in the last 3 years, here are the top teams when it comes to recruiting (per 247's composite rankings)
TIER ONE: top 10 recruiter every year
Alabama – 1, 1, 1
Ohio State – 2, 3, 7
LSU – 6, 2, 5
Florida State – 10, 4, 3
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TIER TWO: top 10 recruiter 2 out of the last 3 years
Texas A&M – 9, 5, 11
Georgia – 11, 8, 6
USC – 12, 10, 2
Auburn – 13, 6, 9
Florida – 3, 9, 21
Tennessee – 24, 7, 4
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TIER THREE: top 10 recruiter 1 out of the last 3 years
Notre Dame – 5, 11, 13
UCLA – 7, 19, 12
Ole Miss – 8, 15, 17
Clemson – 15, 18, 8
Texas – 17, 17, 10
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every team on this list other than Florida, Texas, and Michigan are in the top 25 polls. and Florida/Michigan just had recent coaching changes.
so its not media or coach bias toward the SEC, its bias toward RECRUITING. which is usually the best indicator of success. the SEC schools just happen to dominate recruiting. which is why they get the respect during the pre-season. the same respect afforded to Florida State, USC, and Ohio State.