I will try and be as consistent as possible.

When I started ranking quarterbacks on a weekly basis for SDS, I found it easy to get a little scatterbrained about it. I’d find myself comparing certain stats but not others, or going off which guy won this week or which guy won that week. In the end, though, I believe these rankings should come down to one important thing.

Who would you take to win a game tomorrow?

I realize that’s not always an easy question to answer. There are subjective elements to that. Stats are part of the argument. Record is part of the argument. What kind of pressure the quarterback has to win games is part of that argument. So are his teammates.

But what I’ll try and do is think of a hypothetical scenario in which I’m a general manager and I’ve got one game to play tomorrow. I’ll pick the quarterback who I have the most confidence in. That isn’t always the quarterback with the most upside. Just because I believe in someone’s season-long potential doesn’t mean they’re my No. 1 quarterback to win a game tomorrow.

Keep that in mind when you wonder why certain SEC quarterbacks are ranked lower than others.

14. Gunnar Hoak, Kentucky

To be honest, Terry Wilson could easily be in this spot, too. I don’t have a ton of confidence in either one, but I gave Hoak the nod just because he has the experience in the system. He has never taken a snap, so it’s hard to judge him on vague practice reports and a limited spring game. Whoever starts probably will have a favorite play — hand off to Benny Snell.

13. Cole Kelley, Arkansas

I actually wouldn’t be stunned if Connor Noland wins this job. Kelley gets the spot for now because of his experience. He has the most familiarity with Arkansas’ skill players, and even though he’s not a prototypical Chad Morris quarterback, he gets a chance to develop into one.

Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

A lot of people blamed Arkansas’ offensive issues on everyone but the quarterback position last year. It’ll be interesting to see if the Razorback skill players thrive with Kelley in the early stages of the Morris era.

12. Kyle Trask, Florida

My boldest personnel take of the offseason has been that I believe Trask will be Florida’s starter. Yes, I know what Luke Del Rio said. I’m more interested in what Dan Mullen says. While I like Trask running Mullen’s system better than Feleipe Franks, he’s obviously still a complete unknown. Someone who didn’t even start in high school will have a steep learning curve, but the potential is there for him to be the first QB disciple of the Mullen regime.

11. Keller Chryst, Tennessee

I’ll be honest. The No. 10-14 quarterbacks on this list might not even be here in Week 1 because battles are still unfolding. This is a shot in the dark based on the fact that Chryst agreed to spend his final year of eligibility in Knoxville after Tyson Helton was hired. Chryst has the familiarity in the system, albeit with some pedestrian results. The 55 percent passing won’t translate well in the SEC, and neither will 6.7 yards per attempt. But the hope is that Chryst is finally with the right coach to maximize his 4-star potential. (It’s irrelevant now, but he was a higher-rated recruit than Sam Darnold, who Helton is plenty familiar with.)

10. Nick Starkel, Texas A&M

Again, this could easily be the last time Starkel makes this list. We know how Jimbo Fisher locks in on his quarterbacks. Starkel gets the slight edge over Kellen Mond in that regard because I thought he was the better quarterback down the stretch, and I haven’t seen anything to suggest that Mond has been better in camp, not that Fisher has tipped his hand either way. Starkel isn’t in the better half of this list because his numbers against SEC defenses weren’t great (6 TD passes, 5 interceptions, 55 percent, 1-3 record). Perhaps he or Mond are due for a big Year 2 rise under Fisher.

9. Joe Burrow, LSU

Burrow is tricky from a preseason rankings standpoint because on one hand, he’s never started an FBS game. We don’t know what he’ll look like when he sees a live pass rush for 60 minutes. On the other hand, he’s a graduate transfer who according to Urban Meyer, “is a made quarterback.” While Meyer’s word isn’t exactly gold these days, I tend to believe his judgment at least when it comes to developing signal-callers. It wouldn’t surprise me if Burrow made the top 5 by season’s end.

8. Jake Bentley, South Carolina

I’m not as high on Bentley as many are, and here’s why: I still don’t think the game has slowed down enough for him. He struggles going through his reads when his first option isn’t there, and while part of that was Deebo Samuel being hurt and poor protection, Bentley didn’t take the Year 2 step that many expected he would.

Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The hope is that Bryan McClendon’s offense will help Bentley turn around his lackluster numbers vs. SEC defenses last year (10 TDs, 7 interceptions, 7.1 yards per attempt, 24.5 points per game). Even though the Gamecocks have more talent at receiver than they’ve had in the Will Muschamp era, I question how Bentley will adjust to life without Hayden Hurst. I’m still in wait-and-see mode with the Gamecock quarterback.

7. Kyle Shurmur, Vanderbilt

I’m pretty sure I had Shurmur at dead last on this list to start last year. The Vanderbilt quarterback’s rise shows you how much he improved last year. With defenses focused on stopping Ralph Webb, Shurmur took a nice step up in his second full season as the starter. He nearly tripled his touchdown passes (9 to 26) while throwing for 400 more yards on just 5 more attempts. It’s still a team that won just 1 SEC game last year, and Shurmur lacks mobility that others on this list have, which is why he’s still in the middle of the pack. But he has NFL potential, regardless of how rough of a year it is for Vandy.

6. Jordan Ta’amu, Ole Miss

It’s funny. I’d probably have Shea Patterson in the exact same spot if he were still at Ole Miss. Now, it’s Ta’amu’s chance to take over Matt Luke’s offense. The sample size is still small (basically 5.5 games), and there’s certainly room for improvement against elite foes. A 54 percent completion rate for 7.7 yards per attempt against LSU, Texas A&M and Mississippi State doesn’t scream “elite SEC quarterback,” and neither does losing a home game to Arkansas. But I like Ta’amu’s poise, and I think he’s plenty capable of thriving with the Rebels’ (or Landsharks?) loaded receiving corps.

5. Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State

I’ll start with this. There’s a very realistic chance that anyone ranked 1-5 on this list can finish the season at No. 1. I truly believe that. That includes Fitzgerald. As high as I am on Mississippi State this year, the biggest question I have is if Fitzgerald is truly going to become a 2-dimensional player under Joe Moorhead. His ability to throw the deep ball is so crucial for what MSU wants to do offensively, unlike under Mullen.

Fitzgerald is in position to set the SEC rushing touchdowns record for a quarterback, and he’s going to win a bunch of games. But until we see improvements in his efficiency (6.7 yards per attempt, 55.4 percent passer) and stretching the field, Fitzgerald will be slotted behind the conference’s more dynamic quarterbacks.

4. Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama

So here’s the thing. I actually had Tagovailoa as my first-team All-SEC quarterback. I also think he has a realistic shot to set a handful of Alabama passing records in 2018. I’m buying what we saw in the national championship, and I’m more in the Trent Dilfer camp than I am in the “he only played one meaningful half” camp. So why is Tagovailoa only No. 4 and not No. 1? Remember the criteria. Who would I pick to win a game played tomorrow?

Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

In the early part of the season, I think we see Tagovailoa go through some ups and downs. He’ll show flashes of greatness similar to 2nd-and-26, and he’ll also make inexperienced mistakes similar to what put him in 2nd-and-26. The game snaps are limited and the potential is through the roof. For now, I’ll split the difference.

3. Drew Lock, Mizzou

If you want me to just rank whoever throws the most touchdown passes, this would be a pretty boring list. It’s Lock and there’s obviously no discussion about it. Coming off his record-setting season, Lock still has room to grow as a passer. Improvement in intermediate throws are what’s going to determine if he continues to generate first-round hype. We know the deep ball is there. Lock showed last year that in addition to cupcakes, he can light up average SEC teams, too (8.7 yards per attempt, 25 touchdown passes, 8 interceptions vs. SEC in 2018). It’d be fun to see what Lock would look like playing for Alabama, Auburn or Georgia. Instead, we’ll see how the Derek Dooley experiment impacts his ranking.

2. Jarrett Stidham, Auburn

I didn’t like the preseason hype with Stidham last year because I thought in Gus Malzahn’s system, it was going to take awhile for him to become comfortable, especially as someone with 3 career starts. That proved to be true. But by season’s end, Stidham was the only quarterback in America who dethroned No. 1 twice. And yes, Kerryon Johnson was a big part of that, but look how well Stidham played in the 7 games after that LSU collapse:

  • 4 interceptions
  • Completed 65 percent of his passes in 6 games
  • 67 percent passer
  • 235.4 passing yards per game
  • At least 210 passing yards in 6 games
  • 14 total touchdowns

And oh, by the way, 4 of those 7 matchups were against teams who finished ranked inside the top 7 of the final Associated Press poll. Adjusting to life without Johnson will have its bumps and bruises. But facing a daunting schedule, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone better prepared to handle it than Stidham.

1. Jake Fromm, Georgia

And this is my exact reason why I’m not a believer in calling it a “quarterback battle” in Athens. To me, I’d take Fromm to win a game tomorrow over anyone in the SEC. I realize Alabama fans are going to argue that Tagovailoa won the head-to-head matchup, but that was against a Georgia defense that was admittedly unprepared to face him. All things neutral, give me Fromm to win a game tomorrow. The efficiency numbers were remarkable for anyone, much less a true freshman:

  • Ranked No. 9 in FBS in passing efficiency (160.1)
  • Averaged 9.0 yards per attempt
  • 62 percent passer
  • Intercepted once every 42 passes
  • Threw multiple interceptions once in 15 games (vs. Alabama)
  • Had 7 games of multiple TD passes and 0 interceptions

Fromm’s cumulative numbers aren’t all-world level (174 passing yards/game, 1.6 TD passes/game) because Georgia didn’t need to throw the ball as much as Mizzou or Ole Miss. Some opponents mistook that for Fromm being limited. That’s obviously not true. He can make any throw on the field and he has the mobility to escape pressure. Fromm is already the exact player and leader that I’d want to win me a game. For now, he has the best argument for No. 1.