Sunday, February 10, 2013
Who will be SEC's top freshman?
By Vince Verhei
The Southeastern Conference's final scorecard for the 2013 recruiting season: 349 signees, 111 members of the ESPN300, 58 players from the ESPN 150, 152 three-star prospects, 175 four-stars, and six five-star recruits. That's a lot of talent. Out of all those players, who will make the biggest impact this fall? The popular pick might be a certain Mississippi lineman, but ESPN.com SEC blogger Edward Aschoff is going with an offensive player instead:
Edward Aschoff
Plenty of momentum for Arkansas RB"I honestly think SEC teams did a very good job overall of getting guys who can contribute right away. I think Alex Collins has the talent to be a big part of Bret Bielema's offense at Arkansas. Bielema wants to run the ball a lot and Collins might have the most upside in Arkansas' backfield. He can hit the home run and smash through the line. Vernon Hargreaves III could start at corner for the Gators. If he does that, Florida will be able to move Loucheiz Purifoy to offense, where the Gators need a lot of help. Derrick Henry and O.J. Howard could contribute right away in Alabama's offense. Obviously, No. 1 recruit Robert Nkemdiche should make an immediate impact on Ole Miss' defense. He'll have competition up front, but he's too special of an athlete not to help that defense out starting on day one. I think Nkemdiche has a lot of pressure on him during his first year, so I'm going to go with Collins making the biggest impact in 2013. I think he could legitimately start for the Hogs at running back for the majority of the season."
