Three of the SEC’s top running backs – three of the nation’s best, in fact -- are coming back from serious leg injuries. The fate of their teams could hinge on those recoveries.

Reports on all three have been consistently positive. But we won’t know if South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore, Arkansas’ Knile Davis and Texas A&M's Christine Michael are 100 percent until live drills, and especially games, begin.

With fall camp approaching, here’s a look at where each stud RB stands.

Marcus Lattimore (2011: 818 rushing yards, 5.0 ypc, 11 total TDs in seven games):

Last Oct. 15, Lattimore was blocking for Bruce Ellington when a Mississippi State defender rolled up on his left leg. A month later he underwent surgery for a torn knee ligament and cartilage damage.

Coach Steve Spurrier was asked recently if Lattimore looked like his old self.

“Yeah, I think so,” he said. “The doctors can do wonderful things now with those knee surgeries. We think we got one of the best in the country, Dr. Jeff Guy… Feels like he got a very good surgery. Marcus rehabbed it beautifully, has done everything they asked and probably a little bit more. He should be ready to go.”

SEC Media are convinced: Lattimore was the leading vote-getter in all-conference balloting.

Knile Davis (2011: Did not play; 2010: 1,322 rushing yards, 6.5 ypc, 14 total TDs):

Davis fractured his ankle last August, underwent surgery immediately and missed the entire season. He was already running and cutting last fall, but coaches held him out of contact this spring.

Davis was the only one of these three running backs to attend SEC media days. He certainly wasn’t bashful.

“I do feel like I’m the best running back in the SEC,” Davis said. “Not being conceited or anything arrogant. I feel like if you ask any other running back, they’ll say the same thing. But I think that because of the work I put in, I don’t feel like you can ask for a better back.”

You can see some of that work in this video of Davis (6-1, 226) squatting 600 pounds.

Assuming there are no setbacks, Davis and Lattimore will be in the spotlight when Arkansas visits South Carolina on Nov. 10. Davis and Michael meet Sept. 29 in College Station, Tex.

Christine Michael (2011: 899 rushing yards, 6.0 ypc,  9 total TDs in nine games):

Michael tore his ACL making a sharp cut against Oklahoma on Nov. 5, and underwent surgery. But he was able to participate in a couple of weeks of spring drills before coach Kevin Sumlin pulled him off the field, not wanting to risk anything.

"To me, he's 100 percent," Sumlin said. "He looks great. I think he's 223 (pounds) or something like that right now, which is a good weight for him. The ability for him to carry that weight over the last five months has been a big deal to him just from the pounding on that knee, being able to run with that weight."

For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from SEC bloggers Daniel Lewis and Larry Hartstein, follow@CBSSportsSEC.