There's NSD analysis to come, but for now, here's what the past four years' worth of recruiting rankings look like for the SEC. This is just a snapshot of data; no adjustments for attrition or early draft entries have been made. R is for Rivals; S is for Scout.
EAST DIVISION
Team | R 2007 | S 2007 | R 2008 | S 2008 | R 2009 | S 2009 | R 2010 | S 2010 | Avg. |
Florida | 1 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 6.38 |
Georgia | 9 | 17 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 16 | 21 | 10.63 |
Tennessee | 3 | 4 | 35 | 35 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 14.88 |
South Carolina | 6 | 7 | 22 | 34 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 34 | 19.13 |
Kentucky | 54 | 58 | 57 | 53 | 41 | 27 | 49 | 46 | 48.13 |
Vanderbilt | 67 | 87 | 90 | 74 | 71 | 72 | 60 | 53 | 71.75 |
WEST DIVISION
Team | R 2007 | S 2007 | R 2008 | S 2008 | R 2009 | S 2009 | R 2010 | S 2010 | Avg. |
LSU | 4 | 5 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 5.75 |
Alabama | 10 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5.75 |
Auburn | 7 | 6 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 4 | 5 | 11.88 |
Ole Miss | 27 | 31 | 29 | 38 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 23.88 |
Arkansas | 31 | 34 | 36 | 24 | 16 | 20 | 48 | 36 | 30.63 |
Miss St. | 39 | 27 | 44 | 33 | 25 | 19 | 38 | 38 | 32.88 |
The conference breaks down into rough tiers, talent-wise:
- The Leaders: Alabama, LSU, and Florida
- Right Behind: Georgia and Auburn, and to a lesser extent Tennessee
- Hanging Back: South Carolina and Ole Miss
- Trailing: Arkansas and Mississippi State
- Way Behind: Kentucky and Vanderbilt
Do note that averaging a 30-ish ranking gets you put in the "Trailing" category in the SEC. It puts you in ninth or tenth place in the conference's talent order. That's how competitive recruiting is in this conference. By comparison, 30-ish is where Oklahoma State, the third best team in the Big 12 in 2009, has ended up over the last four seasons. A rank of 30 in one season still puts you in the top 75% of college football.
No other conference really compares when it comes to this recruiting game.