SEC Spotlight: Teams with most to gain from playing in 2020
Week 1 of SEC football is in the books, as the league will play a 10-game conference schedule, competing head-to-head on the field and in recruiting in the coming months.
Playing football this fall – which appeared to be in jeopardy because of COVID-19 – is important to every SEC program, but there are certain schools within the conference that have more to gain on the recruiting front than others this season by playing this fall.
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TEAMS WITH THE MOST TO GAIN: Big Ten
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
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1. OLE MISS
Lane Kiffin is now 0-1 in his first year as head coach at Ole Miss. He is a big personality and many recruits are aware of his coaching background, so the next couple months are very important for the Rebels.
Ole Miss has 12 commitments as we get ready to close out September, and that is the lowest amount of commitments in the conference. It had a good close of summer, adding seven commitments in July and August, but now the question is: How will Ole Miss close?
A lot of that could depend on what the recruits see between the lines this fall. It played Florida well early Saturday, but the Gators pulled away in the second half. There is some excitement in Oxford, the bling-bling was on the sidelines, and Kiffin is trying to appeal to top recruits. He will have his chance this fall.
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2. MISSISSIPPI STATE
What a start for Mike Leach in Starkville, upsetting national champion LSU in Mississippi State's opener.
Will he have any trouble recruiting quarterbacks? Likely not. Quarterbacks want to throw the ball, and in game one, KJ Costello finished 36-for-60 for 623 yards and five touchdowns.
Leach has put the SEC on notice, and recruits are very aware of what happened Saturday. The Bulldogs sit with 19 commits and are No. 30 in the country in the Rivals Team Rankings, but playing like they did Saturday, they could be on the rise this fall. Leach and his staff are new and they did not have a lot of time to connect with recruits prior to the quarantine, so this season is very important for them.
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3. GEORGIA
Some may be wondering why Georgia is even on this list. It is No. 5 in the SEC, which isn’t bad, but Georgia is outside the top 10. Since coming to Athens as head coach, Kirby Smart has been all about that face-to-face meetings with recruits and their families. Georgia has recruited much more national under Smart, so getting players on campus has been crucial to its success.
The Bulldogs have a new offensive coordinator and recruits have questions about that. This season will be extremely important to how strong Smart and his staff closes this cycle.
Georgia has won the last three recruiting titles, so we expect it to close well. But it is about winning championships now in Athens, and how UGA performs between the lines this fall will play a role in how it closes this recruiting class.
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4. ARKANSAS
Sam Pittman is the new head coach, and he is hoping to change the culture, bring a new energy to Fayetteville and get the Razorbacks back into contention in the SEC West. Pittman spent the last four years in Athens coaching offensive line at Georgia. He has a great reputation of being a very personable coach, and him not being able to meet with recruits and families face-to-face since early March has not played into his strengths when it comes to recruiting.
The players now will keep a close eye on Arkansas this season to see Pittman’s style, how the players are buying in and whether they see themselves fitting in. The Razorbacks played Georgia very tough for more than a half, and had the lead early in the second half, so the first impression was strong.
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5. TENNESSEE
Jeremy Pruitt just signed an extension and Tennessee is 1-0 after a road victory at South Carolina. The Vols are No. 3 in the SEC recruiting rankings and No. 5 in the country in the Rivals Team Rankings.
So why are they on this list? It is about holding on to what they have, and perhaps adding a few more pieces to what looks like Pruitt’s best class.
Tennessee has 12 four-stars in this class, and the Vols beat some heavyweights for some of their top commitments. Now, it's about taking that next step to show recruits they are ready to compete for SEC championships. Tennessee has won seven games in a row and has a lot of eyes on it this fall.