For the third year in a row, SEC teams signed exactly 17 blue-chip (4- or 5-star) defensive backs. There may be other multi-position players labeled athletes who wind up playing in the secondary, but they were the top designated cornerbacks and safeties according to the 247Sports Composite.

In the SEC East, Florida likes to claim the title of “DBU.” Kirby Smart, a former defensive back himself, however, appears set on having UGA challenge the Gators for the best secondary in the division. The Bulldogs signed three blue-chip defensive backs, including two from the top 10: Richard LeCounte III (No. 4) and Deangelo Gibbs (No. 9). UF signed its own trio of blue-chippers: No. 31 Christopher Henderson, No. 36 Brad Stewart and No. 47 Marco Wilson (younger brother of Quincy Wilson).

The top SEC defensive back signee went to the other school that calls itself DBU, that being LSU. Five-star S JaCoby Stevens said his recruitment was over once the Tigers guaranteed that secondary coach Corey Raymond was staying in Baton Rouge. Raymond has become quite the recruiter and developer at the position, and will likely be someone’s defensive coordinator before too long. He also gets to work with No. 15 DB Grant Delpit.

There’s no discussing top SEC recruits without mentioning Alabama. The Crimson Tide pulled in a pair of blue-chip defensive backs, No. 12 Xavier McKinney and No. 30 Daniel Wright.

Will Muschamp and Travaris Robinson were excellent at recruiting and developing defense backs at Florida (as the below rankings show), and they hope to have signed their next great defensive back for South Carolina in 4-star CB Jamyest Williams. UGA pushed hard for the Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) product, but the Gamecocks won out.

How will these 17 blue-chip recruits and all the other defensive backs be remembered in the coming years? Here’s how the past five classes rank, potentially offering some insight:

1. 2014

The SEC absolutely dominated the 2014 secondary class. No matter how you slice it – four of the top six, seven of the top 12, 10 of the top 20 – it was clear that the country’s best defensive backs had their sights set on playing in the SEC.

In three years, we’ve gotten to know quite a few of those blue-chip names: Tony Brown (Alabama), Marlon Humphrey (Alabama), Teez Tabor (Florida), Jamal Adams (LSU), Todd Kelly Jr. (Tennessee) and Armani Watts (Texas A&M). Tennessee S Evan Berry was in the class as a 4-star ATH, but settled in the secondary once at Rocky Top.

This class finished with 22 4- or 5-star signees, the most among the last five classes. Just under the blue-chip cutoff was Florida CB Quincy Wilson, who proved to be underrated at only 3 stars and is rated as one of the top corners in this year’s NFL draft class.

2. 2013

Florida signed an impressive four blue-chip defensive backs in this class. Two are already in the NFL (Vernon Hargreaves III and Keanu Neal), while the other two (Marcell Harris and Nick Washington) will be starters in 2017. You can bet that Will Muschamp boasts about that on the recruiting trail.

LSU’s Tre’Davious White has a bright future ahead of him playing on Sundays. One of the most talked about names of the previous offseason, Maurice Smith, was also part of the 2013 class. While we often talk about Ole Miss’ big three from 2013 (Robert Nkemdiche, Laremy Tunsil and Laquon Treadwell), the Rebels were also pretty excited about landing Tony Conner.

3. 2015

Deciding between the 2015 and ’16 classes is admittedly like splitting hairs. Both signed exactly 17 blue-chip defense backs, and both have a similar number of young standouts so far.

We’ve already seen Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick play a key role on one of the country’s best defenses. LSU’s Kevin Toliver reminds the rest of the SEC why the Tigers like to claim “DBU.” Micah Abernathy has become one of the leaders in Tennessee’s secondary.

This should be a fun class to watch in its Year 3, as some of the studs will be trying to earn NFL signing bonuses.

4. 2016

They haven’t done much yet, but everyone is expecting big things from LSU’s marquee signees Kristian Fulton and Saivion Smith. Florida’s Chauncey Gardner benefited from enrolling early and stepped in when the injury bug struck the Gators. While it’s only been limited action, it’s hard not to get excited about Tennessee’s Nigel Warrior.

5. 2012

There were a lot less marquee defensive back signees in 2012 with only 12 blue-chip secondary recruits signing with SEC teams. The class does have some NFL names, like former Alabama S Landon Collins, now with the New York Giants.

Florida’s Brian Poole had an up-and-down career. He was one of the most sought-after recruits as the No. 6 defensive back prospect in the class. After college, however, he was not drafted. He found a perfect fit with the Atlanta Falcons, however, and started in Super Bowl LI as a rookie.

Jalen Mills wasn’t a blue-chip prospect, but he’s proved the recruiting rankings wrong by making it to an NFL roster (Philadelphia).