Much like the NFL, it’s unfair to judge a college football recruiting class after just one season.
Several five-star prospects didn’t even see the field in 2014, and will debut as redshirt freshmen this fall. Still others haven’t had a chance to blossom yet, stuck playing second or third team on a loaded depth chart.
It takes time to adjust to the college game, even if you’re Leonard Fournette.
Still, we can identify some players from the ’14 season that proved capable of stadning out in the SEC. Think of it as an initial foray into an evaluation still a few years from being close to complete.
Based solely on the 2014 season, here are the best players from each SEC team’s recruiting class.
Alabama: LT Cam Robinson
The Crimson Tide have so many players from the ’14 class who could emerge as superstars. But with all apologies to punter JK Scott, he didn’t spend all season colliding with one of the better crops of SEC defensive ends. An FWAA freshman All-American, Robinson reportedly allowed three sacks through the SEC championship game. He’ll protect the blindside of Alabama’s next quarterback(s) for two more years.
Arkansas: CB Henre’ Toliver
For the purposes of this article, we’re excluding junior college transfers, or else LG Sebastian Tretola would get the nod. Frank Ragnow, Joshua Liddell and Bijhon Jackson all can make cases. But Toliver started at times. His second interception punctuated a dominant bowl win against Texas. He also collected one sack and made 18 total tackles.
Auburn: DB Nick Ruffin
WR Duke Williams takes this hands down if we include junior college transfers. Ruffin spent 2014 as an understudy at Star, a hybrid safety/linebacker position in Auburn’s 4-2-5, after getting recruited as a cornerback. At 6 feet tall, he should add some brawn to his listed 174 pounds this offseason. With Will Muschamp taking over at defensive coordinator, it will be interesting to see where Auburn plays Ruffin, but he’ll be a playmaker for seasons to come.
Florida: CB Jalen Tabor
Yes, Treon Harris took over as the starting quarterback midseason. Several others played, including CB Duke Dawson. But the Gators discovered Tabor as the season rolled along, installing him opposite Vernon Hargreaves III. Tabor finished with eight pass breakups, third on the team, and also made two sacks and four tackles for loss.
Georgia: RB Nick Chubb
He outperformed LSU’s Fournette, made the All-SEC team and reached the 100-yard benchmark in all eight of his starts. Depending on his health and how much Georgia splits carries with Sony Michel and Keith Marshall, Chubb could top his initial 1,547 rushing yards next season.
Kentucky: RB Stanley “Boom” Williams
Borderline five-star defensive tackle Matt Elam was the star of this class, and he’s enormous, but probably should’ve redshirted. He needs to improve his conditioning, but has great upside. QB Drew Barker could challenge Patrick Towles this spring. But Williams averaged 6.6 yards per carry, caught 17 passes and proved a rare UK special teams asset as a kickoff returner.
LSU: RB Leonard Fournette
Apologies to S Jamal Adams. This was a tough call. But Fournette’s bowl performence put him over the top. The most hyped college running back since Adrian Peterson, he needed the first half of the season to adjust, but his talent turned into production more and more often. He appears ready to challenge Chubb and others next season to become an All-SEC back.
Mississippi State: LB J.T. Gray
WR/KR Jamoral Graham got some run, but the most touted Bulldogs recruit of the ’14 class appears like he’ll need another year of seasoning before he’s ready to be a major factor as a receiver or returner. Gray played just five games, forced out of a redshirt due to injury, but that was enough to earn him SEC All-Freshman honors according to the league’s coaches. He made nine tackles and two quarterback hurries in limited time, but his athleticism and some initial experience sets him up well.
Missouri: WR Nate Brown
RB Ish Witter got significant playing time. Kenya Dennis did a nice job in the secondary as a junior college transfer. A handful of others got significant time as backups. But Brown will have the opportunity to become Missouri’s starting slot receiver in 2015. At 6-foot-3, he’s tall and quick. He only caught five passes in very limited time as a true freshman, but the Tigers didn’t get a ton of big production from the ’14 class in the first year.
Ole Miss: CB Kendarius Webster
DE Marquis Haynes made 7.5 sacks as a part of the Landshark defensive line, but came from a prep school, or he’d be the obvious choice. S C.J. Hampton played in 13 games and could replace Cody Prewitt next year as a starter. WR Markell Pack and RG Rod Taylor put together productive seasons as true freshmen and should play significant roles going forward. This may have been the most difficult choice. Webster, though, made two starts and 22 tackles in a promising debut. He could replace Senquez Golson as a starting cornerback in ’15.
South Carolina: LB Bryson Allen-Williams
Unfortunately for the Gamecocks, there’s not much from which to pick. This class is a disappointment, at least initially. Allen-Williams cracked the rotation at linebacker, making 2.5 tackles for loss and 27 stops overall.
Tennessee: DE Derek Barnett
The Vols’ future appears bright, and there are numerous players from the ’14 class that are a big reason for that. But it’s hard to beat Barnett, who broke Jadeveon Clowney’s SEC freshman sack record with 10 and made a mind-boggling 20.5 tackles for loss. Graded as just the 10th-best recruit of this UT class, he arrived in Knoxville with talk of moving him to tight end. Instead, he lined up across from SEC left tackles and made them look silly. He made all 10 of his sacks during conference play and looks like a future All-American.
Texas A&M: WR Josh Reynolds
OK, I lied when I said Ole Miss was the most difficult choice. DE Myles Garrett also broke Clowney’s record and finished with 11.5 sacks, though he really stocked up against lesser teams. QB Kyle Allen took over midseason. Speedy Noil looks like a very good receiver and returner. Armani Watts got torched much of the year in the secondary, but will learn from his early experience. Reynolds, a three-star rated as the 17th-best recruit in A&M’s ’14 class, closed strong to supplant Malcome Kennedy as the No. 1 option by the end of the season. (This on a team loaded with five-star talent at WR.) His 16.2 yards per catch and 13 touchdowns as a true freshman portend well for his future in College Station.
Vanderbilt: NT Nifae Lealao
A handful of Commodores true freshmen got sporadic playing time as reserves. None amounted to anything spectacular in their first season. Lealao, originally headed to Stanford, followed Derek Mason to Vanderbilt. At 6-foot-5, 314 pounds, he has the build of an SEC interior defensive lineman. He played in nine games and recovered a fumble. The four-star recruit potentially could start for Vandy in 2015.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
