SEC football recruiting rankings
1. ALABAMA -- The Crimson Tide have a five-star quarterback, Blake Barnett, who enrolled this past week, and have commitments from five-star running back Damien Harris, five-star receiver Calvin Ridley and five-star defensive tackle Daron Payne. Yet the biggest concentration of talent is in the secondary, where Alabama has landed Deionte Thompson, the nation's No. 2 safety according to Rivals.com, and Minkah Fitzpatrick, the No. 2 cornerback. 2. GEORGIA -- This has been a solid year for elite talent in the Peach State, and it's been a solid year for the Bulldogs in landing most of that talent. Albany defensive tackle Trenton Thompson and Hogansville athlete Terry Godwin are rated No. 1 in their respective categories by Rivals.com, while Evans safety Rashad Roundtree is ranked No. 3 at his position. Those three are Bulldogs commitments, and the two five-star prospects who got away are offensive tackles Mitch Hyatt of Suwanee (to Clemson) and Chuma Edoga of Powder Springs (to Southern Cal). 3. TENNESSEE -- The Volunteers welcomed 10 early enrollees this past week, including former Alabama tailback Alvin Kamara and quarterback Quentin Dormady of Texas. One touted defensive tackle, Shy Tuttle of North Carolina, also arrived, but Vols fans will have to wait until this summer before another, five-star Kahlil McKenzie of California, sets foot on campus. "Tennessee has a bunch of talented defensive linemen coming in," said JC Shurburtt, the national recruiting director for 247Sports.com. "That's the difference-making position in the Southeastern Conference." 4. TEXAS A&M -- Kevin Sumlin's Aggies are adding two more coveted offensive components, quarterback Kyler Murray and receiver Christian Kirk. Murray is rated the No. 3 dual-threat quarterback by Rivals, while Kirk is the No. 3 receiver. Yet most issues for Texas A&M since joining the SEC have occurred on defense. The Aggies have commitments from defensive backs Justin Dunning, Roney Elam and Larry Pryor, each a borderline top-100 overall prospect. 5. LSU -- A year after landing tailback Leonard Fournette and receiver Malachi Dupre, the Tigers are at it again with five-star tailback Derrius Guice of Baton Rouge and five-star receiver Tyron Johnson of New Orleans. Johnson is the nation's No. 2 receiver and Guice the No. 4 running back. LSU has five-star commitments from cornerback Kevin Tolliver II from Jacksonville and offensive tackle Maea Teuhema from Keller, Texas. 6. AUBURN -- The Tigers welcomed seven early commitments this past week, including five-star Georgia Military tailback Jovon Robinson, who is signing with Auburn for a second time and could challenge Roc Thomas for the top tailback spot. Also enrolling early was Darrell Williams of Hoover, Ala., who is rated by Rivals as the nation's No. 8 outside linebacker. 7. SOUTH CAROLINA -- Steve Spurrier saying he may stick around two or three more years is being used against him by rival schools, and the Gamecocks have lost seven former commitments from a class that Rivals once had No. 2 nationally. Arden Key, a four-star defensive end from Atlanta, decommitted this past week and could wind up at Auburn. The Gamecocks are still flourishing in the deeply talented Peach State, landing Griffin tight end Christian Owens, Kennesaw quarterback Lorenzo Nunez and Homerville cornerback Octavis Johnson. 8. OLE MISS -- The injury to standout tackle Laremy Tunsil in the Peach Bowl could place an added importance on five-star commitment Drew Richmond of Memphis University School. Richmond is Rivals' No. 5 tackle nationally. The Rebels have commitments from the Magnolia State's top two prospects, guard Javon Patterson of Petal and inside linebacker Leo Lewis of Brookhaven. 9. MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Although the rival Rebels have commitments from the top two in-state prospects, Dan Mullen's Bulldogs have pledges from six of the top 10. Heading their in-state haul are running back Malik Dear of Jackson, safety Jamal Peters of Bassfield and defensive tackle Fletcher Adams of Brandon. MSU also has potential impact players in athlete Donald Gray of Copiah-Lincoln (Miss.) Community College and offensive tackle Martinas Rankin of Gulf Coast (Miss.) CC. 10. ARKANSAS -- The loss of linebackers coach Randy Shannon to the same role with Florida certainly could hinder future success of the Razorbacks in recruiting the Sunshine State. Tailback Alex Collins and tackle Denver Kirkland are Florida residents who are among the best players on the Razorbacks roster. Arkansas does have a commitment from four-star defensive tackle Hjalte Froholdt of Bradenton, but most of the Razorbacks commitments are from Arkansas. Jamario Bell of Junction City, Ark., and Jeremiah Ledbetter of Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College give the Razorbacks a pair of four-star defensive ends. 11. KENTUCKY -- The Wildcats are having another strong recruiting year under Mark Stoops, but it's not to the level of last year's class that Rivals ranked 17th nationally. Kentucky entered this weekend with seven commitments from Ohio compared to just two from within its state. Among the commitments from Ohio are tight end C.J. Conrad and brothers Andrew and David Dowell, who project as defensive backs. All three are four-star prospects, but none were offered scholarships by surging Ohio State. 12. MISSOURI -- Drew Lock, the nation's No. 6 pro-style quarterback out of Lee's Summit, Mo., elected to stay in-state despite offers from Michigan State, Ohio State, Tennessee and Texas. The Tigers also have commitments from a trio of four-star running backs: Chase Abbington of Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, Marquise Doherty of Kansas City and Natareace Strong of East St. Louis, Ill. 13. VANDERBILT -- Derek Mason's first full recruiting class is highlighted by two four-star players from within the Volunteer State. Rivals rates Donovan Sheffield of Ensworth High in Nashville the nation's No. 26 cornerback and hecommitted to Vanderbilt on June 22, 2012, while outside linebacker Josh Smith of Murfreesboro Oakland is rated No. 12 at his position and committed last July. 14. FLORIDA -- This is not a misprint. Due to the uncertainty approaching Will Muschamp's fourth season in Gainesville and ultimately his dismissal, Florida entered this weekend with only eight Rivals three-star commitments. Among the Rivals top-100 players from Florida, the Gators have commitments from Jacksonville center Tyler Jordan (No. 83) and Dade City defensive tackle Andrew Ivie (No. 96).
In the last four games of Alabama's 2014 football season against Bowl Subdivision opposition, the Crimson Tide surrendered a staggering 318.5 passing yards a game.
Alabama has slipped annually in pass defense ever since leading the nation in 2011, when it allowed just 111.5 yards per game, but help is on the way. Nick Saban has seven commitments from defensive backs in his top-rated recruiting class for 2015, inlcuding four who are ranked among the top 100 players nationally.
"It's similar to Alabama's class last year in that from top to bottom they've got a lot of good players, but what they've done in the defensive backfield is really impressive," JC Shurburtt, the nation recruiting director for 247Sports.com, said this past week. "They continue to show an incredible recruiting reach with the way they're able to get talent all across the country."
The Crimson Tide have a five-star quarterback (Blake Barnett), a five-star running back (Damien Harris) and a five-star receiver (Calvin Ridley) in this year's class, but their secondary needed quality and quantity following the shaky finish to a 12-2 season. The need to upgrade the Tide's defensive backfield was enhanced Friday when All-America junior safety Landon Collins officially announced he was forgoing his final season.
Heading Alabama's secondary class are Deionte Thompson and Kendall Sheffield from Texas, Minkah Fitzpatrick of New Jersey and Shawn Burgess-Becker of Florida. Thompson and Burgess-Becker are top-five safeties nationally, according to Rivals.com, while Fitzpatrick and Sheffield are top-five cornerbacks.
Thompson enrolled this past week and is quite aware of the immediate opportunity, having attended Alabama's 55-44 win over Auburn in which the Tide yielded 630 total yards and 456 through the air.
"That game was crazy," Thompson told Rivals. "It had me on the edge of my seat the entire game. The offense played a great game, but Auburn found a little bit of a weakness in Alabama's defense, and they attacked."
Alabama's 2011 secondary contained three NFL first-round picks: cornerbacks Dre Kirkpatrick and Dee Milliner and safety Mark Barron. Collins and Eddie Williams were five-star defensive backs who signed in 2012, but Williams was dismissed from the program two years ago.
The Tide did not make the secondary a recruiting focus in 2013, but last year's collection included three top-50 national players: Tony Brown, Marlon Humphrey and Laurence "Hootie" Jones.
"When you have so many good years of recruiting back to back to back, it gets a little easier because you don't have holes in your roster or things that you need to patch up within a year," Shurburtt said. "A lot of people look at the raw talent score and see a fifth-ranked class or whatever, but if you're not addressing needs, you're going to lose ballgames, because you're going to have a position on the field that's a weakness that other teams will exploit.
"It doesn't matter if you've got three five-star quarterbacks if you've recruited poorly on the offensive line or you have no corners. That's one of the things that Alabama does the best. They keep that roster in order and fill needs with high-quality talent year in and year out."
Alabama's secondary signees, who also inlude early enrollee Ronnie Harrison of Tallahassee, Rico McGraw of Nashville and Montrell Custis of Hampton, Ga., are not only touted but versatile. Thompson could be a safety or a cornerback, and the same can be said for Fitzpatrick.
"The coaches said I can play all three defensive back positions -- corner, nickel and safety," Fitzpatrick told Rivals. "They will teach me all three and see where I can play. I really don't have a preference."
Shurburtt said Alabama's crop of defensive backs is so stout that McGraw, who played at Ensworth High and first committed to Georgia, is considered "middle range" in the bunch. McGraw is a four-star prospect according to Rivals and 247Sportsand is rated among the top 150 overall recruits by 247Sports.
How many of Alabama's new defensive backs contribute later this year remains to be seen, but several should get on the field if recent tradition holds. Brown and Jones played right away from last year's class, while Humphrey was redshirted.
"Alabama is not afraid to play a true freshman, and that's different from a lot of programs out there," Shurburtt said. "Landon Collins was one of the best players in the country coming out of high school, and they didn't redshirt him. He played special teams and blocked punts and things like that. Their true freshmen are getting on the field, and that's a selling point.
"Their third-teamers are usually four- and five-star freshmen who have that athleticism, while some programs will throw out that walk-on and then have their head coach throw everybody under the bus when they give up two kickoff returns for touchdowns against Vanderbilt. It's because you've got Southern Conference-level players out there trying to cover kicks."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.