How much of an advantage?

LSU freshman Jacob Cutrera was the only member of the Tigers' recruiting class to enroll last spring.

You may remember early enrollment was all the rage at one time. Now, only 14 freshmen in the SEC enrolled early. Georgia leads the way with six early enrollees and Floriday had four. Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Vanderbilt didn't have any.

So this begs the question: How much of an advantage is it to enroll early?

Well, of the 53 true freshmen in Division I-A who enrolled early, exactly one has earned a starting position - punter Kyle Yelton of Illinois.

As for players who aren't specialists, well, second team is about high as you can go. Cutrera is second team on the depth chart. He is joined by a handful of others in the same boat.

Is it worth it? That's a good question. Would Cutrera be second team if he hadn't enrolled early, probably not. Is he starting now? No. But he may start sooner after being on campus longer than the average freshman.