Coach Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs made shockwaves across the college football recruiting landscape when UGA earned a commitment from five-star offensive tackle recruit Mark Matthews. The Bulldogs landed Matthews the day after he decommitted from the Texas A&M Aggies. Matthews is the No. 3 recruit in the country.

With the commitment, Georgia moves up to the No. 5 spot in the national recruiting rankings and second in the SEC. The Dawgs are still behind Texas A&M, but the Aggies have dropped to the No. 2 recruiting class in the country after Matthews' decommitment.

As a whole, the SEC is recruiting at an elite level once again. The conference has eight of the top-13 recruiting classes in the nation. The biggest recruiting surprise for the SEC has to be the Alabama Crimson Tide, who are ranked outside the nation's top-30 recruiting classes. With Alabama's continued on-field success in the post-Nick Saban era, it is shocking to see the Crimson Tide ranked so low.

The early signing period is from Dec. 2-4, so we are less than a month away from when the vast majority of recruits will sign. The regular signing day is Feb. 3.

In the transfer portal era, Georgia has proven that recruiting still matters. Teams often have to play freshmen earlier and earlier due to a lack of depth compared to previous years.

Updated SEC class of 2027 recruiting rankings

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart reacts during the second half against the Mississippi Rebels
  1. Texas A&M Aggies (23 commits, No. 2 national ranking)
  2. Georgia Bulldogs (25 commits, No. 5 national ranking)
  3. Oklahoma Sooners (27 commits, No. 6 national ranking)
  4. Texas Longhorns (23 commits, No. 8 national ranking)
  5. Florida Gators (25 commits, No. 10 national ranking)
  6. LSU Tigers (16 commits, No. 11 national ranking)
  7. Auburn Tigers (23 commits, No. 12 national ranking)
  8. Ole Miss Rebels (23 commits, No. 13 national ranking)
  9. Kentucky Wildcats (25 commits, No. 20 national ranking)
  10. Tennessee Volunteers (19 commits, No. 23 national ranking)
  11. South Carolina Gamecocks (18 commits, No. 27 national ranking)
  12. Vanderbilt Commodores (20 commits, No. 29 national ranking)
  13. Missouri Tigers (18 commits, No. 31 national ranking)
  14. Alabama Crimson Tide (16 commits, No. 32 national ranking)
  15. Arkansas Razorbacks (22 commits, No. 41 national ranking)
  16. Mississippi State Bulldogs (16 commits, No. 53 national ranking)

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This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: SEC football recruiting rankings after Georgia flips another 5-star

Source: Yahoo Sports