Ranking every SEC team based on overall roster talent

The difference in talent between the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-14 in ’14) is subtle, if tangible. In the NFL, talent matters, but it’s just one of the factors.

A college team’s talent level is a much bigger deal. Even with parity-inducing measures that include an overflow of money and rules that favor strong passing teams, only a fraction of the 128 FBS teams enter any given season with a real chance to win a national championship.

Within that context, we’ve taken a deep, weeks-long examination of every SEC roster by position. Using recruiting rankings, we’ve been able to pinpoint each team’s talent level at every position. For example, if a team’s roster includes one five-star quarterback and two three-star quarterbacks, that’s an average rating of 3.7.

Here’s a position-by-position look at the talent level of every SEC team:

• Quarterbacks
• Running backs
• Wide receivers
• Tight ends
• Offensive line
• Defensive line
• Linebackers
• Defensive backs

The usual contention is that recruiting rankings are not an accurate reflection of talent. In the short run, that’s true. We’re all able to identify three-star players who are better than five-stars. Some teams are better at talent evaluation and development.

Given a larger sample size, though, and collecting the best talent matters. A team full of four-star players is going to have a built-in advantage against a team full of two-star players.

Although there are misevaluations on occasion, at this point the ratings are pretty accurate in terms of raw physical ability. And in this case, we’re referring to “talent” not as on-field production or ability as a college player, but rather the level of athleticism and raw materials.

This is not meant to be a prediction of which rosters are the best, or which teams will win the most games in 2015. Things like health, scheme, experience level, schedule and positional value all come into play.

So why use the recruiting rankings at all? It’s a great way to objectively classify the type of players on each roster as of now. It can help us identify which teams are failing to develop talent, or developing talent very well. In short, it provides us with enough raw information to have some interesting discussions about SEC football.

SEC TEAMS RANKED BY AVERAGE RECRUITING RANKING

“Average rating” refers to each team’s eight-position average. We used the number of four- and five-star players to break ties.

Also listed in the chart above: each team’s most talent-rich and talent-poor position(s).

• There are five different SEC teams with at least 40 four- or five-star players: Alabama (64), Georgia (46), LSU (46), Auburn (44) and Texas A&M (40).
• Despite the conference’s reputation for sub-par quarterback talent at this juncture, the position represents the best (based on recruiting rankings) for seven different SEC teams, most in the league and just ahead of running back.
• Tight end is the least talent-rich position in the SEC, based solely on recruiting rankings. It’s the least-talented position for eight different SEC teams.
• The SEC West claims four of the five most talented SEC rosters, though Tennessee and Florida aren’t far behind.
• Vanderbilt is the only SEC team with single-digit numbers among four- and five-star players on the roster.
• Missouri’s average talent rating is tied with Vanderbilt for worst in the league. The Tigers’ 12 “quality” players are 12th, ahead of only the Commodores and Kentucky Wildcats. With back-to-back SEC East titles, Mizzou deserves carte blanche to brag about its talent identification and development.
• Half of the SEC hovers between 3.1 and 3.3, while there’s a gap of 0.5 between No. 1 Alabama and No. 5 Auburn.
• Interestingly, four of the five bottom teams are strongest at quarterback, at least in terms of recruiting rankings.