How does the Big 12 expansion directly impact SEC recruiting? 

The SEC has been one of the most notable brands in college football throughout the 21st century. But the Big 12 has been expanding and wants to stay at the 14 total teams after the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns officially head to the SEC next season.

The Big 12's expansion will help it become even more of a viable option for the top recruits in the nation, making recruiting a little more complicated. But how exactly will the SEC land some of the top talent with the Big 12 getting closer to being on equal footing?

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Does the Big 12 hurt the SEC's chances of landing highly-touted recruits?

QB Arch Manning - Texas Spring Football Game

In theory, the answer is a resounding yes. With more potential bidders in the market for the top talent in each recruiting class, there will be some that the Big 12 can land.

When looking into the 2023 recruiting class, the Big 12 landed seven five-star recruits. That seems like a strong number, but when you dig deeper, four committed to the Texas Longhorns, while the other three were part of the Oklahoma Sooners.

Both those teams are leaving the Big 12 after this season, and no other program in the conference has landed a five-star recruit.

Compare that total to what the SEC has landed this year. The entire Southeastern Conference had 21 five-star commits, including the Alabama Crimson Tide having nine of their own. That means the Crimson Tide has more quality than the whole of Big 12 does in this class.

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What does this mean for the health of the Big 12?

2023 CFP National Championship - TCU v Georgia

There are no issues with the talent inside of the Big 12 as they can still land a lot of four-star recruits, with the likes of the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the TCU Horned Frogs able to get some considerable talents.

Just because players considered five-star recruits decide not to play in the conference right now does not mean the conference is lesser. Some incredibly talented players and programs are still in the Big 12.

This adds a little more competition for the Southeastern Conference, but we will not be feeling the effects for at least a couple of years.