As the old adage says, a team with two quarterbacks usually has no quarterback. But at other times, juggling two signal-callers is all part of a master plan — or the plan gets twisted around differing abilities of two quarterbacks. For many, Steve Spurrier was the father of the QB platoon. In 2017, several SEC teams are at least strongly considering playing two quarterbacks. If they do, here might be their best-case scenarios — these are 10 SEC QB tandems of the past 20 years that worked, presented chronologically.
1. 1997 — Doug Johnson/Noah Brindise, Florida
What’s a coach to do if he tries to choose between a talented, but mistake-prone sophomore (Johnson) and an overachieving senior leader (Brindise)? Steve Spurrier swapped the two out — on every play. At least that was the plan against top-ranked in-state rival Florida State, and the Gators pulled a monumental upset behind their two-headed QB, 32-29.
2. 1999 — Andrew Zow/Tyler Watts, Alabama
Zow was the experienced and fairly mobile veteran, Watts was the talented young pocket passer. Coach Mike DuBose mainly used running back Shaun Alexander to shock his way to an SEC championship, but Zow and Watts shared the load under center. Zow played more but Watts provided some valuable relief.
3. 1999 — Wayne Madkin/Matt Wyatt, Mississippi State
State has gone dual QB perhaps more than the rest of the SEC combined, but in 1999, the Bulldogs won 10 games playing two signal-callers. Madkin was mobile, Wyatt could pass his way down the field. Together they reached heights which State rarely finds (they were ranked in the top 10 two-thirds of the way through the season).
4. 2006 — Casey Dick/Mitch Mustain, Arkansas
This one isn’t fondly remembered, because Mustain came to Arkansas to run then-offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn’s explosive offense but head coach Houston Nutt alternated Mustain and Dick, ultimately shackling both. Between the two, they led Arkansas to a West division title, which the program hasn’t replicated since.
5. 2006 — Chris Leak/Tim Tebow, Florida
On the other hand, this is the QB duo from 2006 that everybody does remember. The Gators won the East, and the SEC, and the BCS title. Leak was a senior who didn’t exactly fit coach Urban Meyer’s offense, but was too good to keep off the field. Tebow fit the offense like a glove, and was a change of pace that opposing defenses never figured out how to handle.
6. 2007 — Matt Flynn/Ryan Perrilloux, LSU
It wasn’t always pretty, but this duo led the Tigers to the 2007 national title. Flynn was the “play within the system” guy and Perrilloux was the “insanely great athlete” guy. They made it work.
7. 2011 — Jordan Jefferson/Jarrett Lee, LSU
They almost made it work. Jefferson was the mobile dual-threat guy, Lee was more of a pocket passer. Les Miles genuinely alternated these QBs, unlike the past two tandems in which one quarterback basically provided a different look to put defenses on their heels. They beat Alabama in the regular-season game of the century, won the SEC championship, and then had nothing in the national title rematch with Alabama.
8. 2011 — Connor Shaw/Stephen Garcia, South Carolina
Spurrier would change QBs at the drop of a hat, and he would drop the hat — or visor. Shaw and Garcia didn’t win a title together, but they won 11 games in 2011 and lead South Carolina to its first ever top-10 finish in the final AP poll. Spurrier could never resist trying to ride the hot hand in a QB battle.
9. 2015 — Treon Harris/Will Grier, Florida
This was a QB shuffle that looked settled as Grier was emerging as Florida’s go-to guy, until he was suspended under the NCAA’s rules regarding performance-enhancing drugs. And so Harris, who was nowhere near as sharp as a passer but a better runner, ended up as Florida’s starter. Part of the year, the two split time. Part of the year, the NCAA mandated the lineup. While the results were jarring, they led the Gators to an SEC East title.
10. 2016 — Austin Appleby/Luke Del Rio, Florida
Much like 2016, this was a controversy that looked settled, but again, Paul Harvey hadn’t dealt with the rest of the story yet. Del Rio got hurt, and Appleby got more time than expected. It was a brutal Florida offense for most of the season, but the defense still led the Gators to another division title.
Cover photo courtesy of University of Florida athletics
Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.
