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The recruiting season is over, with the SEC once again sitting pretty at the top of the rankings. The conference pulled in five of the top-10 classes in the country, as well as 12 of the top 25.
With so many loaded recruiting classes, which schools will get the most out of their freshmen in 2015? Here are three classes we think could make an impact immediately.
RELATED: SEC’s top incoming players by position
Auburn
The Tigers went shopping and got defensive coordinator Will Muschamp some new toys. Byron Cowart will be a player that attracts plenty of attention from the minute he steps on the field, and Jeffery Holland has the ability to blow up blockers as long as he gets qualified. Perhaps the most important recruit is Jovon Robinson, the top JUCO running back in the country. With Auburn’s top three rushers from 2014 gone, there will be plenty of carries to go around and Robinson figures to grab a huge share of them. Several other skill position players, like Tim Irvin and Darius Slayton, have the potential to make a big splash playing in Auburn’s up-tempo offense as well.
LSU
The Tigers were young in 2014, and they’ll still be pretty young in 2015. Luckily, many of those young players gained valuable experience over the last year. Still, LSU should get plenty of production out of this year’s class. Derrius Guice and Nick Brossette should both be ready to contribute immediately in the backfield, Maea Teuhema could be an instant starter at offensive guard and top recruit Kevin Toliver looks primed to be a star at cornerback. Donte Jackson should be able to contribute on all three phases, while Arden Key will juice up the pass rush. There’s plenty to be excited about in a deep, talented LSU class, as the Tigers addressed several major needs and got deeper at positions of strength.
Tennessee
After watching its quarterbacks run for their lives in 2014, Tennessee set out to fix the problem by bringing in a load of talented offensive linemen. They were successful, landing four four-star tackles and another three-star. While some of them may have to switch positions, just having that kind of talent and depth will be huge for the offensive line. The group they brought in on the other side of the line as scrimmage is just as deep, with standout defensive tackles Kahlil McKenzie and Shy Tuttle and four four-star or better defensive ends. Add in a slew of talented playmakers in the back seven and guys like Preston Williams and Alvin Kamara on offense and you’re looking at possibly the last recruiting class for a long time that will be able to find immediate playing time.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
