Alabama - Kendall Sheffield/Minkah Fitzpatrick, CB
I know I'm cheating already by picking 2 players instead of one, but I'm so excited to watch each of these guys play next year. Both have incredible strength and size for the CB position and should compete for playing time right away. Both players are also ridiculously fast and have great agility (Sheffield looked faster, Fitzpatrick looked quicker) that should be huge in pass coverage. I'm glad we play relatively early in the year, because this combo will be brutal for everyone else over their next 3+ years in Tuscaloosa.

Arkansas - Jeremiah Ledbetter, DT
Ledbetter is a JUCO player from Hutchinson CC and should compete with others including incoming freshman Hjalte Frodholt for playing time alongside Bijhon Jackson. Ledbetter has a knack for finding the QB and had 16 sacks last year. He shows incredible athleticism for a guy of his size (6-3, 280) and could potentially play DE if Arkansas needed him to. Arkansas' D line was a big strength last season, and reloading with incoming recruits like Ledbetter should help them continue to have one of the better run defenses in the SEC.

Auburn - Byron Cowart, DE
Cowart was the #1 DE in the class of 2015 and the #1 player according to Rivals. He will be big for an Auburn team that really struggled to rush the passer last season. We know Will Muschamp can develop good pass rushers (Orakpo, Fowler, Groves, Kindle, Acho) and he has the benefit of already having an incredible one on the roster in Carl Lawson. The addition of Cowart is massive because he has the opportunity (especially if he plays the BUCK) of taking advantage of mismatches because so much attention (rightfully so) will be paid to Lawson. Cowart has great strength and quickness off the line and I'm not looking forward to seeing him take on UGA the next 3 years.

LSU - Arden Key, DE
I believe Kevin Tolliver will be an absolute beast over the next few years, but the DB position is so much more set than the DL, especially DE so I'm very excited to see what kind of an impact Key can have next year. Key is at the disadvantage of not having participated in summer camp because of grade issues, but he still has a good chance to compete for serious playing time this year. Tehumea was underwhelming last year, and I don't believe the two projected starters as of this time have more than 2 sacks in their career combined. Key has a little bit of a lanky frame (6-5, 230), but he still has incredible strength for that size. I wish he could have gotten in the college weight room a little bit earlier, but he still should have a big impact this season and will get even better as the season goes on.

Mississippi St. - Leo Lewis, LB
I'm not sure there's a single incoming recruit who loves hitting his opponent as much as Leo Lewis does. Lewis is a very aggressive player who flies all over the field making tackles and disrupting receivers. I believe Beniquez Brown is the only linebacker who has his starting spot secured, but if Lewis starts this season I don't see it being until a little later after he's gotten a little bit more experience. I do expect him to be used in situations where a little bit more speed is needed because he definitely provides more of that than Richie Brown. Lewis will also definitely soften the loss of Benardrick Mckinney as well. He truly will be a special talent in the SEC and will be a starter for years to come at MSU (as long as he can be more decisive on the football field than he was in his recruiting).

Ole Miss - D.J. Jones, DT
I don't expect Ole Miss to have a ton of Freshmen play this year because of their depth already on that side of the ball, but one player who might see some significant playing time is JUCO recruit D.J. Jones. Jones can eat up some space (6-0, 325) and will definitely be a good addition to the Rebels' run defense which struggled at points last year. For his size, Jones also does a very good job of shedding blocks and getting to the quarterback (8 sacks last year at East Mississippi C.C.) Nkemdiche is definitely the star of the D Line, but guys like Jones who are able to give Nkemdiche a little bit of a rest will be huge so he doesn't tire down in the 4th quarter.

Texas A&M - Daylon Mack
Mack absolutely destroyed at the Under All-American game last year, and he might be one of the fast 330 pound dudes in the history of the world. Mack is probably the most explosive DT I remember in recent memory. He is a huge addition to a Texas A&M defense that has really struggled to stop the run under Sumlin and Mack along with sophomore Zaycoven Henderson (and the help of John Chavis) may be bright spots in the middle of the defense. A little bit more depth would be nice so Mack wouldn't have to be so important right off the bat, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was up to the challenge. Along with his impact on run defense, he will also get to the QB, especially with Myles Garrett being blocked by two guys as often as he will be. I wouldn't be surprised to see Mack in on in goal line packages on offense as well at the FB position and just pound some defenders into the end zone. What a freaking get for the Ags.