All the different recruiting sites have their ways of calculating points for ranking all the classes. That's how people determine who has the top class of the year. However, that's not the end-all-be-all.
There's a reason why sportscasting wags usually call USC the most talented team in the country even though the Trojans rarely finish with the No. 1 ranked class. That's because Pete Carroll would bring in classes with the highest average star rating. Even right now this year with all the turmoil, USC has the highest average star rating on Rivals and Scout, just like it almost always does.
Average star rating is something that is often overlooked, but it can be more instructive. The points systems tend to favor large classes over small ones, but schools don't need large classes every year. A program that is running up against the 85 scholarship limit can't sign as many as one that has been racked by attrition or early NFL draft entries.
It's fun to look at the point rankings and compare classes that way. Don't forget to check the average star ratings too though.
After the jump are this week's rankings where Mississippi State surges and Tennessee nose dives. All the recruiting services during the last week updated their player rankings for the last time, so there has been some shuffling due to that.
RIVALS
Overall Team Rankings
1. Florida (no change from last week)
3. Alabama (-)
4. Auburn (+1)
6. LSU (+3)
8. Georgia (+2)
13. Tennessee (-7)
32. South Carolina (-6)
35. Mississippi State (+10)
36. Ole Miss (-2)
54. Arkansas (+5)
59. Kentucky (-4)
83. Vanderbilt (-7)
Top Ten Most Highly Ranked Players Committed to SEC Schools
1. DE Ronald Powell, Florida
4. DT Sharrif Floyd, Florida
5. DB Keenan Allen, Alabama
7. DT Dominique Easley, Florida
9. WR Da'Rick Rogers, Georgia
11. RB Michael Dyer, Auburn
19. ATH Spencer Ware, LSU
22. OL Shon Coleman, Auburn
23. DB DeMarcus Milliner, Alabama
25. DB Matt Elam, Florida
SCOUT
Overall Team Rankings
1. Florida (-)
4. Alabama (-)
5. Auburn (+4)
7. LSU (-1)
10. Georgia (-)
26. Tennessee (-19)
32. South Carolina (-1)
34. Ole Miss (-1)
40. Mississippi State (+10)
44. Arkansas (+5)
46. Vanderbilt (-6)
47. Kentucky (-3)
Top Ten Most Highly Ranked Players Committed to SEC Schools
2. DE Ronald Powell, Florida
5. S Keenan Allen, Alabama
6. DT Sharrif Floyd, Florida
12. DT Dominique Easley, Florida
13. WR Da'Rick Rogers, Georgia
15. RB Michael Dyer, Auburn
16. CB DeMarcus Milliner, Alabama
22. LB Alec Ogletree, Georgia
24. QB Phillip Sims, Alabama
32. S Matt Elam, Florida
ESPN
Note: ESPN's team rankings haven't been update in a while and are so out of date at this point, they are not useful.
Top Ten Most Highly Ranked Players Committed to SEC Schools
1. DE Ronald Powell, Florida
3. DE Dominique Easley, Florida
5. RB Michael Dyer, Auburn
9. ATH Matt Elam, Florida
10. S Jonathan Dowling, Florida
12. S Demar Dorsey, Florida
16. CB DeMarcus Milliner, Alabama
23. WR Markeith Ambles, Tennessee
24. Ju'Wuan James, Tennessee
25. DE Sharrif Floyd, Florida