The Alabama Crimson Tide have reclaimed their usual status as the top recruiting team in the SEC West. Jimbo Fisher and the Texas A&M Aggies held the recruiting title last offseason.
However, reality has been harsh for the Aggies. Texas A&M failed to make a bowl game in 2022 and ended up having more than 20 players enter the transfer portal following the end of the regular season. Texas A&M still has a lot of talent, but the Aggies were not ready to make the College Football Playoff last season.
Defending SEC West champion LSU landed another elite class in Brian Kelly’s first full recruiting cycle with the Tigers.
How did the rest of the division do with the 2023 recruiting cycle (rankings per 247 Sports)?
Ole Miss Rebels (15 commits, No. 27 class)
Man is it tough recruiting in the SEC West. The lowest recruiting rank in the division is No. 27. Six SEC West teams recruited better than Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss. At the same time, six programs from the ACC and Pac-12 combined were ranked ahead of Ole Miss.
The Rebels put an emphasis on the transfer portal (Ole Miss added 13 transfers) and only signed 15 players in the class of 2023. Ole Miss signed one five-star, linebacker Suntarine Perkins. The Rebels added six four-stars and eight three-stars to complete their class of 2023.
Mississippi State Bulldogs (27 commits, No. 25 class)
The Mississippi State Bulldogs went for quantity with the class of 2023. The Bulldogs focused less on the transfer portal and more on developing their own players.
Mississippi State signed only four four-star recruits to go with 22 three-star recruits.
Arkansas Razorbacks (20 commits, No. 22 class)
Sam Pittman and Arkansas look to have an improved season in 2023. The Razorbacks added eight four-star recruits and 12 three-stars.
Arkansas signed the top two in-state recruits in the 2023 recruiting cycle.
Auburn Tigers (21 commits, No. 18 class)
Hugh Freeze and Auburn added 21 commitments in his first recruiting cycle with the Tigers. Auburn’s class of 2023 features 10 four-star recruits. Additionally, the Tigers are adding a dozen transfers.
Texas A&M Aggies (19 commits, No. 15 class)
One year after signing arguably the greatest recruiting class of all-time Texas A&M has returned to earth. The Aggies added a great deal of talent with the class of 2023, including five-stars David Hicks and Rueben Owens.
The Aggies signed 11 four-star recruits and six three-star recruits. Still, Texas A&M should be expected to improve on the field in 2023. With a little more offensive firepower the Aggies will be much more competitive.
LSU Tigers (25 commits, No. 6 class)
Brian Kelly came to LSU to have a chance to land more talent and win a national championship. Kelly did that with the class of 2023. The Tigers carry some momentum into 2023 after winning the SEC West last season.
LSU added a lot of talent on the offensive line and at pass rusher. The Tigers signed two five-star recruits, 16 four-stars and seven three-stars.
Alabama Crimson Tide (28 commits, No. 1 class)
Alabama signed nine of the 39 five-star recruits in the class of 2023. Nick Saban continues to stack No. 1 recruiting classes after missing on the top-ranked class with the 2022 recruiting cycle.
Alabama’s recruiting excellence forces the rest of the division to be strong at recruiting just to have a fighting chance against the Crimson Tide. Recently (the past two seasons), Alabama has played in close games much more frequently, but there’s still a major talent gap between Alabama and almost every team it faces.
