It's a college football recruiting mantra that someone somewhere teaches coaches in recruiting school:

Always tell prospects your school plays freshmen.

Yet the simple fact is that such a decision is based more on the freshmen than the coaches.

Who wouldn't have played Eric Berry last season? No one, including NFL coaches.

Who would play a soft, overweight offensive lineman with an attitude problem? No one, including most high school programs.

The decisions are often times made easy.

Some players need seasoning. Some don't.

Some teams need an immediate impact from freshmen. Some don't.

Here are the SEC schools ranked in order of number of true freshmen impacting their team this season:

1. Alabama: There's not enough space in this column to list all the young players helping the Crimson Tide (6-0).

Alabama has played 15 true freshmen, most notably wide receiver Julio Jones and linebacker Dont'a Hightower. Both have started all six games.

UT fans know Hightower well. The Marshall County High School star from Lewisburg considered the Vols before committing to Alabama. Jones also considered UT briefly.

2. Florida: Cornerback Janoris Jenkins became just the second true freshman to start on opening day in Florida history.

A full-time starter, Jenkins is considered one of the best cover corners on the team. Jenkins forced a fumble and intercepted a pass against the Vols.

Speedster Jeff Demps, who chose Florida over UT, is averaging 10.3 yards per touch, has had a 62-yard kickoff return and has blocked a punt.

Demps and fellow freshman Chris Rainey both rushed for more than 100 yards against Arkansas, becoming the first freshmen duo in school history to do so in the same game.

3. Georgia: Despite having an experienced team, the Bulldogs have been forced to play young pups in four positions.

Injuries, especially on the offensive line, have contributed to the influx of young talent.

Ben Jones is the starting center. Cordy Glenn has started three games at right guard.

A.J. Green is starting at flanker. Blair Walsh is the starting placekicker.

Georgia has also had significant contributions from Richard Samuel at tailback and Jamie Lindley, who is handling kickoffs.

4. Kentucky: The Wildcats have eight true freshmen playing in supporting roles.

Former Alcoa star Randall Cobb was the talk of the 2008 class before suffering an ankle sprain on Sept. 13, which has sidelined him since.

Cobb saw extensive action at receiver and quarterback. It's not out of the realm of possibility that Cobb could eventually unseat starting quarterback Mike Hartline.

Cobb, who returns to action this week, strongly considered UT before committing to Kentucky.

5. Ole Miss: Ole Miss is playing seven true freshmen. Tailback Brandon Bolden leads the Rebels in rushing with 297 yards on 55 carries with a 5.4-yard average.

6. Arkansas: Cornerback Elton Ford and strong safety Jerico Nelson have started all five games in the secondary.

7. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs have had seven true freshmen play this season. One, defensive end Sean Ferguson, has started.

8. Vanderbilt: The Commodores success this season is coming from mostly upperclassmen. Vandy has played three true freshmen: safety Sean Richardson, cornerback Casey Hayward and receiver John Cole, who suffered a season-ending injury in the opener.

Hayward has coaches excited. He's already forced a fumble this season.

9. South Carolina: Wide receiver Jason Barnes is the only true freshman to play extensively, having even cracked the starting lineup.

10. Auburn: The Tigers' freshmen have mostly played on special teams. Defensive back Neiko Thorpe has 14 tackles, running back Eric Smith has 13 carries for 74 yards. Defensive back D'Antoine Hood and linebacker Spencer Pybus have four tackles each.

11. Tennessee: There have been plenty of newcomers contribute, such as defensive end Gerald Williams and tight end Brandon Warren; but few freshmen have played.

Tailback Tauren Poole, fullback Austin Johnson, linebacker Herman Lathers and fullback Ben Bartholomew have seen limited time in mop-up roles. Poole is playing more on special teams.

The lack of playing time by true freshmen really isn't that surprising considering the Vols returned a veteran group and only signed 18 prospects for the 2008 class because of scholarship limitations.

UT coach Phillip Fulmer added that the nature of UT's games this season has made it tough to get more true freshmen in.

"With the close games," Fulmer said, "we haven't gotten them in as much as we'd have liked to."

12. LSU: The Tigers haven't had any true freshmen start a game. LSU has seen contributions from quarterback Jordan Jefferson, linebacker Ryan Baker, cornerback Brandon Taylor, offensive tackle Greg Shaw, wide receiver Deangelo Peterson, cornerback Patrick Peterson, and defensive back Karnell Hatcher.

Dave Hooker can be reached at hookerd@knoxnews.com.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.