When evaluating recruiting classes, it’s impossible to assess a proper evaluation until after the class has completed a substantial amount of its collective collegiate career. Not only are the top classes determined by what they looked like on paper, but on-field contributions also play a big part.

SDS takes a look at the each SEC team’s best recruiting class of the last decade based off of the recruiting rankings as well as how effective the class was on the field.

NOTE: Recruiting rankings taken from 247sports

OLE MISS REBELS

Hugh Freeze took over the Ole Miss program prior to the 2012 season, and he made a splash right away by attracting a top-40 recruiting class to Oxford before ever coaching a game at Ole Miss. However, it was actually Freeze’s second recruiting class — his 2013 class — that elevated the program to new heights.

Freeze garnered an unprecedented top 10 recruiting class in 2013, headlined by the year’s No. 1 overall recruit in defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche.

The 2013 class will conclude its second season when Ole Miss faces TCU in Wednesday’s Peach Bowl, but the class has already left quite a mark on the program and on the SEC as a whole. The Rebels won eight games in 2013 for the first time in five seasons, and they improved to 9-3 before the bowl game in 2014.

As Ole Miss continues to grow as a program during Freeze’s tenure, fans will always point to the 2013 class as a turning point for the Rebels.

2013 RECRUITING CLASS

Record: 17-8 overall

SEC Championships: N/A

BCS Championships: N/A

Class ranking: 8th overall, 4th in SEC

Cream of the crop: The most heralded players in a given recruiting class don’t always turn out to be the stars of the class, but all four of the Rebels five-star signees in 2013 have lived up to their prep evaluations two years into their college careers.

Nkemdiche was named an All-SEC performer this season, and although his stats aren’t as gaudy as other defensive tackles his impact in the trenches has been second to none.

Laquon Treadwell was named a freshman All-SEC performer in 2013, and he led the Rebels in catches in each of his first two seasons as a collegiate. He finished this season eighth in the SEC in receptions and 12th in yards, and did so despite missing the Rebels’ final three games of the regular season.

Laremy Tunsil was also named a freshman All-American in 2013 and an All-SEC performer in 2014, and he is widely considered the best returning offensive tackle in the SEC entering the 2015 season.

And versatile safety Tony Conner has done a little bit of everything for a dominant Ole Miss defense, posting impressive numbers in coverage while establishing a reputation as one of the hardest-hitting safeties in the conference.

Not only are all four players established starters for a top 10 team, but they are among the best players on one of the best teams in the country. When all four return for their junior seasons in 2015, the Rebels will be expected to continue their rise to the top of the daunting SEC West.

Bust of the class: Two tailbacks share the title as “co-biggest busts” of the Rebels 2013 recruiting class. Mark Dodson and Jordan Wilkins were both regarded as four-star tailbacks expected to add another dimension to a fast-paced, pass-happy Ole Miss offense.

Instead, the two backs have done next to nothing in an offense that struggled to establish the run in SEC play this season. For their careers, Dodson and Wilkins have combined to rush for just 731 yards, an average of 243 yards per player per season (and that takes Wilkins’ 2013 redshirt into account; otherwise the average would be just 183 yards per man per season).

Only one Ole Miss player ran for more than 360 yards all season, and it wasn’t Dodson or Wilkins. The Rebels best tailback in 2014 was Jaylen Walton, who is really more of a scat back used as a pass-catcher out of the backfield.

The point being, neither Wilkins nor Dodson has been able to assert themselves as the starting tailback in the Rebels offense, and it’s not because there’s a superstar in front of them on the depth chart. Their contributions to the Ole Miss offense have been few and far between, and the lack of a running game held an otherwise talented offense back each of the last two seasons.

Biggest surprise: Evan Engram, the Rebels lanky 6-foot-3, 217-pound tight end, was initially recruited as a three-star receiver expected to develop into a contributor on offense by the second half of his career. Instead, he bulked up and moved inside to tight end, where he created matchup nightmares for many of Ole Miss’ opponents the last two seasons.

In 2014 Engram was second among SEC tight ends in catches and first in yards, adding a dynamic big-play threat in the middle of the field to complement Treadwell’s influence on the outside.

What’s scariest is Engram is still learning the position, and he should continue to improve throughout the duration of his Ole Miss career. Many view him as the top returning tight end in the conference entering 2015, and he’s been nothing but a pleasant surprise for the Ole Miss offense during his time in Oxford.