Without stepping onto a college field, or even signing a single Letter Of Intent, the SEC’s group of 2016 quarterbacks already is building an impressive legacy at skills challenges and campus across the country.

The nation’s top two pro-style quarterbacks (Jacob Eason, Georgia; Shea Patterson, Ole Miss) and the nation’s top dual-threat quarterback (Feleipe Franks, LSU) all are headed to the SEC, not to mention four other national Top 10s at the respective positions.

The narrative is clear: the SEC’s quarterbacks aren’t great right now. Help is coming in ’16. Be patient.

Yes, there’s excitement about a few SEC quarterbacks who could return in ’16 — namely Auburn’s Jeremy Johnson and Tennessee’s Joshua Dobbs — but the buzz mostly centers around the group that should sign on National Signing Day in February.

The problem with that story is that it excludes a few touted quarterbacks from the ’15 class, like Alabama’s Blake Barnett and Missouri’s Drew Lock.

The latter is well-positioned to become the next Tigers standout as early as ’16, but more likely in ’17, just as some of those other standout recruits start to blossom. Unlike Barnett, Lock did not enroll early and has yet to see the practice field at Mizzou. Coach Gary Pinkel is fiercely loyal to his starting quarterbacks, and barring a disastrous ’15 season, Maty Mauk will enter next fall as the favorite to finish out his career as the trigger man for the offense.

Lock is on campus now, though, and can position himself as the quarterback of the future both at Missouri and conference-wide if he develops well in the next two years.

Most likely, Lock will redshirt this fall, captaining the scout-team offense in an unofficial capacity while making frequent visits to the team’s strength training facilities. At 6-foot-4 and in the ballpark of 205 pounds at last check, Lock needs to get bigger and stronger if he’s to compete as a starter in the SEC.

According to renowned quarterback analyst Trent Dilfer, Lock also needs to work on getting deeper into his progressions, a common area of need among touted prep quarterbacks in this era. He also hasn’t spent much time executing play-action passes, which he’ll need to develop at Mizzou.

In a familiar vein, Lock can extend plays with his legs sort of like Mauk, but he’s got a cannon arm with more upside than anyone on the current roster. Lock already possesses solid footwork and has demonstrated an ability to look off safeties

“Drew Lock is an NFL prospect the day he steps on campus,” Dilfer said, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Drew doesn’t need to hear that from me. He doesn’t need that extra pressure. But there’s a handful of guys who when they go to school their freshman year I know for a fact GMs are tracking them. There’s a lot that has to happen, but he’s one of those guys.”

Mizzou may be competing at the top of the SEC East right now based on defense and a strong running game. But if all goes well, in ’17 and beyond the passing game once again will be among the nation’s best thanks to the strong-armed Lock.