Athlon sports released its starting quarterback predictions and rankings for all 128 teams Monday. Of the SEC passers, Ole Miss’ Chad Kelly ranked the highest at No. 5.
Kelly led the SEC with 4,042 yards and 31 touchdowns on 298-of-458 passing in 2015. The JUCO transfer led Ole Miss to a 10-3 (6-2 SEC) record and second place finish in the SEC West.
Tennessee’s Joshua Dobbs ranked No. 10 on the list. Dobbs led all SEC quarterbacks with 671 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on 146 attempts and threw for 2,291 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions on 205-of-344 passing.
Georgia freshman Jacob Eason, who is competing with veteran Greyson Lambert for the team’s starting job, is listed third among SEC quarterbacks despite having not yet played a down of college football. It’s still likely that Lambert, not Eason, will be the Bulldogs’ starter in Week 1.
Here’s where each SEC quarterback ranked on the list:
5. Chad Kelly, Ole Miss
10. Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee
28. Jacob Eason, Georgia
40. Brandon Harris, LSU
41. Trevor Knight, Texas A&M
50. Cooper Bateman, Alabama
51. Austin Allen, Arkansas
76. Drew Barker, Kentucky
81. Luke Del Rio, Florida
82. Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State
84. Brandon McIlwain, South Carolina
85. Sean White, Auburn
86. Kyle Shurmur, Vanderbilt
87. Drew Lock, Missouri
Jason covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
