The SEC’s top teams reload with new talents each and every winter, making recruiting season a crucial part of the annual college football calendar. Every team has a go-to recruiting ace on its staff, and for some teams those recruiting gurus can elevate a program from promising to elite with just a couple key commitments.

Here are our most valuable assistant coach recruiters in the SEC in 2015:

Mario Cristobal, Alabama: Cristobal is not only Alabama’s offensive line coach, but he’s become the ace recruiter on Nick Saban’s coaching staff as well. The second-year assistant has played a pivotal role in courting five-star prospects like 2014 offensive tackle Cam Robinson, 2015 wideout Calvin Ridley and 2015 defensive lineman Daron Payne, among a number of other prominent three- and four-star recruits during the last two off seasons.

Will Muschamp, Auburn: In his four years as the head coach at Florida, Muschamp’s recruiting classes ranked in the top 12 in the nation four times, and ranked in the top 5 in the nation twice. He’ll be able to focus more on the recruiting side of things in his return to a coordinator’s role, and he’s already begun making waves from the plains by earning a commitment from five-star cornerback Tim Irvin this winter. Muschamp has also been a leading man in the pursuit of five-star defensive linemen Byron Cowart and CeCe Jefferson, who both visited Auburn last weekend after Muschamp was hired as DC just before last month’s recruiting dead period.

Bryan McClendon, Georgia: McClendon has been a huge reason the Bulldogs have been able to keep the state of Georgia’s best prep talents to stay in-state for their college years, routinely locking down the Peach State’s most valuable assets each offseason. Star in-state tailbacks Isaiah Crowell, Nick Chubb, Keith Marshall and Sony Michel were all wooed to Athens by McClendon, as were star in-state defensive linemen Lorenzo Carter and 2015 four-star early enrollee Natrez Patrick.

Vince Marrow, Kentucky: Marrow is in his third year at Kentucky, and he recently accepted a contract extension that will pay him an average of $375,000 per year through the next three seasons in lieu of leaving the Bluegrass to join Jim Harbaugh’s new staff at Michigan. Keeping Marrow was huge for UK, as the recruiting guru has attracted a number of four-star prospects to the SEC’s biggest basketball school, including 2013 safety Marcus McWilson, 2014 safety Darius West, 2014 tight end C.J. Conrad and 2014 wideout Thaddeus Snodgrass.

Frank Wilson, LSU: Wilson was the nation’s highest-paid recruiting coordinator in 2014, and for good reason. The Tigers stud recruiter has played a role in attracting such talents as 2014 No. 1 prospect Leonard Fournette, current Miami Dolphins wideout Jarvis Landry, Arizona Cardinals defensive back Tyrann Mathieu and others. All in all, Wilson has earned commitments from seven different five-star prospects in just over five years as the Tigers’ recruiting coordinator.

Tony Hughes, Mississippi State: Hughes has done tremendous work as the ace recruiter on Dan Mullen’s staff at MSU, although many of his recruiting victories have gone unnoticed through the years. Hughes alone has attracted 11 four-star recruits to Starkville since joining the Bulldogs staff, including a pair of four-stars in this year’s class in junior college transfer Donald Gray and safety Jamal Peters. He also recruited former four-star defensive end Denico Autry as a four-star JUCO transfer, and Autry is now starring in the NFL.

Steve Stripling, Tennessee: Stripling’s recruiting prowess has played a major role in Butch Jones’ rebuilding efforts at Tennessee the last two seasons. The Vols top recruiter has dominated the trenches as a recruiter, courting 2014 freshman sack artist Derek Barnett to Knoxville last winter and three more four- and five-star defensive linemen are slated to join Barnett from this year’s class in All-Americans Kyle Phillips, Khalil McKenzie and Shy Tuttle.