The SEC has four new head coaches heading into the 2020 season and each one has a unique way of going about their business. Sam Pittman is known for his elite lineman recruiting and his genuine personality, Eli Drinkwitz is seen as a bright young mind with a lot to prove, Mike Leach has a well-established persona as a kooky offensive genius and Lane Kiffin is a social media-friendly journeyman trying to finally find a permanent home in Oxford.

It was tough to compare situations for the 2020 recruiting class as each coach was dealing with varying levels of fall out from the previous staff, but we've now seen enough to do some comparisons with how they're doing on the 2021 recruiting trail.

We can see how each coach is dealing with the challenges of recruiting during a pandemic and what their strategies are for pulling their respective teams up into the upper echelon of the SEC–or just up from the bottom.

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There's no doubt Eliah Drinkwitz is off to a hot start as he assembles his first full recruiting class as Missouri's head coach. Proving he can recruit at an SEC level is one of Drinkwitz' biggest challenges coming from Appalachian State but, looking at the rankings early, he and his staff are proving formidable.

The Tigers are currently ranked 18th nationally with a big focus being securing in-state and St. Louis area talent. Missouri in-state commits make up seven of their 18 total commitments so far. They've also continued to have success in Florida, Texas, and Tennessee as well. The class is highlighted by two 4-stars, defensive end Travion Ford and defensive back Daylan Carnell.

Sixteen 3-stars and two 4-stars may not turn heads in Tuscaloosa or Baton Rouge but this early high ranking is very welcome and surprising in Columbia. Despite some solid winning seasons, Missouri has consistently been a bottom-three recruiting program in the SEC–Drinkwitz may change that in year one.

"Missouri should sign a full class with most of their emphasis being along the offensive and defensive lines as well as wide receiver moving forward. If they can land a majority of their top remaining targets, Missouri could potentially end up with a top 25 class which could be a big momentum booster for Drinkwitz moving forward.

"Drinkwitz is heavily involved in the recruiting process and it's a group effort among the entire coaching staff when it comes to building relationships throughout the recruiting process. Most commitments and targets I talk with are communicating with at least two or more staff members and they've also raved about how personable Missouri's virtual visits have been." - PowerMizzou Recruiting Analyst Sean Williams

Though Sam Pittman and his first-year staff are potentially sacrificed a high ranking on their class, the Hogs have 17 commitments through the end of July, which hasn't happened for them in the Rivals era. The 17 commits, besides kicker Cameron Little, are all currently rated 3-stars by Rivals, but ESPN has AJ Green, Javion Hunt and Lucas Coley rated 4-stars and 247 has Green, Terry Wells and Raheim Sanders rated 4-stars. The class is ranked 33rd in the nation, but would be as high as 28th if Little received his rating today.

The staff seemed to have a solid plan for their biggest needs and they have commits at every position except defensive end already. They got their dual-threat QB commits, the must-get in-state tight end Erin Outley and they're closing in on a couple 4-star wide receiver targets.

The early decisions, some coming without the recruits having even visited Arkansas, give Pittman and his staff some breathing room to play the rest of the process out, chase their remaining elite targets and see who pops up in the transfer portal later on down the road as well.

The only major difference between Pittman and Drinkwitz's efforts right now is the Tigers have two 4-star commits. Besides that, the two programs have attacked their targets hard and taken commitments from players who really want to be there. Missouri has also had a little more success outside of their region as well.

Pittman's extended offers all over the country but he maintains that his recruiting strategy is "regional." That's worked out so far as the Razorbacks have commits from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Georgia and Florida.

"Sam Pittman hasn't been pulling in 4 and 5-star players like he did when he was at Georgia but he has Arkansas making headlines often during this difficult time and the Razorbacks are actually at least in contention for some top 100 linemen because of his reputation.

"Not only is the class already massive, but the commits also have a closeness that tends to bode well for getting them all to signing day without too much drama. Their enthusiasm also makes it a little easier for other recruits to forget that Arkansas has had some miserable seasons.

Fans aren't thrilled with the lack of flashiness in the class but they are very content with the staff's ability to keep momentum going without being able to host kids on campus. The onus is now on the staff to close the class strong and then develop all these "3-stars" to their full potential." - HawgBeat Recruiting Analyst Nikki Chavanelle

The Bulldogs have a class with eleven commits that ranks No. 52 in the nation. They have two 4-stars and they're very close to landing another.

In his first full recruiting cycle as the head coach at Mississippi State, Mike Leach has made his priorities clear. Transitioning the Moorhead offense to the Leach Air-Raid requires some different personnel, so the Bulldogs are loading up on pass-catchers, with emphasis on those in the slot. That’s why it was so important for the staff to land Texas WR Teddy Knox.

The other major need was at the quarterback position, where under the last two coaching staffs in Starkville, a completely different type of signal-caller was being recruited. Leach now has two potential options on his roster starting in 2021 with 4-star Sawyer Robertson and Daniel Greek. Both are capable of understanding the scheme, and running it at a high level.

"They've been extremely selective thus far. The fanbase has been patient but they aren't used to being so low in the team rankings at this point of the recruiting calendar.

"Moving forward, the focus has to be on closing strong in the state of Mississippi. There will be several new local targets that emerge, for the Bulldogs and other schools in the area. As of now though, the staff have just four commitments from high school athletes in the state of Mississippi.

"Names like MJ Daniels, Ty Cooper, and Justin Walley all remain available, and each feel like priorities for the staff. The in-state commitment number is likely to end up in double digits as signing day approaches, especially if the recruits are able to play a full season of high school ball in Mississippi.

"The staff has done a good job early on of creating a secondary pipeline in states like Texas and Florida, but moving forward, his success in recruiting the state of Mississippi is imperative." - BulldogBlitz Recruiting Analyst Russell Johnson

For being the hottest name during the head coaching search, Lane Kiffin hasn't been that hot on the recruiting trail. Ole Miss's class is ranked at the bottom of the SEC and they're No. 86 in the country due to their lack of commitments with just seven through the end of July. Kiffin had the least amount of work to do to wrap up his 2020 class, but now he'll have the most to try to close out the 2021 class well.

"Lane Kiffin’s plan was, rightly or wrongly, to go big right away. The first-year Ole Miss coach wanted to take a national approach to recruiting. He planned to have an active spring full of visits — including many official visits — that he hoped would create momentum going into an even more active summer. Then COVID-19 happened. There were no spring visits and it’s been a dead summer in Oxford from a recruiting perspective, meaning Kiffin’s Year One plan got shelved.

"As of today, Ole Miss has seven verbal commitments for the Class of 2021, highlighted by four-star wide receiver Bralon Brown. The Rebels also have four defensive back commitments in addition to commitments from offensive lineman Micah Pettus and kicker Caden Costa.

"Ole Miss has been active in the transfer portal, and that figures to be a Year Zero strategy moving forward, one that might intensity if there’s no season this fall. The Rebels are still actively searching for a quarterback in this class, having missed out on several targets, and there is a desperate need for impact players on the defensive line. However, with a recruiting dead period that figures to extend through the end of 2020, at a minimum, beating out more established programs for elite prospects is going to be tough sledding for Kiffin and his staff.

"Ole Miss is determined — again, rightly or wrongly — to be selective on the recruiting trail, so the Rebels are having to get very creative to make noise amidst a pandemic." - RebelGrove Publisher Neal McCready

It's clear that something's got to give in Oxford. At some point, the Rebels are going to have to start accepting some commitments, even if it's not from the highest-rated players. Ole Miss can usually count on in-state commits to fill anywhere from a quarter to half their class but they've only got one Mississippian in the 2021 class right now.