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Here’s what SEC head coaches had to say on National Signing Day …
Alabama’s Nick Saban after bringing in the nation’s top-ranked class for the fifth straight season: “It was great to have 16 signees to join the eight we already have enrolled. One of the great things about this year’s class is that we didn’t have a lot of drama. Most of them stuck to it. That speaks highly of what a commitment means. We have a great team here at Alabama and a lot of people help us recruit.”
Butch Jones after bringing in the second-best class in the SEC littered several five-stars and late flips: “I understand that with this class comes great expectations and very rightfully so. I’m going to sit here like I do every signing day and guard against that in terms of these are still 17 and 18 year old individuals. They are still going to develop at their own pace. Things don’t get changed overnight. We are going through a process, but I thought today was a great step in the right direction. So I could sit up here and go through the packet with you and all of that but I really don’t want to do that. I would rather just answer your questions that you may have and go from there.”
Steve Spurrier on the Gamecocks’ massive 32-player class, including several pass rushers: “I think we’ll prove to be a little better than all those rankings. J.J. Watt, the NFL’s most valuable player, was a three-star coming out of high school. Good bunch of guys, especially these defensive linemen. Everybody knows we had trouble rushing the passer last year. As you can see, there’s about 30, 32 players listed, so we should be different team next year. Hopefully we can put a defense out there than our fans can be proud of. A lot of these kids committed when we were No. 4 in the nation. We didn’t end up No. 4 in the nation.”
Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze following the Rebels’ third straight Top 15 class: “All in all, it means very little because it’s what these young men do after they get here. I believe we have identified young men and their families who fit for Ole Miss. That’s huge for us because our niche here is developing young men who fit with us and are motivated by the environment here to be great. We have done that very well.”
A jovial Jim McElwain following his first class at Florida, one featuring five-stars Martez Ivey and CeCe Jefferson: “We were able to get some things done. What we’ll do is go out and have dinner as a staff and tell a few jokes and laugh a little bit. And then we’ll get back to work in the morning to get ready to go for spring ball. We weren’t the only ones in the country (getting a late start). It happens every year. We felt decent all the way along and felt really good about the kind of kid we brought in here.”
Derek Mason after Vanderbilt landed multiple four-star signees in his second class in Nashville: “I felt this class was going to be a special class with cultivated relationships over a long time. I think this class, without a doubt, speaks to the needs of this program — athletically and what we’re trying to build. There’s good depth in this class. Starting offensively, (quarterback) Kyle Shurmur is the cornerstone of this class.”
Les Miles after LSU closed strong with one of the nation’s most impressive classes including three five-stars: “When you represent LSU, you represent a great state and a great school, future years, and a number of professors that would volunteer their time to come over and meet with our prospects and introduce their curriculum. I think the environment is very — it’s a great opportunity for our players. So the experience, graduation in the 70 percentile, averaging ten‑win victories and playing for championships, how they are treated throughout the day, expected to do right and compete in a classroom; the enjoyment of being here and playing ball, and the opportunity to improve their skills and play in the NFL — all those things lead to a very quality recruiting class.”
Gus Malzahn following Auburn’s impressive Top 10 class including the nation’s top defender, Byron Cowart: “Our staff worked extremely hard. We signed eight players from the state of Alabama. One of our main goals is to win the state of Alabama and we feel like we did that this year. We needed some guys who could rush the passer and really feel like we really did that.”
Kentucky’s Mark Stoops after several decommitments partially crippled this year’s class: “I don’t think a lot had to do with how we finished at all. As you say, if that would have been the case, I think we’d have had some turning early. I don’t think it had a lot to do with that. No, I haven’t been around a lot that you had that much change within a seven-day span or so. I don’t think we’re alone. I think it’s a situation that probably needs to be addressed on a national level, but, again, I’m not concerned about the guys we did not get. I’m very excited about the players we got.”
Mizzou’s Gary Pinkel after signing his most impressive class since entering the SEC in 2012: “This class addresses some very important areas for us on the field, and the group as a whole is made up of a bunch of competitors who are really high-character young men. I’m really proud of my staff for all the work they did to make this happen, and want to say thank-you to everyone who has helped us along the way. We’re looking forward to getting all of them in our Mizzou-Made program and to continuing to build on the success we’ve had.”
Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin on his 25-member class: “We’ve addressed our needs as a program. We wanted to add athleticism and depth. What we’ve learned about this league is that its a talent and depth league. We addressed each position across the board. Defensively, everybody knows what we set out to do. Some of the guys are overshadowed because they’ve been committed for a long time.”
Mark Richt on the wackiness that has become the final days leading up to National Signing Day: “It’s been interesting, and it’s not over yet. There’s still things swirling around out there still. Yeah, I think there’s been a lot of emotion in this one, and it’s a large class, too. The more people you sign in the class, the more — at times the more drama you have. But the one thing I do want to say about our mid-year enrollees, these guys had a plan. You just can’t all of a sudden snap your fingers and say I’m going to graduate early. First of all, you’ve got to be smart, you’ve got to be organized, you’ve got to have support from your family and your high school.”
Dan Mullen on owning the state of Mississippi during this recruiting cycle: “A lot of young people now, especially the top players in Mississippi decided to come here and play for us. They can come here and play for their in-state school, get a great education, be developed and maximized to become the best that they can be on and off the field, and that they will have the opportunity to compete for championships makes us such a great place for them. You saw that today.”
Bret Bielema’s reaction after Arkansas’ 2015 haul: “In the world of college football, your year kind of begins and ends with this day. We signed 24 guys that I feel really good about. Starting off in Arkansas, we signed 10 guys who we know want to be here and grew up wanting to be Hogs. We also went intercontinental with this class.”
