Nearly a full year has passed since the SEC’s 14 member schools completed their 2014 recruiting classes. Eleven of those schools ranked in the top 30 in the 247Sports industry rankings.

But now, just how many of those classes lived up to the hype in their first year in the costless-for-all that is the Southeastern Conference? In an attempt to answer this all-important question, this writer has assigned grades to the fourteen recruiting classes based upon their performance (or lack thereof) in the 2014 season.

To clarify, these grades were awarded based on the impact the class made on the field in 2014, not based on the quality of the class. Players who redshirted were not accounted for in these grades, nor were the relative non-contributors from every class. If a team had a small number of contributors (relatively speaking) from its 2014 class, it was reflected in that team’s grade.

Now that you know the general rules, let’s jump right in:

ALABAMA: A

Key 2014 contributors: Cameron Robinson, Da’Shawn Hand, Tony Brown, Rashaan Evans, JK Scott, Jarran Reed (JUCO), D.J. Pettway (JUCO)
Breaking it down: The Crimson Tide’s Number 1-rated recruiting class had more immediate impact players than most, which assisted the Tide in yet another go at the conference title. Robinson stepped in instantly as a starter on the Crimson Tide's offensive line and held his own for a line that allowed the third-fewest sacks in the SEC. Junior college transfers Reed and Pettway each helped Alabama boast the SEC’s No. 1 run defense, and Scott took his place as one of the best punters in the nation in his first season in Tuscaloosa. Hand, a Top-10 recruit in the 2014 class, broke into a deep defensive line rotation and added 2.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. Brown and Evans combined to a total of twenty-four tackles, including 3.0 for loss.

ARKANSAS: C

Key 2014 contributors: Sebastian Tretola (JUCO), Jared Cornelius, Khalia Hackett, Bijhon Jackson,
Breaking it down: The Razorbacks had few immediate contributors in their 2014 class, but the ones who did see the field often earned their keep. Tretola established himself as one of the best interior offensive linemen in the conference, and he even got the chance to throw a touchdown pass this season. Cornelius showed flashes of perfection at the wide receiver position in the Hogs’ run-heavy offense, and he has the potential to be the team’s #1 wideout before his career is through. Hacket and Jackson each broke into the defensive rotation, combining to make nineteen tackles as part of a veteran-laden unit.

AUBURN: C+

Key 2014 contributors: D’haquille Williams (JUCO), Roc Thomas, Derrick Moncrief (JUCO)
Breaking it down: Auburn returned a seasoned band of brothers in 2014 as it aimed to defend its 2013 conference title, and very few signees from last year’s recruiting class saw significant time as a result. Williams was by far the stud of the class, taking his rightful seat as one of the most exciting playmakers on the outside in the conference. Thomas sat behind two senior tailbacks but still saw limited time in the backfield, likely indicating that Gus Malzahn thinks he could be the future of the Tigers' running game. Moncrief got plenty of run in the Auburn secondary, but he has yet to make the cut of the game-changing playmaker many expected him to be this season.

FLORIDA: C-

Key 2014 contributors: Treon Harris, Jalen Tabor, Gerald Willis III, Brandon Powell, Quincy Wilson
Breaking it down: Florida made a step in the right direction in 2014 on the heels of a terrible losing season in 2013, and many of the Gators 2014 signees played a big role in that turnaround. Harris took over as the starting quarterback sooner than expected, and even with limited responsibilities in the passing game, he threw for a total of over 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns against four interceptions (although he completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes). He also ran for 332 yards and three touchdowns. Tabor was an instant contributor in the Gators' secondary, netting himself one pick, nine passes defended, one forced fumble, 4.0 tackles for loss, and 2.0 sacks. Wilson also contributed an interception, a forced fumble and three passes defended to a secondary that served as one of Florida’s strengths in 2014. Willis, who has since announced he will transfer, recorded a healthy fourteen tackles and a forced fumble in his single season in The Swamp. Powell amassed 217 total yards and two touchdowns as a versatile weapon on offense.

GEORGIA: A+

Key 2014 contributors: Nick Chubb, Lorenzo Carter, Sony Michel, Jeb Blazevich, Malkom Parrish, Isaiah McKenzie, Dominick Sanders
Breaking it down: The Bulldogs may well have gotten more out of their 2014 recruiting class than any other team in the SEC, earning the only A+ grade in the conference. Chubb was the SEC’s second-leading rusher in 2014 despite only starting eight of Georgia’s thirteen games, and Michel managed to rush for over four hundred yards and five touchdowns as the team’s third-string back. Blazevich is already renowned as one of the conference’s best tight ends, McKenzie as one of the conference’s best kick returners, and Carter as one of the best young pass-rushers. Sanders notched three interceptions into his belt after his first year in the SEC, and Parrish added seventeen tackles and one forced fumble to make his presence known and felt in the secondary.

KENTUCKY: B

Key 2014 contributors: Boom Williams, A.J. Stamps (JUCO), Mikel Horton, C.J. Johnson, Dorian Baker, Garrett Johnson, Ryan Flannigan (JUCO)
Breaking it down: Kentucky relied heavily upon its 2014 recruiting class as it continues to rebuild its program from the ground up, and a handful of players rose to the challenge in 2014. Williams was as an exciting a playmaker as any in the SEC, although his abilities as a rusher, receiver and returner were overshadowed by a bevy of other star freshmen tailbacks. Stamps netted more interceptions by himself than Kentucky’s entire secondary did in 2013, and Flannigan overtook Khalid Henderson for a starting outside linebacker spot with his enormous amount of talent. Horton added 306 yards and two touchdowns as one of four primary backs on the Wildcats' team. Baker and Garrett Johnson combined to snag forty-one passes for 470 yards and three touchdowns in an emerging Air Raid offense. C.J. Johnson proved himself to be among the best young pass rushers on the team, and earned an increasing amount of playing time as the season progressed.

LSU: B

Key 2014 contributors: Leonard Fournette, Malachi Dupre, Jamal Adams, Brandon Harris, Darrel Williams, Davon Godchaux
Breaking it down: The Tigers boasted one of the best recruiting classes in the nation in 2014, and that class began paying dividends immediately for a young LSU squad. Fournette, the No. 1 player in the class of 2014, was one of only seven players in the SEC to rush for over one thousand yards this season, emerging as the season progressed. Dupre was second on the team in receiving yards and touchdowns, and Adams broke into the starting lineup at safety and logged sixty-six tackles (5.0 for loss) and five passes defended. Williams added three hundred yards and three touchdowns as the team’s fourth tailback, and Godchaux was eighth on the team with forty-two tackles. Harris, a four-star quarterback prospect, made one start and saw time in seven other games, throwing six touchdowns against only two interceptions.

MISSISSIPPI STATE: D

Key 2014 contributors: Jamoral Graham
Breaking it down: Mississippi State was among the most experienced teams in the SEC in 2014, and it did not rely much at all upon its 2014 recruiting class. Graham, a four-star wide receiver prospect, spent most of the season returning kicks and punts and was inconsistent in that lone role. Many of the Bulldogs' other top recruits redshirted, and the D the Bulldogs earned was not for the lack of quality recruits but for the lack of early-impact players.

MISSOURI: D+

Key 2014 contributors: Kenya Dennis (JUCO), Ish Witter, Thomas Wilson, Nate Brown
Breaking it down: Missouri was yet another veteran team more reliant upon veterans than fresh talent in 2014. Dennis, a junior college transfer, was able to step in right away and contribute from his safety position. He finished sixth on the team in tackles with sixty-one, 4.5 of which were for loss, and he added nine passes defended for the reigning East Division champs. Witter sat behind the two-headed tailback monster that was Russell Hansbrough and Marcus Murphy, but he still managed to rush for a total of more than one hundred yards and a single touchdown on the year. Wilson added his contribution of seventeen tackles as a reserve safety, and Brown caught five passes for forty-five yards as a reserve in a woeful passing offense.

OLE MISS: C-

Key 2014 contributors: Marquis Haynes (JUCO), Markell Pack, Fahn Cooper (JUCO), Jeremy Liggins (JUCO), Gary Wunderlich
Breaking it down: Few teams in the SEC have recruited as well as Hugh Freeze and the Rebels since he arrived at Mississippi back in 2012. His 2014 class once again ranked in the top 20 in the nation, and a handful of stars from the class made a huge impact on the Rebels’ nine-win season this year. Haynes ranked in the top 10 in the conference in sack totals with 7.5 on the year, although he ranked only third among SEC freshmen in that category. Pack made his presence felt as the Rebels' primary punt returner, and he grew more comfortable in that position as the season marched on. Cooper stepped in right away and started for an offensive line in desperate need of reinforcements aside from Laremy Tunsil. Liggins converted from quarterback to tight end and fullback and served as the key cog in the Rebels’ power running game. Wunderlich made six out of eight field goal tries and all twenty of his extra point attempts.

SOUTH CAROLINA: D

Key 2014 contributors: Bryson Allen-Williams, Chris Lammons, Al Harris Jr.
Breaking it down: Many of the key contributors from South Carolina’s 2014 recruiting class played on the defensive side of the ball, which was, unfortunately, a glaring weakness for the Gamecocks this season. Allen-Williams cracked the rotation at linebacker and recorded twenty-seven tackles, five quarterback hurries, and a forced fumble as a capable run-stopper with modest pass-rushing abilities. Lammons and Harris combined to make forty-two tackles from the secondary although the two combined to record just one pass breakup the entire season.

TENNESSEE: B+

Key 2014 contributors: Derek Barnett, Jalen Hurd, Von Pearson (JUCO), Todd Kelly Jr., Evan Berry, Ethan Wolf, Aaron Medley, Josh Malone.
Breaking it down: Tennessee began infusing its young talent into the lineup, and that young talent played a major role in leading the Volunteers of Rocky Top to their first bowl win since the 2008 season. Barnett was one of two SEC freshmen to break Jadeveon Clowney’s former freshman sack record this season, and Hurd was fourth among freshman tailbacks in the conference with 899 rushing yards and five touchdowns this season. Pearson was second on the team with thirty-eight catches for 393 yards and five touchdowns, and Malone added twenty-three catches for 231 yards and another touchdown as a big-play threat still adjusting to the speed of the college game. Medley made twenty out of twenty-six field goal attempts, Berry established himself as one of the most explosive kick returners in the whole of the conference, Wolf showed a greater combination of physicality and pass-catching ability than any other tight end in the league, and Kelly was second on the team with three interceptions.

TEXAS A&M: A

Key 2014 contributors: Myles Garrett, Speedy Noil, Kyle Allen, Ricky Seals-Jones, Otaro Alaka, Armani Watts, Josh Reynolds (JUCO)
Breaking it down: Texas A&M overcame the loss of three first-round NFL Draft picks by replacing those former stars with truckloads of talent from the 2014 class. Garrett set a new freshman sack record in the conference with 11.5 on the year, and fellow defenders Otaro Alaka and Armani Watts made their presence known by the season’s conclusion. Alaka recorded only thirty-three tackles on the season from his linebacker position, but twenty-eight of those came in A&M’s final six games. Watts led the team with three interceptions and was the only Aggie to record more than one pick during the year. Kyle Allen took over as the starting quarterback midway through the season and led A&M to a 3-2 record while throwing for thirteen touchdowns against five interceptions. Reynolds stepped in and immediately led the Aggies in receiving with fifty-two catches for 842 yards and thirteen touchdowns (which ranks an impressive Top 5 in the nation), and Noil added forty-six catches for 583 yards and five touchdowns while also contributing as a kickoff and punt returner. Seals-Jones caught forty-nine passes for 465 yards and four touchdowns, good for fourth on the team in those categories.

VANDERBILT: D-

Key 2014 contributors: Dallas Rivers, Wade Freebeck, Tre Tarpley
Breaking it down: The Commodores took a major blow in 2014, and their 2014 recruiting class sadly made little impact in the process. Freebeck was one of four quarterbacks to start a game for Vanderbilt in 2014, and he completed just forty-seven percent of his passes with one touchdown against five interceptions. Rivers ran for 218 yards and two touchdowns as the backup tailback to Ralph Webb, although he averaged fewer than 4.0 yards per carry in doing so. Tarpley led all Vandy true freshmen in tackles with eighteen during the course of the year.