Last year was the SEC’s “Year of the Quarterback.” This year was expected to be a down year for the conference’s passers.

In 2013, the SEC was filled with veteran signal callers bound for the next level. AJ McCarron, Johnny Manziel, Zach Mettenberger, Connor Shaw and Aaron Murray were all playing their last college seasons. With all of those departures, plenty of fresh faces got to shine in 2014.

Many of the new names stepped up this season, along with several veterans. Who were the SEC’s top signal callers in 2014?

  1. Blake Sims, Alabama: No one in the league has a combination quite like Sims’ accuracy (63.1 percent completion rate), efficiency (9.1 yards per attempt, 3.4 TD:INT ratio) and scrambling ability. Alabama has the most frightening offense in the SEC, capable of steamrolling an opponent or lighting them up through the air, and much of that is thanks to Sims (as well as Lane Kiffin and Amari Cooper). Sims finished the regular season second in completion percentage, tied for first in touchdown passes and fourth in passing yards.
  2. Dak Prescott, Mississippi State: Prescott came out of relative obscurity to sprint into the Heisman conversation, but he’s had an up-and-down campaign that ended on a downward stretch. Dak finished with nearly 3,000 yards through the air and 4,000 yards of total offense, making him the best dual-threat quarterback in the conference. With 24 touchdowns through the air and 38 in total, he was also the SEC’s top point-producer. Prescott battled turnover issues that plagued him throughout SEC play, and he was bitten by them on the biggest stage of the season against Alabama.
  3. Nick Marshall, Auburn: Marshall was trusted with a bit more responsibility throwing the ball his senior season, and he showed improvement throughout the year for Auburn. He finished the regular season completing more than 60 percent of his passes while accounting for 3,095 total yards and 29 total touchdowns. Marshall was just as vital to Auburn’s running game as he was the passing game, as the threat of him running in the read-option allowed Auburn to lead the SEC in rushing. The big numbers he put up against Alabama in the Iron Bowl helped illustrate how far Marshall has come.
  4. Bo Wallace, Ole Miss: Wallace was in some ways improved from a year ago, but his numbers took a dip. More than half of his turnovers came in non-conference play, and his excellent decision making and accuracy in SEC games helped the Rebels win some big one. He had a few rough outings and suffered an ankle injury that put the Rebels behind the eight ball in their shutout loss to Arkansas, but on the whole Wallace was a big part of Ole Miss’ nine-win season.
  5. Hutson Mason, Georgia: Mason did throw the game-losing interception against Georgia Tech in the Bulldogs’ regular-season finale, but that doesn’t take away from the insanely efficient year he put up. Mason only threw 262 times, but went for 20 touchdowns against just 4 interceptions to go along with 7.7 yards per attempt. Georgia’s offense relied heavily on running the ball, but Mason took advantage of all his opportunities to throw it.