Brad Crawford’s SEC freshmen watch list highlights incoming impact playmakers at LSU, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Auburn

CBS Sports analyst Brad Crawford turned his attention to the SEC freshman class, identifying 12 true freshmen he believes have the best chance to affect winning right away as the 2026 season approaches. The premise is straightforward: the league’s depth chart churn is constant, and every program is looking for at least one first-year contributor who can handle a full workload in conference play.

In a Monday graphic tied to his list, Crawford singled out several freshmen he expects to play significant roles. LSU defensive lineman Lamar Brown is one of the early mentions, reflecting how quickly edge and interior pressure can change down-to-down game scripts for teams that want to win early in the season’s most physical weeks.

Tennessee receiver Ty Keys was also specifically named. Crawford frames the SEC opener-to-fall transition as a learning curve for freshmen, but he pointed to Keys as a prospect likely to see meaningful targets as Tennessee works through its quarterback plan for the new season.

South Carolina offensive lineman Darius Gray and Georgia offensive lineman Zykie Helton round out two of the list’s front-five emphasis. In the SEC, freshmen who can anchor the trenches have an outsized value, because the line dictates how the run game holds up in the second half and how often an offense can sustain drives against heavy blitz packages.

Alabama’s Cederian Morgan and Georgia’s tight end Kaiden Prothro appear on the same watch list for their offensive positions. That matters because SEC play often turns on third-down conversion and red-zone efficiency, areas where tight ends and perimeter playmakers can create matchups that older secondaries are not built to handle.

Auburn linebacker Jaquez Wilkes completes another defensive-first selection from Crawford’s graphic. Linebackers in particular can be tested early by inexperienced quarterback decisions, and the best rookies are the ones who can process coverage rotations fast enough to protect the secondary without overcommitting.

Crawford’s list also set off discussion by leaving out Vanderbilt quarterback Jared Curtis, a standout prospect who is expected to be in the Commodores’ starting plans. Crawford’s reasoning, as reported by Saturday Down South, was that Vanderbilt’s schedule includes tougher road stretches, which can weigh on how much immediate impact a young quarterback is asked to carry week to week.

From here, the watch list becomes a practical measuring tool for fall camp and the first weeks of the season. The key question for each name is less “will they see the field” and more whether they can handle SEC tempo, physicality, and play-calling demands without the performance dropping off against top conference defenses. As depth charts take shape, fans will be watching whether Crawford’s selections translate into consistent snap counts and game-changing moments once games begin.

Cold reality for any preseason list: freshmen often start with packages rather than full roles, and a standout early week can fade if the team needs to protect the player’s learning curve. Still, Crawford’s emphasis on both offensive and defensive linemen suggests he expects this class to contribute not only at the skill positions, but also at the points of contact where SEC games are usually decided.