SEC Spotlight: Stacking up the starting lineups by star ranking
The college football season is right around the corner so Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney took the lists of projected starters for each Power Five conference from the Lindy’s preseason magazine and broke them down by star ranking coming out of high school.
We start with the SEC.
Note: Five-star players are allotted five points, four-stars get four points and so on for each of the 22 starters on every team.
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1. TEXAS A&M
Total points: 91
Overview: Texas A&M had a historic class in 2022 and the defense is already well-reflected with some of those five-star prospects along with other high-level players from defensive linemen Shemar Stewart and Walter Nolen to five-star cornerback Jaylon Jones and elite DL Shemar Turner and Anthony Lucas among others.
But the offense is not too shabby, either, as five-star receiver Evan Stewart is a projected starter along with five-star OC Bryce Foster and then four-stars up and down the lineup. It sure looks like Jimbo Fisher is building a monster.
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2. GEORGIA
Total points: 88
Overview: What’s impressive is that Georgia has a whole host of five-star prospects who could play up to their ranking this season including RB Kendall Milton and offensive linemen Broderick Jones and Tate Ratledge along with LB Nolan Smith and CB Kelee Ringo on defense. But two of the Bulldogs’ best players are under-ranked.
Quarterback Stetson Bennett was a two-star coming out of junior college and four-star tight end Brock Bowers has proven to be far better than some players ranked ahead of him in the 2021 class. Georgia has the talent for back-to-back titles.
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3. ALABAMA
Total points: 85
Overview: Former five-stars Bryce Young and Will Anderson are two of the best in college football, then there are other elite players as well with that highest ranking including RB Trey Sanders, OL JC Latham and cornerbacks Kool-Aid McKinstry and Eli Ricks, a huge transfer addition from LSU.
What’s maybe most interesting here is that Clemson was seven points higher when accounting for all-star rankings so either the Tigers are poised for a run to the national championship again or maybe Alabama’s starters were a tad under-ranked.
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4. FLORIDA
Total points: 80
Overview: On paper, Florida is loaded across the board and especially on offense but that has not necessarily been the case and Gators fans fear some of the top players in Gainesville were either over-ranked or won’t reach their potential.
Five-star Lorenzo Lingard has not lived up to the hype and while Justin Shorter had a good season a year ago, he’s not playing like a surefire first-round NFL Draft pick. This number could be higher but TE Dante Zanders was not ranked coming out of high school and OL O’Cyrus Torrence had a two-star ranking going to Louisiana-Lafayette but he’s a far better talent.
Five-stars Brenton Cox and Gervon Dexter are living up to expectations and could both be first-round players. There’s talent across the board yet that just needs to be cultivated.
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5. TENNESSEE
Total points: 77
Overview: Although defense has been the concern in Knoxville, in terms of star ranking the defensive players scored one point higher than the offense, which could put up huge numbers last season. That should be very reassuring for Tennessee fans that there is a tremendous amount of talent on both sides of the ball now.
There is also an argument that some offensive players had been dramatically under-ranked as QB Hendon Hooker has played better than a three-star and Cedric Tillman as a two-star was a complete miss.
On defense, the secondary has three four-stars in Warren Burrell, Brandon Turnage and Jaylen McCullough so things should get better.
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6. AUBURN
Total points: 76
Overview: Auburn’s defense is especially loaded with four-star talent on all three levels with defensive ends Colby Wooden and Derick Hall up front, linebackers Owen Pappoe and Wesley Steiner and then a host of them in the secondary as well. What’s surprising is that talented cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett is not one of them as he was a three-star coming out of Jackson, Ala.
On offense, the right side of the line should be solid with four-stars Keiondre Jones and Austin Trozell but there are many three-stars at the skill positions. Auburn fans - and others - could argue that Tank Bigsby and Pappoe, especially when healthy, should have been five-stars.
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7. LSU
Total points: 76
Overview: LSU is an interesting mishmash of projected starters on both sides of the field as a significant amount of transfers could have a major impact on this team’s direction. Myles Brennan was listed as the starting quarterback in the preseason magazines and although that is far from settled, the total points wouldn’t change unless Walker Howard (a five-star) lands the job since the others were all four-stars.
This score would have been higher but OL Tre’Mond Shorts wasn’t ranked out of high school as he went to East Tennessee State. Offensive lineman Miles Frazier was a two-star when he went to FIU. It should also be noted that RB John Emery, WR Kayshon Boutte and OL Will Campbell were all one notch from five-star status. Former No. 1 Maason Smith is the lone five-star expected starter but the defense is loaded with four- and three-stars.
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8. SOUTH CAROLINA
Total points: 75
Overview: If South Carolina plays up to its star rankings for the projected starters then the Gamecocks could make some serious noise this season and surprise some people as an upper-level SEC East team. There are four five-stars slated to start with QB Spencer Rattler, RB MarShawn Lloyd and defensive linemen Jordan Burch and Zacch Pickens leading the way.
The offense has more firepower with four-star receivers Josh Vann and Dakereon Joyner and then on defense four-star MJ Webb and nickel Cam Smith have special abilities. There are also some transfers who could have a big impact in the starting lineup that were ranked lower at their previous schools. Shane Beamer could have some surprises in store in Year 2.
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9. KENTUCKY
Total points: 74
Overview: If there are any questions about Kentucky’s staying power following a 10-win season, the star rankings for its projected starters should make believers out of this team. The numbers could actually be higher but quarterback Will Levis and running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. were both three-stars in high school. They have both outplayed those rankings in a big way.
Receivers Tayvion Robinson and Dane Key were four-stars and while the offensive line is light on star rankings, the defense is loaded. Five-star Justin Rogers along with four-stars Octavious Oxendine and Tre’vonn Rybka are upfront. This could be another Kentucky team that makes things really frustrating for opponents.
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10. ARKANSAS
Total points: 72
Overview: Based on star rankings and Arkansas’ projected starters, the Razorbacks should be excited about the quarterback-receiver connection with four-star KJ Jefferson as the signal-caller and then the receiver corps loaded with four-stars and five-star Jaden Haselwood, the lone player with that ranking on either side of the ball.
Arkansas’ total number would be even higher but projected starters Hudson Clark at cornerback and safety Simeon Blair both went unranked out of high school.
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11. OLE MISS
Total points: 70
Overview: Lane Kiffin talked about this at SEC Media Days and how challenging it will be to bring all these transfers together but the Rebels will not be bereft of talent, that’s for sure. Four-star QB Jaxson Dart came from USC, five-star running back Zach Evans from TCU, high four-star nickel Otis Reese from Georgia.
There is a lot of talent at the skill positions and that usually means Kiffin’s team is going to score lots of points. This number would be even higher but projected starter DE Tavius Robinson was unranked coming out of Canada.
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12. MISSISSIPPI STATE
Total points: 69
Overview: The Air Raid offense should continue to hum this season as the entire Mississippi State offense is filled with three-star prospects and four-star rankings for RB Jo’quavious Marks and offensive lineman Percy Lewis.
QB Will Rogers has had great success in Starkville but was a three-star prospect and there’s talent all around. On defense, cornerback Emmanuel Forbes and Texas transfer Jalen Green were four-stars so if there are concerns in the secondary, there should be talent back there. Tackle leader Jett Johnson and sack leader Tyrus Wheat were both three-stars.
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13. MISSOURI
Total points: 69
Overview: Missouri beat Georgia and others for five-star receiver Luther Burden and he could have an immediate impact in the Tigers’ offense although there is other talent there with four-star Dominic Lovett as well. The offensive line situation is definitely interesting as there are three two-star prospects projected to start including transfers from non-Power Five programs in Bence Polgar and Connor Wood. Two-star left tackle Javon Foster was clearly mis-ranked coming out of West Bloomfield, Mich., with no other Power Five offers.
On defense, Florida transfer LB Ty’Ron Hopper and Clemson CB transfer Joseph Charleston are the two higher-ranked four-stars on that side of the ball.
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14. VANDERBILT
Total points: 67
Overview: Four-stars are difficult to come by at Vanderbilt but there are some at key positions with quarterback Mike Wright, receiver Quincy Skinner, Florida defensive tackle transfer Malik Langham and linebacker Anfernee Orji leading the way.
The defense is loaded with three-star prospects up and down the board pretty much but there will be questions remaining on the offensive line as there are four three-stars but the stoutness on both lines has been an issue.