Chad Kelly hasn’t always been associated with stability. Once a lightning bolt for controversy as a top recruit, the Ole Miss senior quarterback is now a much-needed stable piece for the Rebels as well as a Heisman candidate among a lot of unfamiliarity in the SEC quarterback race.

Kelly’s value doesn’t just lie in the fact that he’s a returning senior, a line you’ll hear high school coaches turn to when asked about leadership. Kelly broke or tied 14 school records in his first season in Oxford. He threw for a league-best 4,042 yards and 31 touchdowns. His 458 attempts were second only to Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott.

Losing a receiver the caliber of Laquon Treadwell cannot be understated. The first-rounder is a gift to any quarterback’s stats. However, Kelly has a long list of hands at his disposal in 2016 to keep his marks atop the league.

Looking down the list, the next three in line for most yardage are gone, Prescott, Arkansas’ Brandon Allen and Alabama’s Jake Coker.

Just to give you an idea of Kelly’s production compares to the SEC’s returning quarterbacks: Kelly had eight 300-yard passing games last season while the rest of the SEC’s returning signal-callers have five combined.

Here is an alphabetical look at how Kelly’s return compares to a pretty much depleted crop of SEC signal-callers.

Alabama is the most interesting question as a trio of quarterbacks are battling it out with a Sept. 17 game looming against the Rebels. Interesting because Ole Miss is riding a two-game winning streak in the series. If there is a coach who will turn to the experience factor in his quarterback race, it is Nick Saban.

Cooper Bateman is a fourth-year junior and the only one among Blake Barnett and David Cornwell with a start, but that was against Ole Miss and it was a loss. Kelly threw for 341 yards and 3 touchdowns in that game. One of Bateman’s 14 attempts was a pick before he was pulled for Jake Coker. Like Kelly, he has had to earn and re-earn his way.

Allen leaves Arkansas trying to replace a huge arm and leaves a pretty bare cupboard to look in. Compared to Kelly’s numbers, potential starter Austin Allen pretty much has no experience. He will be a fourth-year junior but outside of spending more time at his school than Kelly, he threw only three passes last season. That said, Arkansas has had Ole Miss’ number.

You have to look to Nos. 15 and 16 in total yardage to find a name from Auburn. Sean White and Jeremy Johnson ranked there, the last two in the SEC with at least 1,000 passing yards. JUCO transfer John Franklin III joins the race and is the favorite among some to win the job. Kelly threw 315 more passes than White and 301 more than Johnson. The biggest similarity between Kelly and Franklin III – Franklin III took over for Kelly last season at East Mississippi.

What does Florida have in common with Arkansas? Whoever wins the quarterback race has a team that beat Kelly last season. Will Grier threw for 271 yards and 4 touchdowns as Kelly was outplayed in The Swamp. Luke Del Rio’s gaudy spring game may have him in the lead, but none of the QBs on Florida’s roster have SEC experience outside of Treon Harris, who won’t be under center in 2016.

Kelly will see Georgia early on in 2016. Who knows who will quarterback the Bulldogs in what could be a telling game for Kelly and his new-look line? It could be freshman Jacob Eason. Kelly’s fellow senior Greyson Lambert is in the mix. He ranked fifth right behind Kelly with a 63.3 completion percentage, but that came in 202 fewer attempts.

In Kentucky, the Wildcats would love to have Kelly or any of his backups. Outside of Drew Barker’s 35 completions in two starts, there are literally no stats to compare to Kelly’s.

In Baton Rouge, Brandon Harris started every game in 2015 but is having to battle to keep that streak alive. Harris was seventh in the SEC in yards thrown but that is nearly 2,000 yards behind Kelly.

Prescott was right behind Kelly as the best two quarterbacks in the SEC shared Mississippi state lines. With Prescott now a Dallas Cowboy, that couldn’t be more opposite. The Bulldogs have four quarterbacks vying for the starting job but only 19 combined pass attempts coming back.

There is another mess in Missouri. Coordinator Josh Heupel has a talented sophomore in Drew Lock. Lock threw for 1,332 yards last season but the sophomore doesn’t have the talent around him to match his own talent like Kelly does in Oxford.

For the South Carolina Gamecocks, freshman Brandon Mcilwain and Jake Bentley bring promise, just not guarantees. The only guarantee is that Kelly is heads above whichever quarterback Will Muschamp decides to start. Senior Perry Orth is a talented option. He was 10th in the SEC with 1,929 yards. His 54.8 completion percentage was No. 9, five spots below Kelly.

Tennessee probably deserved to be out of alphabetical order because of Josh Dobbs. Dobbs is the second-leading passer returning to the league, behind only Kelly. Dobbs threw for 2,291 yards, a solid number that makes Kelly’s 4,042 look even more impressive. Where Kelly’s personnel continue to keep him as the top option to be the best SEC quarterback in 2016, Dobbs is surrounded by inexperience in key spots.

The rotating door at Texas A&M saw the departure of one of the six SEC returning quarterbacks in the top 10 in passing yards as Kyle Allen left the Aggies for Houston. He threw for 2,210 yards last season. Against Kelly, he threw for 88 yards and was yanked. The similarity between named-starter Trevor Knight, an Oklahoma graduate transfer, and Kelly is Ole Miss. Kelly plays there, and Katy Perry expressed her affection for Knight there on the set of College Game Day.

Vanderbilt’s Kyle Shurmur threw only 103 passes last season. Kelly threw more in his first three SEC games. Kelly had also surpassed Shurmur’s eventual 503 passing yards by the second game of the Rebels’ season.