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SEC Report Card: September grades for each program
September is wrapping up so there’s no better time to take a look across the Power Four conferences and grade each teams on how they performed both on the field and in recruiting. We continue today with the SEC.
THIS SERIES: September grades for each program in the Big Ten
ALABAMA (No. 2 overall, No. 1 SEC)
FULL LIST: Alabama’s 2024 recruiting class
Alabama is the talk of college football after a phenomenal environment in Tuscaloosa this past weekend that featured former coach Nick Saban watching from his box, former President Donald Trump in attendance and a blowout-turned-thriller in a 41-34 win over Georgia. The Crimson Tide are undefeated and should stay that way heading into their Oct. 19 showdown at Tennessee.
Any questions that first-year coach Kalen DeBoer couldn’t recruit to Alabama have already been dismissed. Alabama has the second-best recruiting class in the country and a bunch of high-end four-stars that could end up in the five-star rankings. The Crimson Tide are still working on some major 2025 flips and the elite of the elite were in Tuscaloosa over the weekend.
Grade: A+
ARKANSAS (No. 26 overall, No. 11 SEC)
FULL LIST: Arkansas’ 2024 recruiting class
The Arkansas decision-makers find themselves in an interesting situation because coach Sam Pittman has been clearly on the hot seat and the Razorbacks are 3-2 but those two losses were a double-overtime decision to Oklahoma State and a nailbiter loss to Texas A&M this weekend. Arkansas went to Auburn and won even though that win seems less impressive now and a brutal stretch is coming up with Tennessee, LSU, Ole Miss and Texas all by the middle of November. Will that seal Pittman’s fate?
Recruiting has been strong, if not spectacular. The Razorbacks have the No. 26 class nationally led by four-star defensive players Tavion Wallace and Kevin Oatis. In-state recruiting has been disappointing this cycle as only one of the top five prospects – quarterback Grayson Wilson – has picked Arkansas. Oklahoma has come in and landed two four-star safeties in Omarion Robinson and Marcus Wimberly.
Grade: B-
AUBURN (No. 4 overall, No. 3 SEC)
FULL LIST: Auburn’s 2024 recruiting class
Auburn is 2-3, blew the Oklahoma game and now has to visit Georgia, which is coming off a loss to Alabama and is looking for revenge. That’s not a good sign for coach Hugh Freeze and his team who have now lost to Cal, Arkansas and the Sooners all at Jordan-Hare Stadium this season. Here’s an incredible stat: Auburn and its opponents have an equal number of rushing touchdowns and the Tigers have 16 passing touchdowns to their opponents’ four, yet Auburn has a losing record.
Through all of the on-field struggles, recruiting has been phenomenal and has a chance to be even better if high four-star quarterback Deuce Knight flips from Notre Dame. Auburn has the fourth-best recruiting class nationally and flipped four-star LB Elijah Melendez from Miami in September. That was a few weeks after flipping high four-star DE Nathaniel Marshall from Michigan.
Grade: C-
FLORIDA (No. 43 overall, No. 15 SEC)
FULL LIST: Florida’s 2024 recruiting class
This is how September went in Gainesville: The Gators got embarrassed by Miami and also lost to Texas A&M at The Swamp and then beat Samford and Mississippi State as calls for coach Billy Napier’s head continue into UCF week. If Florida loses to the Knights, it could be over for Napier but it just feels like any loss (like let’s say at Tennessee on Oct. 12) will put the Florida fans and donors over the edge.
Recruiting has been slow in September as well as Florida landed no commitments and the Gators rank No. 43 nationally. Only Vanderbilt has a lower-ranked class in the SEC right now.
Grade: D-
GEORGIA (No. 6 overall, No. 5 SEC)
FULL LIST: Georgia’s 2024 recruiting class
Georgia played like Georgia when it clobbered Clemson, 34-3, in the season opener but the last two games were not typical performances. The Bulldogs escaped Kentucky with a 13-12 win and then they were getting blown out by Alabama before taking the lead late only to give up a huge touchdown catch to freshman five-star receiver Ryan Williams to lose in Tuscaloosa. Still, coach Kirby Smart is phenomenal and Georgia is one of the best teams in the country (although Texas and Tennessee will test that theory later in the season).
Recruiting has been going great but others in the SEC are recruiting better right now. There were no September commitments and the Bulldogs still don’t have any five-stars in this class although that should probably change by signing day. Still, Georgia is ranked fifth in the SEC as five teams have five-star pledges.
Grade: A-
KENTUCKY (No. 31 overall, No. 12 SEC)
FULL LIST: Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting class
Kentucky has seemed to turn a corner after an embarrassing no-show performance in a 31-6 loss to South Carolina earlier this season by battling Georgia to the end in a one-point loss, housing Ohio and then shocking Ole Miss in Oxford last weekend. From the loss to the Gamecocks to the Saturday stunner, the Wildcats look like a totally different (and more confident) team.
Kentucky hasn’t landed a commitment since early July so it’s been a dry spell for the Wildcats but nearly half of their 17-person recruiting class are four-stars so it’s a strong group coming to Lexington.
Grade: B-
LSU (No. 3 overall, No. 2 SEC)
FULL LIST: LSU’s 2024 recruiting class
After a season-opening loss to USC in Las Vegas, LSU has won four-straight games although it hasn’t always been pretty, especially at South Carolina and for long stretches at home against UCLA. South Alabama could have been a tricky game this past weekend but the Tigers took care of business, 42-10, before a bye week as LSU prepares for Ole Miss in a couple weeks.
One commitment came in for LSU during the month of September when it landed four-star defensive tackle Walter Mathis Jr. from Savannah (Ga.) Calvary Day. Trailing only Ohio State and Alabama in the team rankings, the Tigers have the second-most five-stars in the 2025 class behind only the Buckeyes.
Grade: A-
MISSISSIPPI STATE (No. 35 overall, No. 13 SEC)
FULL LIST: Mississippi State’s 2024 recruiting class
It has not been a good start for first-year coach Jeff Lebby, who has to remodel the entire program while also trying to get ready for SEC games. Still, the Bulldogs lost to Arizona State, got embarrassed at home by Toledo, got blown out by Florida and then hung in there for a while against Texas before losing, 35-13, this past weekend. Georgia is up next in two weeks.
Recruiting in September was actually pretty decent for the Bulldogs, who landed a commitment from four-star linebacker Tyler Lockhart, one of the top prospects in the state, and then got former four-star defensive back Tony Mitchell from junior college. For a team struggling on the field, those were two big pieces moving forward.
Grade: C-
MISSOURI (No. 17 overall, No. 10 SEC)
FULL LIST: Missouri’s 2024 recruiting class
Missouri is undefeated and ranked in the top 10 but there have been two near-misses for the Tigers in close wins over Boston College and Vanderbilt. At this stage in the program’s development, those should be blowouts as Missouri has its sights set on being elite in the SEC. The schedule gets tougher in conference play but there are still tons of winnable games on Missouri’s schedule coming up so a phenomenal season is absolutely achievable.
Ranked No. 17 nationally, Missouri’s class has been quiet since early July with no commitments since then. The Tigers should have loaded visitor lists once the big-time SEC programs come to town as there is a ton of interest in the program – and playing for coach Eli Drinkwitz – right now.
Grade: A-
OKLAHOMA (No. 7 overall, No. 6 SEC)
FULL LIST: Oklahoma’s 2025 recruiting class
Oklahoma is 4-1 but have the Sooners honestly played great football in any of their games yet? Not really. They blew out Temple to start the season but then struggled offensively against a bad Houston team, lost to Tennessee at home and then escaped Auburn with a victory after the Tigers’ bone-headed decision to throw on third down resulted in a pick-six. The Sooners have the week off before facing No. 1 Texas in their rivalry game.
There were no September commitments for Oklahoma but recruiting is going really well as it has the seventh-best class in the country. A phenomenal summer was capped off by landing five-star offensive tackle Michael Fasusi over the Longhorns and others.
Grade: A-
OLE MISS (No. 15 overall, No. 9 SEC)
FULL LIST: Ole Miss’ 2024 recruiting class
Ole Miss had been dominating weaker opponents with blowout wins over Furman, Middle Tennessee State, Wake Forest and Georgia Southern but got caught by a tough Kentucky team this past weekend in a 20-17 loss in Oxford. For a team that has national championship potential, it was a crushing defeat but in a 12-team playoff it doesn’t write off the Rebels.
With the No. 15 class nationally (ninth in the SEC), the Rebels landed one commitment in September from four-star LaDarian Clardy, who got a late offer from LSU, his dream school, but still picked Ole Miss. With coach Lane Kiffin’s penchant for utilizing the transfer portal, a more holistic look at recruiting success is needed there.
Grade: A-
SOUTH CAROLINA (No. 36 overall, No. 14 SEC)
FULL LIST: South Carolina’s 2024 recruiting class
The Gamecocks are off to a 3-1 start and really could be undefeated if not for LSU’s last-minute rally in Columbia. Other than that, wins over Old Dominion, Kentucky and Akron were all blowouts but the schedule gets monumentally tougher starting this weekend with Ole Miss followed by Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and others.
Recruiting has not really blown anyone’s socks off and is in the lower end of the cutthroat SEC. South Carolina had no September commitments and only one in early August as the team sits at No. 36 nationally, which isn’t terrible but that puts the Gamecocks at No. 14 in the conference with only three four-star pledges.
Grade: B
TENNESSEE (No. 11 overall, No. 8 SEC)
FULL LIST: Tennessee’s 2024 recruiting class
Coach Josh Heupel has Tennessee rolling as the Vols are undefeated and answered two big early tests by whipping NC State on a neutral field (the Wolfpack have proven to not be as good as expected) and then going to Oklahoma and winning at night by double digits. Former five-star Nico Iamaleava is one of the best quarterbacks in college football and this team is not showing any weaknesses.
Recruiting has been slow in September with no commitments but Tennessee also hasn’t had any big-time matchups at Neyland Stadium yet. That will change in the coming weeks when Florida, Alabama and others visit. There are a lot of elite prospects in every class who are interested in the Vols, who have the No. 11 class nationally.
Grade: A
TEXAS (No. 5 overall, No. 4 SEC)
FULL LIST: Texas’ 2025 recruiting class
Texas has five wins, no losses, and the Longhorns have looked great in all their wins. Their backup quarterback, Arch Manning, has been excellent with standout starter Quinn Ewers healing up. The Longhorns are arguably the best team in the country, loaded up in recruiting and in the transfer portal, and while October dates with Oklahoma and Georgia loom, Texas is good enough to beat anybody.
One big commitment came in September when the Longhorns flipped four-star defensive end Myron Charles from Florida State and then late August was phenomenal as Texas got commitments from five-star receiver Jaime Ffrench, five-star linebacker Jonah Williams and massive four-star offensive lineman Nicolai Brooks. No one is doing it better nationally than Texas right now.
Grade: A+
TEXAS A&M (No. 10 overall, No. 7 SEC)
FULL LIST: Texas A&M’s 2024 recruiting class
Other than a hiccup against Notre Dame to start the season, Texas A&M has won all of its games including SEC wins over Florida and Arkansas and beating a stout Bowling Green team. A&M’s offense, however, has not looked phenomenal in recent weeks and some of these games were too close to call. A tough matchup against Missouri awaits this weekend.
Four-star defensive back Rashad Johnson from Bushnell (Fla.) South Sumter was A&M’s lone September commitment as it’s been relatively quiet recently, but the Aggies still have a top-10 recruiting class.
Grade: B+
VANDERBILT (No. 88 overall, No. 16 SEC)
FULL LIST: Vanderbilt’s 2024 recruiting class
Vanderbilt has shown signs of life this season by beating Virginia Tech and nearly upsetting Missouri but also has an inexcusable loss to Georgia State. Like always, the SEC schedule is brutal for the Commodores and it continues this week against No. 1 Alabama.
Recruiting has also been slow. Vanderbilt had no September commitments and no August pledges either as the Commodores have only nine commitments and rank No. 88 nationally, sandwiched between Boise State and Air Force in the team rankings.
Grade: C-
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