Halfway to Signing Day: SEC edition

We're right about halfway to Signing Day and that means it is time to take a look at the SEC and see how the conference is shaping up on the recruiting trail. Here's a few accolades for a few of the programs who are making head way (or not) at this point in August.

Best class: Alabama

This was actually a tough call. Yes the Crimson Tide are ranked No. 2 overall in the MaxPreps team rankings but when you consider what Florida and Auburn have done on the recruiting trail, those two programs deserve to be in the conversation. Florida has four top 100 players signed, including the top cornerback and wide receiver in the country. On top of that, they have a pretty good defensive back in Nick Washington, running back in Kelvin Taylor and a nice bookend of defensive ends in Jordan Sherit and Joey Ivie. Auburn meanwhile has the No. 3 overall recruit in the country in linebacker Reuben Foster playing alongside four-star backer Trey Johnson and the Tigers have perhaps the best defensive line class in the country committed in Carl Lawson, Dee Liner and Tashawn Bower. At the end of the day, Alabama's seven top 100 commits gives the Tide the edge, with running back Altee Tenpenny and tight end O.J. Howard giving the program some elite talent in 2013.

Work left to do: Arkansas

With nine of the 14 SEC programs in the top 25 rankings, it's hard to say many schools have a ton of work left to do. The recruiting cycle has certainly been accelerated and no conference has sped it up more than the SEC. The Razorbacks have had their fair share of issues because of the Bobby Petrino fiasco but should still be doing a tad better than they are on the recruiting trail. Perhaps a big season will help but outside of landing tight end Hunter Henry, there's not many impact players that will be coming in.

Under the radar class: Vanderbilt

You cannot help but be impressed with what James Franklin has done with the entire Commordores program, especially on the recruiting trail. Ranked 17th overall and with a top 60 quarterback in the fold, the group currently committed has plenty of promise. Wide receivers Dominic Walker and Carlos Burse are not known by many but should be able to play early. Linebacker Nigel Bowden is a nice addition on defense and Vandy is very much in the running for five-star safety Leon McQuay III.

Top commit: Auburn (Ala.) linebacker Reuben Foster, committed to Auburn

Loading up: Texas A&M on wide receivers (5), Tennessee on linebackers (5), South Carolina on linebackers (6).

Frequent Fliers: Alabama, with commitments from 12 different states.

Fence builders: Texas A&M, with 21 of 27 commitments from the state of Texas.

Road to Signing Day storyline: Just how many teams can finish in the top 25?

Of course it helps having 14 teams but still, what the conference is doing is still quite impressive in terms of recruiting. Half of the current top 10 is from the league and nine of the 14 teams fall somewhere in the top 25. Tennessee and Missouri could both close strong and sneak in while Ole Miss could surprise by Signing Day and are still in the mix for the No. 1 overall player, Robert Nkemdiche, despite him being committed to Clemson. We'll set the over/under at the current nine but we wouldn't bet against the conference hitting the over.

Top 25 teams:

2. Alabama
4. Florida
6. Georgia
8. Texas A&M
10. Auburn
11. LSU
14. South Carolina
17. Vanderbilt
25. Missouri