out the 2014 season. A second-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans, he was on the Philadelphia Eagles’ roster in 2016.
Thomas Johnson, Texas A&M: Johnson played one season with the Aggies and had 30 catches for 330 yards and a touchdown. The Dallas native was ranked the No. 3 receiver in the nation, No. 5 player in Texas, and No. 33 player overall. But he might be most notable for his legal troubles. In one instance, he was missing for two days before police found him in Dallas. In another, he was accused of breaking into his aunt’s home and stealing her car to drive to College Station. But the most troubling was when police said he used a “large bladed knife” to stab a jogger to death. But during court proceedings, a Dallas County magistrate found the 21-year-old incompetent to stand trial based on a court-ordered mental health expert’s report.
Note: Amari Cooper was a 4-star prospect and No. 6 receiver in this class.
2013
Laquon Treadwell, Ole Miss: The top-ranked player from Illinois and No. 1 receiver in this class, the Crete, Ill., native went on catch 202 passes for 2,393 yards and 21 touchdowns. That made him the all-time leading pass catcher in Ole Miss history and seventh-most in SEC history in three seasons. He was drafted in the first round, 23rd overall of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.
Robert Foster, Alabama: If Foster graduates in May, he could become a graduate transfer and leave Tuscaloosa. It would be quite a drop for the former No. 2 receiver recruit in the country, who was the top-ranked recruit overall in Pennsylvania in his class. The fourth-year junior went from being the team’s leading receiver after two games in the 2015 season to barely seeing the field after returning from a shoulder injury as a sophomore. He played in eight games overall with just three starts.
2014
Speedy Noil, Texas A&M: Noil recently declared to enter the NFL Draft following a junior season when he had 21 catches for 325 yards and two touchdowns. He faced several off-the-field issues, but his best season came as a freshman with 46 catches for 583 yards and five TDs. He was the No. 1 receiver in his class, No. 3 player in Louisiana and eighth-best player overall in the country.
Malachi Dupre, LSU: Dupre also recently declared for the NFL Draft after he led the Tigers in receiving for a second consecutive season. He caught 41 passes for 593 yards and three touchdowns, but all three numbers were down from 2015. The second-best receiver in this class, Dupre was the No. 2 receiver in the class. He was No. 4 in Louisiana — behind Leonard Fournette, Cam Robinson and Noil — and No. 17 overall in the country.
2015
Calvin Ridley, Alabama: The Pompano Beach, Fla., product led the Crimson Tide with 72 catches this past season for 769 yards and seven touchdowns, which was second on the team. He had 89 catches in the 2015 season for 1,045 yards and seven touchdowns. Ridley was recruited as the No. 6 player from Florida and No. 11 in America.
Christian Kirk, Texas A&M: The Scottsdale, Ariz., product was seventh in the SEC in receiving in 2016 with 83 catches for 928 yards and nine touchdowns. He had 80 catches as a freshman for 1,009 yards and seven scores. Kirk was the No. 4 receiver in the country in his recruiting class, top-ranked player in Arizona and No. 25 player in the country.
Tyron Johnson, LSU: The New Orleans native was granted a release in August from the LSU program, but he was only cleared to transfer outside the SEC. He announced Oklahoma State as the destination and will have three seasons of eligibility starting in 2017.
2016
An SEC team did not sign a 5-star receiver last year. There was only one to choose from and after a long and dramatic recruiting process, Demetris Robinson of Savannah, Ga., chose Cal. He was the Bears’ second-leading receiver with 50 catches for 767 yards and 7 touchdowns. All three of those totals would have led Georgia in 2016.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
