SEC QB Controversy Thermometer

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2024 Quarterback Unit Rankings:

With Quinn Ewers, Arch, Texas leads Top 10

by: Jesse Re: Simonton
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1. Texas
Steve Sarkisian is blessed with the best quarterback situation in America in 2024: He has a Top 5 starter in Quinn Ewers, who has the talent to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

He then has Arch Manning waiting as the wind beneath his wings

4. Georgia
Beck might be the No. 1 quarterback in the country in 2024, and while the the Bulldogs don't have a definitive No. 2 just yet, they have quality options in redshirt sophomore Gunner Stockton (three years in the system) and recent transfer addition Jaden Rashada.

5. Bama
Had Alabama not lost 5-star Julian Sayin to Ohio State, the Tide's quarterback room might rank only behind Texas in 2024.

Milroe is back and is a potential Heisman Trophy contender, while Kalen DeBoer brought former 4-star Washington signee Austin Mack with him to Tuscaloosa. Ty Simpson, a former 5-star who had a strong spring, is still around, as is Dylan Lonergan.

7. Ole Miss
Ole Miss has a solid stable of quarterbacks led by former USC 5-star Jaxson Dart, who is the Rebels' cemented starter and one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC in 2024. Behind Dart, Lane Kiffin could turn to former LSU transfer Walker Howard or Austin Simmons.

8. LSU
LSU lost Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, but the Tigers have kept Garrett Nussmeier around for a reason and the country will see why this fall. Just in case, Brian Kelly added some interesting insurance to the QB room as well, grabbing Vandy transfer AJ Swann.

9. Florida
Gators have one of the more intriguing quarterback situations in 2024. Graham Mertz returns, and the former Wisconsin transfer was much better than most expected last season (20 touchdowns to just three interceptions, 73% completion).

Still, waiting in the wings is 5-star freshman DJ Lagway, who opted to hold his commitment to Billy Napier despite the head coach's much-rumored hot seat. Lagway impressed in the spring and could push for playing time early in 2024 —

10. A&M
Aggies have one of the wilder ceiling-to-floor quarterback rooms in the country this fall. Elko inherited a trio of potential high-upside arms ...

The former 5-star recruit has flashed the talent to be the best quarterback in College Station since Johnny Football, Jaylen Henderson and Marcel Reed, two former blue-chip signees, put up big numbers (nearly 10.0 yards per attempt) in relief.

[jbcarol]

Clark Lea finally provides update on quarterback battle timeline
by: Justin Rudolph

"It's set up to continue on through the summer and into fall camp. I was pleased today with the fact that we didn't turn the ball over; that's something we've harped on all spring," said Lea. "I think it was on the ground once and the offense was able to recover it. All three guys have flashed obviously I felt like Blaze (Berlowitz) had some throws today that were impressive. But yeah, we're gonna introduce some new people in that competition heading into the summer. We'll open it back up in the fall.

"One thing that I want to have happened there early is to lock in on some guys that we're going to give the lion share of the reps. Because ultimately, we're not going to be able to have five people compete for one job. We have to set it up so that you're looking at three; three becomes two. And then, ultimately, by the time we're playing, two becomes one."

Berlowitz looks to have the inside track for the Commodores' starting quarterback position. However, it does not appear that he has done enough to solidify himself as the season-opener starter. As of now, Lea still has his options open.

Lea adds WR Dariyan Wiley
Lea recently added to the Commodores' offense with another off-season acquisition. Former UMass and ULM wide receiver Dariyan Wiley committed to Vanderbilt just before the summer.

[jbcarol]

Dowell Loggains weighs pros, cons of naming a starting quarterback early

by: Sam Gillenwater

Someone is eventually going to replace Spencer Rattler as the starting quarterback at South Carolina. It's just a matter of time in when the program will decide to make that kind of decision according to OC Dowell Loggains.

"Yeah, it's a really good question. We could probably spend 30 minutes on it," Loggains said. "There's advantages to both. We've had 13 practices so guys have had good days, bad days, continual growth. You're going to have that."

To him, though, the advantage of doing it now is having it out of the way. The only issue is that it could then lead to a problem come the preseason if another player has surpassed the 'starter' in that time with their own play.

It's all about getting a feel for who the staff and team accept that it's going to be without calling the fight too early.

At the moment, the battle looks to be between names like LaNorris Sellers and Robby Ashford.

Sellers, who's going into his sophomore year in Columbia, appeared in three games last fall where he completed all four of his passes for 86 yards and a score while also rushing five times for 51 yards and another touchdown. In the spring game, he posted 108 total yards and ran in a touchdown. As for Ashford, the transfer from Auburn and Oregon, he is a more experienced option having played at other programs, including his latest in the SEC.

That's not to mention other options in the room like Davis Beville or Dante Reno.

[jbcarol]

O'Gara: It's a bit strange — — there are so few QB battles in the SEC in 2024

Everyone likes to say that competition is good.

It seems fairly easy to predict who'll take the first snap for each SEC team to start 2024:

Alabama — Milroe
Arkansas — Taylen Green
Auburn — Payton Thorne
Florida — Graham Mertz
Georgia — Beck
Kentucky — Brock Vandagriff
LSU — Garrett Nussmeier
State — Blake Shapen
Mizzou — Brady Cook
Oklahoma — Jackson Arnold
Ole Miss — Jaxson Dart
South Carolina — LaNorris Sellers
Tennessee — Nico Iamaleava
Texas — Quinn Ewers
A&M — Conner Weigman
Vanderbilt — Diego Pavia

Any pushback on that list from the non-Nate Johnson crowd? If I set the over/under at 15 correct picks, would you take the "under?"

That's the byproduct of SEC quarterback play looking better than ever. Five returning starters led their teams to either a New Year's 6 or a Playoff berth in 2023 (Beck, Milroe, Ewers, Dart and Cook).

Mertz and Weigman were both QB1 when healthy last year while Arnold, Nussmeier and Iamaleava got the bowl game start as decorated quarterbacks-in-waiting after their starters (opted-out).