ESPN College Football

Now that national signing day is out of the way, we're going to take another look at our SEC power rankings.

You won't see any change really, but we have more confidence in some teams now than we did before:

1. Alabama: The Crimson Tide hauled in the nation's No. 1 recruiting class last week and not only did Nick Saban sign a handful of top-rated players, but he met all of Alabama's major needs with the 2012 class. There are a few freshmen who could make early impacts in Tuscaloosa, including athlete Eddie Williams (Panama City, Fla./Arnold), and wide receivers Chris Black (Jacksonville, Fla./First Coast) and Amari Cooper (Miami, Fla./Miami Northwestern).

2. LSU: The Tigers' class wasn't as highly rated as some recent ones, but Les Miles and his coaches brought in a solid group and there are a few defense players who might see some playing time early. Three starting linebackers need to be replaced and a few freshmen will get their chances. While LSU lost Torshiro Davis ((Shreveport, La./Woodlawn) flipped to Texas, the Tigers brought in ESPNU 150 linebackers Kwon Alexander (Oxford, Ala.) and Ronnie Feist (Edgard, La./West Saint John).

3. Georgia: The Bulldogs needed to get bigger up front and add a couple of playmaking linebackers. Georgia did just that with the handful of athletic defensive linemen signed and grabbed top outside linebacker Josh Harvey-Clemons (Valdosta, Ga./Lowndes), who should thrive in Todd Grantham's 3-4. Georgia's offense could be even better this fall with Keith Marshall (Raleigh, N.C./Millbrook) helping Isaiah Crowell, and the wide receiver depth returning.

4. South Carolina: Talk about underrated. South Carolina didn't make much noise at all on national signing day, but the Gamecocks brought in a very balanced class and have a few players who should contribute early to a team that will yet again compete for the SEC East title. Two freshmen to keep an eye on in 2012 are wide receiver Shaq Roland (Lexington, S.C.) and safety Chaz Elder (College Park, Ga./Benjamin E. Banneker).

5. Arkansas: It seemed like the Razorbacks were headed for a very strong finish to its 2012 recruiting class, but watched as top receiver Dorial Green-Beckham (Springfield, Mo./Hillcrest) and four-star offensive tackle Jordan Diamond (Chicago, Ill./Simeon) committed elsewhere. However, Arkansas is still waiting on top athlete Davonte Neal (Scottsdale, Ariz./Chaparral) and signed some pretty talented wide receivers to add to that high-flying offense. Defensive depth was a need and Arkansas added six defensive linemen and snatched Tennessee linebacker commit Otha Peters (Covington, La./Covington) late.

6. Auburn: Before Auburn could complete its recruiting class, it had to find someone to run its offense. The Tigers lured Scot Loeffler away from Temple, getting a coach who knows a thing about teaching quarterbacks. Clint Moseley and Kiehl Frazier should be ecstatic. The loss of Michael Dyer hurts, but Auburn has a stable of running backs to work with and signed one of the best offensive line classes around. Also, athlete Ricardo Louis (Miami Beach, Fla/Miami Beach Senior) could be a real playmaker at wide receiver.

7. Florida: Will Muschamp wanted his team to get tougher and he took a step in the right direction by hitting the line of scrimmage hard in his first full recruiting class. He also got a big back in Matt Jones (Seffner, Fla./Armwood) and having D.J. Humphries (Charlotte, N.C./Mallard Creek) in early should really help the offensive line. Florida is also waiting for a potential receiving threat in Stefon Diggs (Olney, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel). Muschamp feels better about this team's attitude and expects a more resilient squad in 2012.

8. Missouri: These Tigers could come in and frustrate some of its new SEC East family with the depth it returns. No one is quite sure if top running back Henry Josey will return in 2012 after a major knee injury, but the Tigers added a very complete back in Morgan Steward (Kansas City, Mo./Staley), who could compete for playing time early. But Missouri took home the biggest national signing day prize when Green-Beckham picked Missouri. Mizzou lacked a big-play receiving threat until now.

9. Tennessee: There is a lot of talent returning in Knoxville and the Vols added some quality depth with its 2012 recruiting class. Tennessee took a hit when top inside linebacker Dalton Santos (Van, Texas) flipped to Texas and needed to add a big-time running back to help that offense, but grabbing junior college wide receiver Cordarrelle Paterson (Rock Hill, S.C./Hutchinson Community College) was big. He'll add to an already solid receiving tandem and could provide more leadership. Tyler Bray should have a fun offseason.

10. Texas A&M: The Aggies lose a lot heading into their first season as a part of the SEC Western Division, but helped the future by signing a top-25 class. Running back Trey Williams (Houston, Texas/Andy Dekaney) could provide an early spark for the offense with Cyrus Gray leaving. The receivers got some needed help with the signing of No. 3 receiver Thomas Johnson of Dallas, and outside linebacker Jordan Richmond (Denton, Texas/Billy Ryan) should see early playing time as well.

11. Vanderbilt: James Franklin's first full class at Vanderbilt was a total success. He showed that he won't just compete on the field with the SEC big boys but he'll recruit with them too. He beat out a few bigger schools for ESPNU 150 athlete Brian Kimbrow (Memphis, Tenn./East) and the Commodores added a lot of bigger bodies up front and at linebacker. Vandy's veterans shouldn't have an issue mingling with this solid recruiting class.

12. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs will head into the spring looking to jump start their offense. There is a lot of depth and three senior starters returning at wide receiver, but some oomph needs to return to this offense. It's officially Tyler Russell's time at QB and LaDarius Perkins and Nick Griffin could be a powerful one-two running back punch. Where Mississippi State really struck gold in recruiting was up front, where the Bulldogs added three top defensive linemen, including No. 13 tackle Quay Evans (Morton, Miss.).

13. Kentucky: The Wildcats need playmakers on offense and having running back Josh Clemons come back at full health this year, will go a long way. But Kentucky desperately needed to add more with its 2012 recruiting class. The Wildcats are hoping dual-threat quarterback Patrick Towles (Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands) can help in that department. Kentucky won't get anywhere without developing the talent already on campus and that's most important at this point.

14. Ole Miss: Hugh Freeze had some defensive success in his first recruiting class as the Rebels' head coach. There is a good foundation with ESPNU 150 defensive tackle Issac Gross of Batesville, Miss., and ESPNU 150 defensive end Channing Ward of Aberdeen, Miss., and the secondary got a boost when safety Trae Elston (Oxford, Ala.) picked Ole Miss over LSU. Now, Freeze turns his attention to players a part of a two-win 2011 season. Generating discipline and finding leaders are key for a program glued to the bottom of the SEC.

The SEC's dominance in college football was seen once again with the conference's sixth straight national championship back in January, but it all begins with a solid foundation.

That means teams have to go out and get a decent group of players. Well, in a recent project between ESPN The Magazine and RecruitingNation that complied recruiting classes from the last five years (2007-11), the SEC showed its muscle ... again.

The mad scientists behind the project "re-tallied the scores after signing day and ranked the schools based on total number of ESPNU 150 recruits (there have been 900) hauled in over the past six years" and came up with the top 10 recruiting programs. Four of the 10 came from the SEC.

Florida took the No. 1 spot, getting 66 ESPNU signees since 2007. Forty-two of them came from the state of Florida. Alabama ranked fourth, grabbing 51 ESPNU 150 members. Alabama has done the most with its ESPNU talent, winning two national championships (2009, 2011) since 2007, while Florida has one (2008) and has a 15-11 record in the last two seasons.

Note: ESPNU 150 prospects ATH Davonte Neal (Scottsdale, Ariz.), ATH Stefon Diggs (Olney, Md.) and OT Jordan Diamond (Chicago, Ill.) remain unsigned as of the publication of this insider story.

Here's a look at the four SEC programs that made the top 10:

1. Florida (66 ESPNU 150 signees since 2007)

"Over the past six years, Florida has been without question the No. 1 destination for elite prospects. The Gators have grabbed 66 ESPNU 150 recruits from 13 different states, none more surprising than Pennsylvania, where they signed the state's top recruit in 2010 (DT Sharrif Floyd of Philadelphia) and the nation's No. 2 TE in 2012 (Colin Thompson of Warminster). This year also marked a first for UF, when Will Muschamp ventured into North Carolina for the Gators' top two commits, No. 1 OT D.J. Humphries (Charlotte) and No. 4 DE Jonathan Bullard (Shelby)."

4. Alabama (51)

"The Tide signed the most ESPNU 150 recruits in 2012 (13), but they actually didn't gain the most ground from Year 5 to Year 6 (check the Seminoles). Still, Nick Saban's domination of the Southeast (43 of his 51 signees came from seven SEC states) is unmatched. He's also managed to expand his reach into Maryland for the nation's No. 3 (2011 OT Cyrus Kouandjio of Hyattsville) and No. 20 (2012 ATH Cyrus Jones of Baltimore) prospects. Beating out Les Miles for 2012's No. 1 S Landon Collins (Geismar, La.) was just another day at the office."

T-7. Georgia (40)

"Mark Richt doesn't have to go outside the Peach State often, but North Carolina once again proved to be fertile recruiting ground for an out-of-state program. The nation's No. 2 RB Keith Marshall (Raleigh, N.C.) joined four Georgia natives and No. 5 OT John Theus (Jacksonville, Fla.) to help form the Bulldogs' second consecutive top-10 class. As for those two recruits from Missouri (QB Logan Gray and TE Aron White, teammates from Columbia), they never quite lived up to their billing."

T-7. LSU (40)

"The Tigers' three-year run of top-10 classes ended in 2012, though they were only down one ESPN 150 recruit from 2011 to 2012. Miles saved face by convincing No. 3 OLB Kwon Alexander (Oxford, Ala.) to leave behind Auburn and Alabama. But surprisingly, LSU was shut out of Texas for the first time in the six years we've kept score."

Lane Kiffin's battles with Florida were pretty entertaining when he was at Tennessee. Now, thousands of miles away, Kiffin is still frustrating the Gators.

Wednesday, Kiffin and his USC Trojans staff nabbed two top Florida prospects from the Gators when No. 5 defensive tackle Leonard Williams (Daytona Beach, Fla./Mainland) and No. 6 wide receiver Nelson Agholor (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley) both signed with USC. Each was thought to have Florida and USC as their final two schools.

Kiffin certainly isn't a stranger to recruiting in this part of the country and he hit the Gators at two positions of need, especially with Agholor, who might have competed for immediate playing time with all of Florida's unproven wide receivers.

Now, Florida will hold out a lot of hope for No. 3 athlete Stefon Diggs (Olney, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel), who will make his college decision on Feb. 10. Diggs is expected to play wide receiver in college, and Florida needs a top-flight receiver in this class. The Gators only have two wide receivers in their 2012 class, in No. 24 WR Latroy Pittman (Citra, Fla./North Marion) and No. 152 Raphael Andrades (Tallahassee, Fla./Lincoln).

Florida's start to national signing day didn't really go as planned for the coaches, but the Gators received some good news after a few commitments didn't go their way.

The Gators' staff grabbed its ninth ESPNU 150 member when four-star defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. (St. Petersburg, Fla./Lakewood) flipped from Florida State to Florida.

Fowler helps add some depth to Florida's defensive line and could line up at the Buck position that Ronald Powell plays.

“It was real difficult,” Fowler told Derek Tyson of ESPN's GatorNation. “Being committed for a year and growing up a Florida State fan all my life -- I always hated Florida, and I always told myself I would never go to Florida and now I’m about to be playing for them. It’s kind of crazy.”

Florida also got a bit of a surprise when three-star wide receiver Raphael Andrades (Tallahassee, Fla./Lincoln) signed Wednesday morning.

It seemed as though Andrades was down to four programs -- Arkansas, Kentucky, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt -- but received a late offer from Florida. However, Andrades' interest in Florida isn't anything new. He actually considered walking on at Florida if he didn't receive an offer.

Florida is still hoping to add No. 3 Stefon Diggs (Olney, Mary./Our Lady of Good Counsel), who will decide on Feb. 10.

ESPN's recruiting experts have made their predictions on where some of the country's top uncommitted prospects will land next Wednesday on signing day.

Several of those prospects are looking hard at SEC schools.

Here's a look at who may go where:

• Receiver Dorial Green-Beckham (N0. 3 in ESPNU 150): All seven experts predict Arkansas
• Athlete Stefon Diggs (No. 13 in ESPNU 150): Five of seven experts predict Florida
• Outside linebacker Josh Harvey-Clemons (No. 17 in ESPNU 150): Six of seven experts predict Georgia
• Cornerback Tracy Howard (No. 18 in ESPNU 150): Six of seven experts predict Florida
• Athlete Ricardo Louis (No. 21 in ESPNU 150): Six of seven experts predict Auburn
• Outside linebacker Kwon Alexander (No. 29 in ESPNU 150): Four of seven experts predict Alabama. The other three experts predict Auburn
• Receiver Thomas Johnson (No. 33 in ESPNU 150): Four of seven experts predict Texas A&M
• Defensive tackle Leonard Williams (No. 50 in ESPNU 150): Three of seven experts predict Auburn. Two experts predict Florida
• Offensive tackle Avery Young (No. 61 in ESPNU 150): Four of seven experts predict Georgia. The other three experts predict Florida
• Defensive end Darius Hamilton (No. 69 in ESPNU 150): Four of seven experts predict Florida
• Defensive tackle Korren Kirven (No. 100 in ESPNU 150): Three of seven experts predict Tennessee. Three experts predict Virginia Tech. One expert predicts Alabama
• Athlete Jeremy Liggins (No. 118 in ESPNU 150): Three of seven experts predict LSU. Three experts predict Ole Miss. One expert predicts Mississippi State