Breaking down returning SEC quarterbacks with starting experience

We separated these 12 quarterbacks by tier to take a closer look at how they gained their experience and how it may benefit their play this fall.

THE WILEY VETERANS

Brandon Allen has started all but one of Arkansas’ games the last two years, working with Bret Bielema to rebuild the Hogs back into a contender in the SEC West. He struggled in his first year as a starter in 2013, but showed more consistency as a game manager last year, leading Arkansas to seven wins including a much-needed bowl victory. He completed 81 percent of his passes in Arkansas’ Red-White spring game, and closed the spring without a pick, indicating his experience in Arkansas’ offense should take his game-manager skills to another level.

Dak Prescott is the reigning All-SEC first-team quarterback after leading Mississippi State to 10 wins a year ago. He broke a number of school records, using his dual-threat abilities to throw for more than 3,400 yards and to rush for more than 850 yards for a second straight season (he ran for 986 a year ago), and he earned more Heisman votes than any MSU player ever. Prescott’s season will be about making adjustments and staying ahead of the curve now that opposing defenses know how Prescott might attack them.

Maty Mauk saved Missouri’s season in 2013, starting four games as a true freshman for an injured James Franklin to keep Missouri in the hunt for its first SEC East crown. Last year, his first season as a starter, Missouri repeated as division champion but Mauk did not look as sharp. He completed fewer than half his passes in six of 14 games, and as a result Missouri boasted only the ninth-best passing offense in the SEC despite three solid senior wideouts anchoring the outside. Mauk must learn from his past experience and grow more comfortable in the pocket this fall to maintain Mizzou’s status as an East contender.

LEARNED FROM LAST YEAR

Anthony Jennings started one game in 2013 after Zach Mettenberger blew out his knee, but last year was his first season as LSU’s true starting quarterback. Unfortunately, he struggled throughout the year, and as a result LSU boasted the SEC’s least accomplished passing offense at year’s end. He was benched for the Auburn game last season, with Brandon Harris starting in his place, and was never able to show the poise, confidence or understanding of opposing defenses that a starting quarterback needs (he was also wildly inaccurate). He’s back in competition with Harris again this fall, but for Jennings the hope is he will learn from last year’s mistakes and use that experience to his advantage to win his job back.

Patrick Towles saw playing time in parts of five games in 2012, his true freshman season, but he never started any of those games. He redshirted in 2013 and returned as Kentucky’s full-time starter last year, leading the Cats in all 12 of their games. He began the year 5-1 and then closed it 0-6 to miss a bowl, but if he can learn from his late-season mistakes last year and protect the football, he should have enough talent around him to show improvement as a redshirt junior. (Towles first needs to earn back the job as he competes with redshirt freshman Drew Barker.)

Joshua Dobbs started the last five games of last season, using his dual-threat abilities to compensate for Tennessee’s shaky offensive line upon posting a 4-1 record to save the Vols’ season. They were 3-5 without him, but now can say they’ve returned to bowl season for the first time since the Lane Kiffin debacle. Dobbs also started four games as a freshman in 2013, and the idea was to redshirt him last year and turn him loose this fall. Instead, he was asked to save UT’s season (which he did, as we just explained) but he now has experience in high-pressure situations in the thick of the SEC schedule, which should benefit him this fall as Tennessee faces steep expectations for 2015.

GOT THEIR FEET WET

Treon Harris started the last six games of Florida’s season as a true freshman last year, posting a deceiving 4-2 record that masks his poor play under center. In one of those victories he only attempted six passes, and in four of those six games he attempted 12 or fewer passes. Harris is a capable runner, and that experience last year may help him take better command of the offense as he battles to keep his job with redshirt freshman Will Grier.

Kyle Allen replaced Kenny Hill as Texas A&M’s starter eight games into last season, even though Hill had begun the season on a record-setting pace (Hill has since transferred to TCU). Allen was thrust into meaningful SEC games in the backstretch of the season as a true freshman, but showed noticeable growth in that time, recovering from a near-upset at the hands of UL-Monroe to eventually upset Auburn later in the year. Allen is likely to start the opener this fall, and if he continues showing similar growth that Aggies spread attack will be as potent as ever.

Johnny McCrary and Wade Freebeck were two of four Vanderbilt quarterbacks to start at least one game a year ago. They’re now the only two quarterbacks left on the team with starting experience, as both enter their sophomore seasons hoping to assume control of the offense. Freebeck looked overwhelmed during his four starts early in the year, while McCrary looked better (albeit against a few favorable opponents) in starting the final five games of the year. McCrary is more physically gifted, but both have near-even starting experience, making the quarterback competition in Vandy one of the SEC’s most unique position battles.

Brandon Harris started just one game last season after losing LSU’s quarterback competition to Jennings. He saw time in a few more games, and got a taste of what the speed of the game in the SEC is truly like compared to high school ball. He was once a five-star prospect, and perhaps all he needed was a little live-game seasoning to help him better compete for the starting job this time around.

Jeremy Johnson spent last season backing up Nick Marshall, who returned as the quarterback of the then-reigning SEC champs. However, Johnson started last year’s season opener against Arkansas while Marshall served a suspension, and he was as dynamic as advertised, throwing for 243 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone (and remember, Arkansas was a bowl team from the daunting SEC West; it’s not like the opponent was shaky). Johnson has since been named Auburn’s full-time starter for the fall, and although he lacks multiple games of starting experience he showed in the little experience he was granted that he’s capable of leading Gus Malzahn’s offense.