SEC team-by-team recruiting update

We’ve made it past SEC Media Days, a calendar milestone that signals the imminent start of fall practice.

Most everyone is expecting one of the most competitive seasons ever in the SEC West, perhaps a sign that the SEC Network money is leveling the playing field.

Teams like Ole Miss and Mississippi State are able to pay top dollar for head coaches and facilities. A third prong, recruiting, isn’t the be-all, end all. But unless your coach is a miracle worker like Mizzou’s Gary Pinkel, teams need depth and talent to win.

Less than seven weeks before the start of the 2015 college football season, here’s a recruiting capsule of all 14 SEC teams. Which SEC team will land the most touted recruits, and how does your team’s class rate halfway through the ’16 recruiting cycle?

Based on composite team and player rankings from 247Sports.

Alabama
17 commitments
No. 2 class in SEC
No. 4 class in the country
Top committed prospect: Four-star OT Jonah Williams
Headlined by four-star CB Shyheim Carter and four-star DT Kendell Jones

Arkansas
11 commitments
No. 11 class in SEC
No. 34 class in the country
Top committed prospect: Four-star DT Austin Capps
Headlined by four-star DT Briston Guidry and four-star G Jake Heinrich

Auburn
11 commitments
No. 6 class in SEC
No. 20 class in the country
Top committed prospect: Four-star WR Eli Stove
Headlined by four-star CB John Broussard and four-star QB Woody Barrett

Florida
14 commitments
No. 8 class in SEC
No. 23 class in the country
Top committed prospect: Four-star CB Chauncey Gardner
Headlined by four-star RB Mark Thompson and three-star WR Joshua Hammond

Georgia
12 commitments
No. 4 class in SEC
No. 11 class in the country
Top committed prospect: Five-star QB Jacob Eason
Headlined by four-star DT Julian Rochester and four-star OT Ben Cleveland

Kentucky
19 commitments
No. 5 class in SEC
No. 16 class in the country
Top committed prospect: Four-star OT Landon Young
Headlined by four-star C Drake Jackson and three-star CB Jordan Griffin

LSU
17 commitments
No. 1 class in SEC
No. 1 class in the country
Top committed prospect: Five-star CB Saivion Smith
Headlined by five-star DT Edwin Alexander and four-star S Eric Monroe

Ole Miss
15 commitments
No. 3 class in SEC
No. 10 class in the country
Top committed prospect: Five-star QB Shea Patterson
Headlined by four-star DT Benito Jones and four-star WR DeKaylin Metcalf

Mississippi State
13 commitments
No. 10 class in SEC
No. 31 class in the country
Top committed prospect: Three-star ATH Corey Charles
Headlined by three-star S Zaire Jones and three-star OT Tommy Champion

Missouri
11 commitments
No. 12 class in SEC
No. 44 class in the country
Top committed prospect: Four-star RB Natereace Strong
Headlined by three-star OT Royce Newman and three-star DE Tre Williams

South Carolina
7 commitments
No. 13 class in SEC
No. 63 class in the country
Top committed prospect: Four-star QB Brandon McIlwain
Headlined by four-star WR Bryan Edwards and three-star ILB JaCorey Morris

Tennessee
12 commitments
No. 9 class in SEC
No. 24 class in the country
Top committed prospect: Four-star QB Jarrett Guarantano
Headlined by four-star CB Marquill Osborne and four-star OT Ryan Johnson

Texas A&M
13 commitments
No. 7 class in SEC
No. 22 class in the country
Top committed prospect: Four-star CB Travon Fuller
Headlined by four-star DE Mark Jackson Jr. and four-star ILB Tyrel Dodson

Vanderbilt
9 commitments
No. 14 class in SEC
No. 67 class in the country
Top committed prospect: Three-star QB Deuce Wallace
Headlined by three-star OT Devin Cochran and three-star RB Sam Brodner

Christopher Smith

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.