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As Early Signing Day nears, which SEC teams are best at keeping in-state talent?
By Les East
Published:
Every team in the SEC tries to surround its borders and sign the best high school recruits in its territory.
Alabama-Auburn, Ole Miss-Mississippi State and Tennessee-Vanderbilt are recruiting rivalries in their shared home states. Texas A&M, Florida, Georgia and LSU are the only SEC schools in their respective talent-rich states, but they have to fend off plenty of out-of-state poachers as well as in-state, non-SEC competitors.
Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky and South Carolina hope to pluck the elite in-state talent before doing some poaching of their own.
There are still a lot of commitments to be had — and plenty of work to turn commitments into signings — but here’s how the SEC teams are faring so far on their home turf.
Alabama
Number of Top 10 commits: 1
Top commit: Jalyn Armour-Davis, 4-star CB
Class comment: The Crimson Tide has a lot of work to do if it’s going to duplicate its in-state success of last season when it had twice as many top 10 Alabama recruits as Auburn had. The Tide has just one of the top 30 after landing six of the top 10, including the top two, last year.
Arkansas
Number of Top 10 commits: 6
Top commit: Connor Noland, 4-star QB
Class comment: The Razorbacks’ rebuilding seems off to a good start a year after they got five of the top 10 recruits in Arkansas. Two of their highest-rated commitments are offensive tackles.
Auburn
Number of Top 10 commits: 3
Top commit: Coynis Miller, 4-star DT
Class comment: The Tigers are running ahead of Bama with three top 10 commitments and five of the top 15. They’ve focused on offensive skill players with two wide receivers, a running back and an athlete among their six highest-rated commitments.
Florida
Number of Top 10 commits: 0
Top commit: Richard Gouraige, 4-star OT
Class comment: The Gators operate in one of the most talent-rich states, but they’re struggling with the elite prospects. The flagship school had no top-10 recruits in the state last season and so far has none this year.
Georgia
Number of Top 10 commits: 3
As of Thursday, Georgia was atop the SEC and No. 4 nationally in 247’s recruiting rankings.
Top commit: Justin Fields, 5-star QB
Class comment: The SEC champion Bulldogs had five of the top 10 in-state recruits last season, but have commitments from just two so far. But their performance in the College Football Playoff could win over several more. Georgia is stocking up across the board as their eight highest-ranked commitments play eight different positions.
Kentucky
Number of Top 10 commits: 0
Top commit: None in-state
Class comment: The Wildcats, who landed two of the top 10 in-state recruits last year, are still trying to find their class leader for 2018. They need offense more than defense, but will address both sides of the ball substantially and will lean on out-of-state recruits.
LSU
Number of Top 10 commits: 3
Top commit: Micah Baskerville, 4-star ILB
Class comment: The Tigers’ number of top 10 commitments matches the number they wound up with last season. But they still have work to do to make this an elite class. Linebacker and defensive tackle have been areas of emphasis and running back is a target area as well.
Mississippi State
Number of Top 10 commits: 5
Top commit: Malik Heath, 4-star WR
Class comment: The groundwork done by former coach Dan Mullen and his staff gave new coach Joe Moorhead and his staff a very good starting point. Among their most highly-rated commitments are three wide receivers and three defensive ends.
Missouri
Number of Top 10 commits: 1
Top commit: Daniel Parker, 3-star DE
Class comment: Parker is a good start, but the Tigers have a lot more work to do, especially on defense. They’re not overlooking the passing game, though, as they already have commitments from five wide receivers.
Ole Miss
Number of Top 10 commits: 1
Top commit: Deuntra Hyman, 3-star DE
Class comment: NCAA sanctions and the lack of a big-name hire as head coach leaves Matt Luke and his staff with catching up to do against Mississippi State. They’re focused on upgrading every area of the defense.
South Carolina
Number of Top 10 commits: 3
Top commit: Dakereon Joyner, 4-star QB
Class comment: South Carolina’s Mr. Football will be the centerpiece of the Gamecocks’ recruiting class. He’ll join a new yet-to-be-named offensive coordinator in rebuilding that unit.
Tennessee
Number of Top 10 commits: 3
Top commit: Greg Emerson, 4-star DT
Class comment: The coaching change put the Volunteers behind schedule, but new coach Jeremy Pruitt should have some contacts outside the state to supplement their in-state signees, the top three of which are all defensive tackles.
Texas A&M
Number of Top 10 commits: 0
Top commit: Jalen Preston, 4-star WR
Class comment: There’s a lot of talent and a lot of competition in Texas, but luring head coach Jimbo Fisher from Florida State should provide a significant boost for the Aggies by the time signings are complete. The Aggies have three commitments from wide receivers.
Vanderbilt
Number of Top 10 commits: 2
Top commit: Camron Johnson, 4-star WR
Class comment: The Commodores are doing better after failing to land any of the top 50 recruits in Tennessee last season. They tend to have their most success with skill players more than linemen and this year is no different.
Les East is a New Orleans-based football writer who covers LSU for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow him on Twitter @Les_East.
