Recruiting Round Up: January 5

We're now about a month out from National Signing Day. While it's a bit much to do detailed recruiting coverage for the entire conference, we can compile all the experts' rankings in one place so you don't have to. This will be coming each Tuesday until NSD. This is a look at how things stand today.

Last season was a banner year for recruiting in the SEC. Ten of the 12 member schools (all but Kentucky and Vandy) ended up in the Rivals, Scout, and ESPN top 25 class rankings, something that is inordinately difficult to do. By comparison, only seven did that in 2007 and six accomplished that in 2008.

As things stand right now, only six (Rivals and Scout) or seven (ESPN) are in the top 25 depending on who you ask. However, a month is a looooong time in the recruiting world. Coaches are still working to seal the deal with prospects, so these lists are likely to look fairly different in a month's time.

I generally consider Rivals to be the best of the three, and Rivals and Scout tend to be somewhat close to each other. ESPN is quite different and often disagrees greatly. It's also worth noting that player rankings tend to get shuffled around so uncommited kids take up most of the top spots. It keeps the drama high and the clicks coming that way. They are also liable to shift as the high school All American proceedings continue.

One thing that jumps out at me at the moment is the prominence of Auburn. For as widely as the Gene Chizik hire was panned last year, he put together a consensus top 25 class (top 20 in both Rivals and Scout) a year ago despite it being a transitionary time, and now he's got potentially a top five or ten class brewing this year. Whatever you think of his coaching prowess, the guy and his staff can recruit.

RIVALS

Overall Team Rankings

2. Alabama

T-3. Auburn

5. Florida

7. Georgia

8. LSU

11. Tennessee

33. South Carolina

35. Ole Miss

40. Mississippi State

54. Kentucky

56. Arkansas

71. Vanderbilt

Top Ten Most Highly Ranked Players Committed to SEC Schools

8. DB Keenan Allen, Alabama

13. WR Da'Rick Rogers, Georgia

17. RB Michael Dyer, Auburn

21. DB DeMarcus Milliner, Alabama

23. CB Joshua Shaw, Florida

27. DE Corey Miller, Tennessee

33. DE T.J. Stripling, Georgia

35. DB Alec Ogletree, Georgia

39. WR Trovon Reed, Auburn

40. DT Kelcy Quarles, South Carolina

Scout and ESPN after the jump.

SCOUT

Overall Team Rankings

3. Alabama

4. Florida

6. Georgia

7. LSU

9. Auburn

17. Tennessee

31. South Carolina

33. Ole Miss

39. Vanderbilt

45. Mississippi State

52. Arkansas

Top Ten Most Highly Ranked Players Committed to SEC Schools

12. S Alec Ogletree, Georgia

16. DT Garrison Smith, Georgia

18. CB DeMarcus Milliner, Alabama

26. RB Michael Dyer, Auburn

34. DE Jacques Smith, Tennessee

35. WR Chris Dunkley, Florida

42. RB Mack Brown, Florida

44. QB Phillip Simms, Alabama

47. WR Da'Rick Rogers, Georgia

50. S Keenan Allen, Alabama

ESPN

Note: ESPN does not rank all 120 classes. It only is publishing its top 20 teams right now, and only publishes its top 25 overall at the end.

Overall Team Rankings

1. Florida

3. Alabama

4. Georgia

6. Tennessee

7. LSU

9. Auburn

15. South Carolina

Top Ten Most Highly Ranked Players Committed to SEC Schools

7. RB Michael Dyer, Auburn

8. S Jonathan Dowling, Florida

11. S Demar Dorsey, Florida

12. WR Chris Dunkley, Florida

17. RB Mack Brown, Florida

20. CB DeMarcus Milliner, Alabama

22. OT Ian Silberman, Florida

24. ATH Antonio Goodman, Auburn

33. WR Justin Hunter, LSU

34. TE Gerald Christian, Florida