Where are the 2017 5-star players located?

We’ll leave the Jim Harbaugh vs. the SEC discussion for another story.

But there’s a reason that he’s made so many forays into hostile territory in places like Florida, Georgia and Alabama: Geography matters. Especially when it comes to recruiting.

Every SEC program ventures outside its home state to recruit. But an influx of strong local talent can help a team tremendously. Just ask South Carolina, which won 11 games in three consecutive seasons thanks to players like Jadeveon Clowney and Marcus Lattimore.

So we decided to study the location of the 31 five-star players in the 2017 class, as designated by 247Sports’ composite rankings.

This is by no means a comprehensive study. Four-star and three-star players matter as well. But tracking the location of the most elite talent gives us enough of a glimpse to make a few observations about the elite talent in the 2017 class and how it could affect the SEC.

GREAT YEAR FOR TENNESSEE

The in-state talent is a relative disadvantage for the Vols, which must contend with Georgia and Florida each year in the SEC East.

There hasn’t been a composite five-star talent in the state since 2013 (Jalen Ramsey, Florida State). The last time UT actually signed a five-star player from the state was 2004 — DeMonte’ Bolden, who started for two seasons and currently plays in the Canadian Football League.

Tennessee hasn’t exactly locked down its borders, even with Butch Jones — with the exception of the 2014 class — but the Vols have gotten plenty of four-star talents from within the state. The biggest reason is that the team has just needed to look elsewhere for the bulk of its signing classes.

This year could be different, as two five-star players reside within the state. Only Florida, California and Texas boast more in the 2017 class.

Athlete JaCoby Stevens (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and receiver Tee Higgins (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) both are considering the Volunteers. The latter was committed to UT until Feb. 4, days after an unofficial visit to Clemson. He’s getting interest as a college basketball player as well. But the 6-foot-5 receiver could still head to Knoxville next February, and Stevens could as well.

Last year’s composite No. 1 in the state, 6-foot-1 receiver Dillon Mitchell, signed with Oregon. Last year’s No. 2, safety Joejuan Williams, was one of the prizes of Vandy’s class. But they ranked just 161st and 210th in the nation, respectively.

The 2017 class in the state of Tennessee features six players ranked better than Mitchell. That could prove to be a big boost for the Vols.

FLORIDA, GEORGIA STRONG AS USUAL

Power 5 schools are flocking to these two recruiting grounds as often as ever.

That should be just fine for the current recruiting cycle, as the states hold a combined eight five-star players.

IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) claims three of the composite top 50 on its own, two of them with five-star ratings — including the LeBron James of high school football, Dylan Moses. He’s held the No. 1 ranking for this class for years and was committed to LSU for a long time, though Alabama seems to have made up some ground.

Among the biggest names in the region, 6-foot-2 cornerback Deangelo Gibbs (Loganville, Ga.) and 6-foot-5, 255-pound defensive end Jarez Parks (Sebastian, Fla.) appear likely to sign with SEC schools.

Calvin Ashley, a 6-foot-6 offensive tackle from Orlando, already is committed to Auburn, and Richard LeCounte III, a 5-foot-11, 174-pound Georgia athlete, already is committed to the Bulldogs.

TEXAS WIDE OPEN

Among the schools that 247Sports’ Crystal Ball expert predictions contends are vying for the services of the state’s five-star players: Texas, LSU, Baylor, TCU, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Stanford, Texas Tech and Notre Dame.

Though the Longhorns turned out one heck of a National Signing Day earlier this month, Texas has been anything but a lone flagship program since quarterback Colt McCoy exhausted his eligibility in 2009.

All the schools listed above are familiar names. The Aggies are one of several in-state schools that has been able to beat Texas for some of the highest-profile players in the state. LSU also has done a heck of a job, and Ohio State and Notre Dame are going to pull an occasional standout from every important recruiting state.

It looks like the 2017 recruiting class could be wild inside the state’s large borders, especially with the questionable job status of coach Charlie Strong and coach Kevin Sumlin.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

• Eight of the 31 composite five-star players are from major metro areas like Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Las Vegas or Phoenix. But a majority of the prospects are within a short drive of the proper city limits of Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, St. Louis and Tampa.
• Illinois is one of three states to boast a pair of five-star players in this class. One of them — 5-foot-10 receiver Jeff Thomas — hails from East St. Louis, at the same high school that Terry Beckner Jr. attended. So perhaps Mizzou can pull another five-star player.
• LSU is the epitome of a school that has shut down its state’s borders. It’s no surprise that 329-pound defensive tackle Tyler Shelvin (Lafayette, La.) already has committed to the Tigers.
• Based strictly on the conference’s geographical footprints, the SEC is close to 11 five-star prospects in the class of 2017 compared to six for the Big Ten.
• There’s not a single five-star player in the state of Alabama for the first class in seven years. During that stretch, there have been several years with two or even three different five-star players.

Disclaimer: In case you missed it in the introduction, we favor the 247Sports composite rankings. They account for every major recruiting service and thus are the best reflection of a player’s actual ranking.