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Tennessee coach Butch Jones’ strong recruiting and eye toward early enrollees led to immediate production each of the last two seasons. The Vols got 263 total games from the ’15 class, leading the SEC in total production by a team’s first-year players for the second consecutive cycle.
By contrast, Mississippi State got the least production out of its class for a second consecutive season. Bulldogs players from the ’15 class started just 3 games, fewest in the conference.
Based on some of the early top players in this overall class, the SEC is going to get some outstanding play at receiver, cornerback and defensive tackle in the next few years.
In the last month, we’ve taken a detailed look at the ’15 classes of all 14 SEC teams, charting out which players saw the most action and which redshirts from the group could make the biggest impact this year. You can take a look at all 14 stories by clicking any of the team names in the chart below.
| Team | Games | Starts | Percentage Played* | National Rank | Most Productive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Tennessee | 263 | 25 | 58.6% | No. 4 | LB Darrin Kirkland Jr. |
| 2. Georgia | 211 | 32 | 73.3% | No. 5 | DT Trent Thompson |
| 3. Texas A&M | 180 | 53 | 73.1% | No. 11 | WR Christian Kirk |
| 4. Auburn | 157 | 25 | 50.0% | No. 8 | CB Carlton Davis |
| 5. South Carolina | 139 | 32 | 48.1% | No. 19 | DE Marquavius Lewis |
| 6. Missouri | 130 | 17 | 56.5% | No. 25 | QB Drew Lock |
| 7. LSU | 124 | 39 | 58.3% | No. 6 | G Maea Teuhema |
| 8. Alabama | 119 | 27 | 41.7% | No. 1 | WR Calvin Ridley |
| 9. Florida | 114 | 39 | 55.0% | No. 21 | WR Antonio Callaway |
| 10. Ole Miss | 112 | N/A | 47.6% | No. 17 | QB Chad Kelly |
| 11. Vanderbilt | 104 | 14 | 68.4% | No. 46 | LB Josh Smith |
| 12. Arkansas | 91 | 31 | 36.0% | No. 23 | S Dre Greenlaw |
| 13. Kentucky | 83 | 30 | 42.1% | No. 38 | CB Chris Westry |
| 14. Mississippi State | 72 | 3 | 23.1% | No. 18 | WR Donald Gray |
*Only includes enrollees, based on the percentage that played at least one game in 2015.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
