The SEC has dominated recruiting landscape for a while but midway through the summer the conference is notably missing from the top of the 2018 rankings.
Recruiting rankings can’t fully depict the strength of any one class, but they do give a frame of reference for which schools are bringing in the most elite talent. As the calendar enters the second half of the summer of 2017 here’s what top 25 2018 recruiting rankings look like:
247 Sports Class of 2018 Rankings
- Miami – ACC
- Ohio State – Big 10
- LSU – SEC
- Tennessee – SEC
- Penn State – Big 10
- Oregon – Pac 12
- Oklahoma – Big 12
- Texas – Big 12
- Clemson – ACC
- Florida State – ACC
- Southern Cal – Pac 12
- Notre Dame – Independent
- Texas A&M – SEC
- Virginia Tech – ACC
- Oklahoma State – Big 12
- Michigan – Big 10
- Nebraska – Big 10
- North Carolina – ACC
- Washington – Pac 12
- Maryland – Big 10
- Kentucky – SEC
- Baylor – Big 12
- Northwestern – Big 10
- UCLA – Pac 12
- Minnesota – Big 10
There is still plenty of time left before the 2018 recruiting class is set in stone, but there’s something to be said about the slow start of the SEC. There are only two SEC schools in the top 10 and four in the top 25. That’s significantly behind the Big 10 who has seven teams in the top 25.
The most notable omission is Alabama. The Crimson Tide have the No. 51 class in the nation and just six commitments. That’s 10th best in the SEC. Also missing from the top 25 are traditional recruiting powers like Georgia and Florida. All three of those schools are being out recruited (at the moment) by new Texas head coach Tom Herman and new Baylor head coach Matt Rhule.
Next: 50 Best SEC players of All-Time
For several years in the later 2000’s the SEC outpaced the rest of the country on the football field. They have seven consecutive national championships (2006-2012) to show for it. But since 2013 the once dominant conference has just one title. The rest of the country is gaining in the recruiting game and the results are starting to be seen on the gridiron. The sky is not falling for the SEC, but their dominance might officially be coming to an end.
***247 Sports***