Dual-threat quarterbacks are becoming a necessity in college football. In Week 1 across the SEC, they were heavily prevalent and highly successful.
On Wednesday, SEC Network’s Brandon Zimmerman shared a stat that SEC quarterbacks accounted for 534 rushing yards in Week 1 — the fifth-most combined rushing yards by SEC passers in a single week over the last 20 years.
Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold ran for 137 yards on 16 carries in the Tigers’ season-opening win at Baylor. After 1 week of games, Arnold leads all SEC players — not just quarterbacks — in rushing. Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton ran for 73 yards on 10 carries in the Bulldogs’ win over Marshall. Mizzou quarterback Beau Pribula had 65 yards and 2 scores in his team’s opener. Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia had 44 rushing yards. Arkansas’s Taylen Green had 41.
“I have never seen this league loaded with this many potential running quarterbacks,” former Auburn coach Gene Chizik said on SEC Network this week. “They are the great equalizer.”
Pavia led all SEC quarterbacks with 801 rushing yards last season. His legs were a huge factor in games throughout the Commodores’ 7-win campaign. He had 104 rushing yards in a season-opening win at Virginia Tech, 56 in the upset victory over Alabama, and then 85 with 2 scores in the bowl win over Georgia Tech.
Jalen Milroe (726) and South Carolina star LaNorris Sellers (674) were also dynamic with their legs.
In total, 5 SEC quarterbacks ended the season with more than 500 rushing yards.
That number could be much larger in 2025. Arnold, Stockton, Pribula, and Pavia are on pace to do it after their Week 1 performances. Though not technically on pace for 500 after their debuts, Green, Marcel Reed (Texas A&M), Arch Manning (Texas), and John Mateer (Oklahoma) could all eclipse that threshold as well. Sellers had just 25 rushing yards in South Carolina’s opener, but he’s a proven runner.
More than half the league could have quarterbacks who clear 500 rushing yards.
The 2022 season featured 7 league quarterbacks with at least 500 rushing yards, the most in any year over the last decade.
More dynamism at the quarterback spot could lead to more unpredictability during conference play. Or it could help the SEC get back to New York City and produce a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. When Jayden Daniels won the award in 2023, he had 1,134 rushing yards.
We still have a lot of season left, but if Week 1 was any indication, defenses across the league need to be secure in their ability to contain the QB run game.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
