David Hunter
After covering Nick Saban’s recruiting success at Alabama, I thought it would be worth noting how the SEC has largely remained the dominant power conference in college football.
Start With Big Bodies
New programs entering the SEC in Missouri and Texas A&M quickly realized after year 1 that if they wanted to remain competitive and win games, they needed to start bolstering their size at every single position. Missouri’s 2014 and 2015 Classes are already proving indicative of how they are planning to implement size.
QB Drew Lock: 6’3″ 205
RB Chase Abbington: 6’2″ 209
RB Natereace Strong: 6’0″ 202
WR Nate Brown: 6’3″ 215
WR Darnell Green-Beckham: 6’5″ 175
WR Emmanuel Hall: 6’3″ 175
OL Andy Bauer: 6’6″ 304
OL A.J. Harris: 6’3″ 297
OL Kevin Pendleton: 6’3″ 329
CB T.J. Warren: 6’0″ 190
Credit to Rivals.com for the height/weight
Texas A&M has also seen similar size changes in their two most recent recruiting classes as a result of trying to keep up with more powerful programs (on & off the field) in Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, and LSU.
QB Kyle Allen: 6’4″ 195
WR Frank Iheanacho: 6’7″ 220
WR Kemah Siverand: 6’1″ 190
TE Jordan Davis: 6’4″ 252
TE Koda Martin: 6’6″ 245
OL Trevor Elbert: 6’6″ 292
OL Jermaine Eluemunor: 6’6″ 300
OL Avery Gennesy: 6’5″ 315
DT Zaycoven Henderson: 6’2″ 300
DT Daylon Mack: 6’0″ 322
DT DeShawn Washington: 6’3″ 275
CB Donovan Wilson: 6’1″ 185
Credit to Rivals.com for the height/weight
Build on Defense and Running the Ball
While spread offenses with passing focus such as Texas A&M lit up the scoreboard, the emphasis remains largely on stifling defenses and running the ball downhill.
Arkansas (4-4), LSU (7-2), Auburn (6-1), Mississippi State (7-0), and Georgia (6-1) all rank among the Top 20 college teams in total rushing yards on the season thus far. They have a combined record of 30-8 (78.9 winning %). Alabama is ranked 23rd and is sitting at 7-1 on the season.
Even Missouri (averaging 160 yards per game), Texas A&M (averaging 152 yards per game), and Kentucky (averaging 160 yards per game) have displayed a heavier rushing attack due to their conference allegiance and stand at 6-2, 5-3, and 5-3 on the year as well.
Emphasize Turnovers on Defense and Shut Down the Run
In order to build a strong foundation to winning games, teams must first take care of the ball and more importantly get the ball away from the opposing offense. The SEC has made a solid habit of doing so this season as they have usually done in year’s past and it helps explain why they stay dominant over the college landscape. Even lowly programs such as Vanderbilt have 7 fumble recoveries on the season thus far (2 more than Oklahoma and 3 more than The Ohio State).
Ole Miss: 17 INT and 5 FR
Auburn: 13 INT and 3 FR
Kentucky: 13 INT and 5 FR
Mississippi State: 11 INT and 5 FR
Georgia: 10 INT and 7 FR
LSU: 9 INT and 8 FR
Missouri: 9 INT and 7 FR
Tennessee: 9 INT and 5 FR
Florida: 8 INT and 8 FR
Arkansas: 5 INT and 5 FR
Alabama: 5 INT and 5 FR
Given the heavy reliance on running the ball in conference, it makes sense that the SEC teams are equally adept at not only stopping the run in terms of yards gained on average per game but more importantly they are able to keep teams from scoring touchdowns in the end zone on the ground.
Alabama: 78 RYPG and 2 TD
Georgia: 105 RYPG and 9 TD
Florida: 118 RYPG and 5 TD
Ole Miss: 118 RYPG and 3 TD
Mississippi State: 118 RYPG and 4 TD
Auburn: 120 RYPG and 10 TD
Arkansas: 138 RYPG and 8 TD
Compare those numbers to other programs in power 5 conferences: North Carolina (210 and 20), Georgia Tech (189 and 19), Texas (178 and 11), Oregon (172 and 12), Virginia Tech (153 and 12), and USC (152 and 13). Several of those SEC teams have completely dominated the landscape allowing almost half as many rushing yards in some cases and more importantly cutting down the touchdowns allowed by almost a third.
Stars Really Do Matter
A lot of college recruiting sites hand out stars like they’re going out of style when a player gets recruited by a top flight school. Alabama offering somebody whom was originally **? Maybe bump them up a star and watch as other teams jump on ship further boosting that player’s perceived talent level. With that said and as somebody who highly discounts the star ratings themselves as a standalone to talent… they do matter.
Here’s the breakdown of the 2014 Recruiting Classes by Rivals.com’s Star Count (note that Rivals does not use a 1* in their rating system)
Alabama: 6 5* / 13 4* / 6 3* / 1 2*
Auburn: 3 5* / 11 4* / 8 3* / 2 2*
Florida: 1 5* / 12 4* / 11 3*
Georgia: 1 5* / 12 4* / 7 3* / 1 2*
Kentucky: 10 4* / 17 3* / 1 2*
LSU: 2 5* / 15 4* / 7 3* / 1 2*
Mississippi State: 2 4* / 15 3* / 7 2*
Missouri: 2 4* / 18 3* / 8 2*
Ole Miss: 7 4* / 17 3* / 1 2*
South Carolina: 10 4* / 11 3*
Tennessee: 2 5*/ 16 4* / 13 3*
Texas A&M: 3 5* / 10 4* / 7 3* / 1 2*
Vanderbilt: 3 4* / 11 3* / 8 2*
Compare those numbers to the following programs: Florida State (3 5*/13/10/2), Oklahoma (1 5*/8/14/4), Oregon (5 4*/14/2), and USC (2 5*/9/8).
Credit to nowsportsnetworks.com for feature image
