2026 SEC Recruiting Rundown: Who's Flourishing, Struggling?
Right now, coaches are shifting their focus to the 2025 product on the field, though recruiting battles still rage on. How are the teams in the league stacking up?
The BCR is a percentage measure of how much of a class is made up 4 and 5 stars. SEC and National Rankings are self-explanatory.
| Team | SEC Rank | National Rank | Blue Chip Ratio |
| Georgia | 1 | 2 | 77.4% |
| Texas | 2 | 4 | 71.4% |
| Texas A&M | 3 | 5 | 77.8% |
| Alabama | 4 | 7 | 61.9% |
| LSU | 5 | 8 | 76.4% |
| Tennessee | 6 | 12 | 54.5% |
| Florida | 7 | 14 | 72.2% |
| South Carolina | 8 | 17 | 64.2% |
| Ole Miss | 9 | 20 | 40.0% |
| Oklahoma | 10 | 27 | 40.0% |
| Arkansas | 11 | 30 | 14.8% |
| Kentucky | 12 | 38 | 20.0% |
| Vanderbilt | 13 | 40 | 5.6% |
| Mississippi State | 14 | 51 | 0% |
| Auburn | 15 | 55 | 45.4% |
| Missouri | 10 | 66 | 0% |
The ninth best class in the SEC is Top 20 nationally. The fifth best is top 8. If you want to understand SEC depth and competitiveness, there it is.
Half of the SEC is recruiting above the 50% BCR breakpoint. The imaginary line that has, to date, selected as a minimum qualifier for a national title. The most surprising team above that threshold in 2026? South Carolina.
South Carolina’s recent rise in recruiting fortunes should not be discounted. The state is booming demographically and it’s consistently under-scouted. It is also the most convenient SEC school for North Carolina talent that wants to play “real football.”
Auburn, Ole Miss and Oklahoma are within striking distance of the BCR if they finish very well. Arky, Kentucky, Miss State, Vandy and Mizzou are the clear BCR deficit outliers in the league.
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The real break happens after #8 South Carolina when you factor in quality and ranking. If you’re below that, you’ve got real work to do, you’ve accepted who you are and will try to win with systems and development, or you’re expecting to do major portal work every year.
Auburn’s issue is volume – they only have 11 commitments, but you can see they just missed the BCR ratio. Quality is fine. Recruits and alums are wait-and-see on their 2025 season and Hugh Freeze is getting his golf time in. If they break through, I’d anticipate a strong finish and some flips.
If you want to understand what’s happening at Missouri, read the Burnt Orange Bible. Drinkwitz just got his contract extended through 2029 after a favorable scheduling run built on vapor, good staff portal work, and trading info and access to national media for glowing stories about his brilliance. Their inability to recruit and develop from the high school ranks will catch up with him eventually, but hey, new contract.
What’s going on at Oklahoma? I’ve tried to explain it here, but I also have a comprehensive piece in Thinking Texas Football about our approach to roster management contrasted to what OU was doing (badly) and why they brought on Jim Nagy, who is setting his own course.
What jumps out to you?
