SEC QB Power Rankings after Week 1: We’re not talking enough about Kamario Taylor
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Welcome back, college football! We’ve missed you so.
Let’s rank some SEC quarterbacks.
1. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
In the late stages of Ole Miss vs. Louisville, with the score tied at 38, Trinidad Chambliss led a flawless 2-minute drill, setting Lucas Carneiro up for the 48-yard game-winner as time expired.
Chambliss’s 2nd half was something to behold, and he did it without Kewan Lacy, both offensive tackles (briefly) and silly-fast WR Deuce Alexander (for a good portion of the 4th quarter.)
It actually helps Chambliss’s case that he didn’t have such a great first half, in my eyes. It’s all about how you respond, and Chambliss responded with nearly 400 yards of total offense and 4 touchdowns against what looks to be one of the best teams in the ACC. He’s got the arm, the anticipation, the clutch factor — and he did it against the toughest opponent any SEC QB faced this week.
Folks, we’re looking at the best QB in college football until proven otherwise.
2. Gunner Stockton, Georgia
Gunner Stockton was not asked to do very much against Tennessee State. Still, he completed 15 of his 16 passing attempts for 202 yards and 3 touchdowns with 0 turnovers, placing 2nd in the SEC at 12.6 yards per attempt. Oh, and he did it all across just 5 drives.
His EPA (Expected Points Added) from Week 1 is off the charts at 1.03. Efficient all across the field. Steady improvement. Stockton is somehow still one of the most overlooked quarterbacks in college football.
3. Kamario Taylor, Mississippi State
Just watch.
Dot talk. Flat-footed. I mean, goodness gracious.
That was Taylor’s best throw of the day, but his talent was on display the entire afternoon. He can drive the ball like few in the SEC, and he accounted for 5 touchdowns (4 passing, 1 rushing) with 0 turnovers, 354 passing yards and 59 rushing yards across 2 and a half quarters of action.
Most underrated of all, he showed off some great field awareness. He’s dynamic outside of the pocket but can deliver a perfectly placed bomb under pressure. Mixed with his 6-foot-4, 230-pound frame, he’s going to drive SEC defensive coordinators crazy all season.
4. Arch Manning, Texas
Arch Manning is going to be judged heavily by Week 2’s monster clash against Ohio State. It’s perfectly fair. If Texas wants to be the best, it has to beat the best. The same goes for Manning. Obviously.
Manning’s 2026 debut was promising, but it wasn’t perfect. His interception at the end of the first half was… brutal. Hesitant and therefore late, thrown into triple-coverage with a field goal in his back pocket. And to be honest, he let a few throws rip on Saturday that Ohio State’s secondary would eat for breakfast.
That’s one side of the coin. On the other side, Manning’s confidence seems to be through the roof. Manning created some explosive plays and showed off an impressive ability to improvise when plays broke down. He finished 20-of-27 for 305 yards and 4 touchdowns at 11.3 yards per attempt.
5. Sam Leavitt, LSU
Sam Leavitt is definitely a Lane Kiffin quarterback.
The Arizona State transfer played the 2nd toughest opponent of all QBs listed and led the Tigers offense to a 51-10 blowout win. Right off the bat, Leavitt’s ability to scramble his way out of sticky situations is a treat to watch — he was the gnat in Clemson’s ear all evening, torching the Tigers for 113 rushing yards with 2 rushing touchdowns. His dual-threat nature makes LSU very, very dangerous (not to mention that defense. Whew, LSU is going to be a problem.).
While Leavitt had his share of great throws on Saturday, he also had his share of bad ones. The opponent definitely had an impact on this, but Leavitt was the least-accurate quarterback in the league last week at 57.1%. His opening-drive interception probably should have been caught but was a touch behind his receiver. Precision matters, folks.
I want to see Leavitt push the ball downfield more consistently to up his ranking among his SEC peers.
6. Aaron Philo, Florida
I owe Aaron Philo an apology. It turns out I was not familiar with his game.
The Georgia Tech transfer did a little bit of everything on Saturday. He had by my estimation the 2nd best deep throw of the weekend among SEC quarterbacks (behind only Taylor’s as shown above) with this absolute beauty to TJ Abrams. According to PFF, Philo had the 2nd highest big-time throw rate of any FBS QB in Week 1 at 18.2%.
Check it out:
This wasn’t really what impressed, though. Philo stood in the pocket and delivered some ballsy stuff. He also rushed for a touchdown while accounting for 4 total on the evening. For those wanting a comment on the interception, watch again — Philo delivered a perfect ball right into the receiver’s hands that popped off the pads and into the hands of an FAU defender. For the day, the Gators quarterback finished 19-25 for 275 yards and 3 passing touchdowns at an impressive 13.1 yards per attempt.
7. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
LaNorris Sellers took a step in the right direction on Saturday under new OC Kendal Briles.
Sellers took one bad sack, but he was much more willing to stick in the pocket and deliver some clean passes than he was last season — so much so that we really didn’t see anything from Sellers in the run game. He delivered some impressive tight-window throws under duress, too. The stats speak to a solid outing from South Carolina‘s QB: 19-for-23 for 270 yards and 3 touchdowns with 0 turnovers.
Like many others on this list, I’m intrigued to see how he fares against real competition.
8. Austin Simmons, Mizzou
Austin Simmons led all SEC quarterbacks in both QBR and yards per attempt in Mizzou‘s season-opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He finished 17-for-19 for 252 yards and 4 touchdowns and was out of the game by halftime. Perhaps most crucially, Simmons protected the ball after accounting for 4 turnovers by the end of Week 2 last season at Ole Miss.
It’s hard to ask for much more than that if you’re a Mizzou fan. A few lingering questions: Can he continue to protect the football against upper-level competition? In the same vein, can he replicate his efficiency?
I like the guys above him, but I admit it now — Simmons was the toughest player to place on this list.
9. John Mateer, Oklahoma
Man, the SEC is loaded at quarterback this season.
There’s a newer look to the Sooners offense this year. Mateer worked out of 12 personnel with more play action looks than RPO against UTEP. From an accuracy standpoint, Mateer sailed a few balls — but there was nothing egregious and he finished with zero turnovers. His mobility and ability to throw off-platform is still out-of-this-world good, and an improved run game should do wonders for his efficiency.
Let’s see what he can do against Michigan.
10. Faizon Brandon, Tennessee
There’s a little Hendon Hooker in Faizon Brandon’s game.
The Vols QB had about as great of a debut as Tennessee fans could have hoped for, and he definitely didn’t look like a true freshman. Brandon’s pocket presence was genuinely astounding for a guy playing his first snaps of college football. Brandon is the first SEC quarterback since Cam Newton (ever heard of him?) to post 3 passing touchdowns and 2 rushing touchdowns in his first career start — and just the 4th FBS QB to do so all-time alongside Joe Dailey (Nebraska, 2004) and Bear Bachmeier (BYU, 2025).
Tennessee’s offense was understandably vanilla against the Paladins, but Brandon wasn’t just throwing swing passes and screens — he tied Austin Simmons for the highest YPA with 13.3 across 13-of-17 passing for 226 yards with 0 turnovers and threw a pair of long touchdown passes. He and Mike Matthews are going to connect for a lot of scores this season.
Can Brandon replicate the numbers from his stellar debut against Georgia Tech? If so, he’s a candidate to take a considerable jump.
11. Keelon Russell, Alabama
Speaking of guys who could take a considerable jump…
The sky’s the limit for Alabama‘s QB of the future after a promising 2026 debut against East Carolina.
If you evaluate college football through nothing but the box score, Keelon Russell’s first action of 2026 was fairly unremarkable. He finished 18-for-30 with 0 passing touchdowns at 8.5 yards per attempt. What’s important to realize, though, is Ryan Coleman-Williams dropped an absolutely perfect back-shoulder pass in the end zone to start the second quarter, as well as another dime that would have been a big gain earlier in the first quarter.
Russell navigated the pocket well and was excellent with his legs on multiple occasions, rushing for 86 yards and a touchdown — more than any other SEC QB not named Sam Leavitt.
A few gripes that I’m sure will be fixed soon: Learn to throw the ball away and stop taking those hits. Above all, let it rip! Russell was a little tentative at times, which is understandable in Week 1 — I don’t expect that trend to continue.
12. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M
Is there a more divisive quarterback in the SEC than Marcel Reed?
Reed is elusive and a dynamic playmaker who does his best work outside the pocket. He’s going to help Texas A&M win a lot of games this season, which is why Mike Elko defends him so passionately. Reed is indeed over-hated, but that shouldn’t downplay the fair criticism — he has to take a step as a passer if Texas A&M is going to win anything notable with him under center.
There was some good and some bad in his showing against Missouri State: 21-for-30 for 233 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The biggest win of Reed’s 2026 debut? He didn’t turn the ball over. We’ll see if he can keep the momentum going on Saturday against Arizona State.
13. Kenny Minchey, Kentucky
Kenny Minchey is the last quarterback on this list to have an overwhelmingly positive Week 1 performance. The Notre Dame transfer looked really nice against FCS Youngstown State, throwing 4 touchdown passes on 18-of-27 attempts for 301 yards and 0 turnovers. Minchey places the ball really well, too.
That said, Minchey and the Wildcats didn’t exactly let it fly on Saturday — which is understandable against an FCS school. Of Minchey’s 18 completions, 11 were caught behind the line of scrimmage.
14. Byrum Brown, Auburn
Thanks to Byrum Brown’s late touchdown drive and Eric Winters’ enormous play at the goal line, the Auburn Tigers are 1-0 on the year, shrugging off their tendency to find new and exciting ways to lose close games like they did under Hugh Freeze.
But we can’t ignore the rest of Brown’s Tigers debut. The USF transfer turned the ball over 3 times and averaged just 7.4 yards per attempt across 26 completions. A good portion of his completions came near the offensive line. Brown took 5 sacks.
It would probably be unwise to give up on Brown after 1 performance, but he didn’t inspire much confidence for most of the afternoon.
15. KJ Jackson, Arkansas
KJ Jackson looked scared to death on Saturday, and Arkansas’s offense suffered as a result. Jackson was hesitant and had little to no awareness in the pocket against the worst team Arkansas will face all season. In fairness, Jackson received little to no help from his receivers or offensive line.
No matter how you spin it, there’s a lot of growing to do for the inexperienced Razorback.
16. Blaze Berlowitz, Vanderbilt
I’d be surprised to see Berlowitz under center for Vanderbilt for too much longer. The Commodore faithful yearn for Jared Curtis. It’s never a good sign when your own fans are booing your starting quarterback as he takes the field, Clark Lea.
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Ethan Stone is a Saturday Down South News Editor and an advocate for the return of the Seattle Supersonics.
