Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
James Morgan

Final 2023 SEC West recruiting rankings

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.

Buy Bulldogs Tickets

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)

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

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)

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

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)

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

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)

John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

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)

Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

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)

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

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)

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

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.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.