The 2026 regular season is now 25% complete, and by the end of Week 4 every SEC team will have played at least 1 conference game.
With 3 games now acting as a decent sample size, a more stable QB hierarchy is starting to take shape.
Let’s rank ’em, 1-16. Check out previous rankings below!
***
16. KJ Jackson, Arkansas
It’s going to be a long season for the Arkansas Razorbacks. That said, KJ Jackson should continue to be the starter under center. He’s outplayed AJ Hill and, while far from enough to scare the Bulldogs, looked more comfortable than he did in Weeks 1 and 2 against lesser opponents. If nothing else, that’s growth. Either way, there’s a lot of work to be done.
Last Week: 16 (-)
15. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M
Marcel Reed is regressing. He’s performed poorly twice in a row while showing 0 improvements from the pocket, and he remained turnover prone by throwing a pair of bad, bad interceptions against the Wildcats.
Then there’s this inexcusable miss that led to a turnover on downs…
How will Reed respond in Baton Rouge this Saturday?
Last Week: 11 (-4)
14. John Mateer, Oklahoma
The confidence John Mateer had in his first 4 games at Oklahoma is gone, as are any hopes that Oklahoma would have an improved run game this season. I refuse to heap all of Oklahoma’s offensive woes on a weak rushing attack, though. We’re talking about a quarterback who openly admitted to needing the crowd’s help to find and hit a wide-open receiver.
Things are dreary in Norman, Oklahoma. It would be great if the John Mateer of September 2025 made a reappearance.
Last Week: 12 (-2)
13. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
It’s getting tougher and tougher to believe in LaNorris Sellers when he keeps hand delivering the football to his opponent. The truth of the matter is Sellers has made little if any progress from 2025 to 2026, and he’s missing too many throws that he simply can’t in Year 3 as a starter.
It’s a shame for South Carolina, because Matt Fuller and Jabree Coleman have done a good job resuscitating the run game behind an obviously improved Gamecocks O-line. Sellers just has not delivered, and South Carolina will struggle until he (or somebody else) does.
Last week: 9 (-4)
12. Sam Leavitt, LSU
The critiques you’ve seen regarding Sam Leavitt’s game are absolutely valid. The Arizona State transfer tucks and runs at the first sign of trouble, and he doesn’t protect the football well enough to help his team compete at the top of the SEC. As Lane Kiffin put it on Monday, the Tigers have to wade through “a lot of dead plays.”
We have to address the impact of Ole Miss’s defensive front, which rattled Leavitt early and completely threw him off-kilter. Leavitt wasn’t able to complete a pass beyond the line of scrimmage until well into the second quarter thanks to Will Echoles and Kam Franklin’s domination of LSU‘s offensive line. Echoles alone finished with 7 QB pressures and 3 tackles for loss.
All Leavitt and the Tigers can do now is turn the page. Texas A&M looked lost against Kenny Minchey and the Wildcats in Week 3. If Leavitt continues to struggle sticking in the pocket and reading through his progressions, don’t be surprised to see Landen Clark get a chance.
Last Week: 8 (-4)
11. Jared Curtis, Vanderbilt
For all the good Vanderbilt‘s new starter Jared Curtis displayed on Saturday against NC State, there was a lot of bad. As in, “Curtis completely sold the game with a field goal in his back pocket” bad.
Luckily for Curtis and the Commodores, Dave Doeren and NC State QB CJ Bailey literally handed Vanderbilt the win about a minute after this interception.
Even despite this freshman mistake, Curtis showed a lot of promise against the Wolfpack. He’s got an ability to throw off platform that not many SEC quarterbacks have, and once or twice a game he’ll hit you with a “wow” throw that reminds you why he was a top 5 prospect coming out of high school. Curtis has significant upside.
Last Week: 15 (+4)
10. Byrum Brown, Auburn
Byrum Brown has taken more sacks than any quarterback in the SEC by a fairly wide margin. He’s been brought down 13 times, and 7 of those sacks were taken against Florida in Week 3.
There are 2 reasons for this: 1) Auburn‘s offensive line is a turnstile and 2) Brown has been too indecisive under pressure. According to PFF, Brown has taken longer to get the football out than any SEC starter at a startling 3.32 seconds.
It’s obvious that he’s not a pocket passer, but there’s still a lot of scoring upside for Brown to hang his hat on. The USF transfer accounted for 4 touchdowns against the Gators on Saturday night, and he’s currently 4th in the SEC in passing yards per game while ranking 2nd in the conference in rushing yards among quarterbacks. There’s still some tweaking and tinkering to be done, absolutely, but Auburn can work with that.
Brown will be an intriguing watch the remainder of the season.
Last Week: 13 (+3)
9. Kenny Minchey, Kentucky
There’s no mistaking it: Kenny Minchey absolutely torched Texas A&M’s defense on Saturday in College Station. He finished 14-for-18 for 252 yards and 2 touchdowns, not to mention this perfect throw and inexplicable drop by Kenny Darby that would’ve added another completion to his impressive final line:
After struggling last week against Alabama, it’s hard to express how impressive Minchey’s bounce-back performance was in Week 3. It’s clear that Minchey is really comfortable off play-action — the Notre Dame transfer made the Aggies pay when left with time to work in the pocket.
One question I still have: Can Minchey improve his mobility? The Aggies didn’t get much pressure on the Wildcats QB, but that’s not going to be the case all season.
Last Week: 14 (+5)
8. Faizon Brandon, Tennessee
Despite Faizon Brandon overexceeding expectations to start his freshman year, we can’t overlook the fact that Tennessee is dead-last in the SEC in passing yards per game entering Week 4. There are a few reasons for this: Tennessee’s rushing attack is elite, and Josh Heupel is making things as simple as possible for his talented signal-caller. Heupel is probably saving some looks for Texas, too.
Tennessee can’t afford to be so careful when the No. 1 Longhorns come to town. Additionally, this slower approach is why a few quarterbacks passed Brandon on this list — they’ve simply shown more at this point in the year
We’ll learn a lot more about the former 5-star this Saturday at Noon. Even against the Longhorns, I’m confident he’ll impress.
Last Week: 6 (-2)
7. Keelon Russell, Alabama
Keelon Russell will soon crack the top 5 of this list if he continues performing like he did after the weather delay on Saturday.
Watching Russell grow up against Florida State was a treat. It’s like the training wheels came off in the final minutes of the second quarter — Russell let it rip and trusted his arm, and it paid off: 23-for-30 passing for 320 yards and 4 total touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing), as well as 56 rushing yards.
Russell navigated the pocket exceptionally well against the Seminoles, and he’s still among the most elusive quarterbacks in the conference. That’s a great development after he took 4 sacks against Kentucky. Most important of all, Russell is still hitting a few throws every game that make you say, “yep, that’s an NFL quarterback.”
Last Week: 10 (+3)
6. Austin Simmons, Mizzou
Austin Simmons had an offbeat performance in Week 3 against Troy.
The Trojans jumped to a 10-0 lead as Simmons and the Tigers offense struggled to put points on the board. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz cited a timing issue after Simmons finished the day 10-for-19 for 91 yards, 1 touchdown and — on a positive note — 0 turnovers.
We’ve seen so much good from Simmons this season that I’m willing to pass this off as just being a bad day for the Tigers quarterback. If it becomes a trend next week against Mississippi State, however…
Last Week: 5 (-1)
5. Arch Manning, Texas
Nobody is doubting Arch Manning’s processing or his NFL upside, nor are they doubting his frame and athleticism. The accuracy and consistency in the passing game, though? It’s tough to ignore after a bizarre 16-of-32 outing against UTSA.
This weekend at Tennessee will be among the toughest road tests of Manning’s career, and that’s considering matchups at Ohio State and Georgia — both losses. Head coach Steve Sarkisian mentioned Monday that he considers Neyland Stadium to be the loudest venue in the country — can Manning handle the pressure this time around?
Last Week: 4 (-1)
4. Aaron Philo, Florida
Aaron Philo is a tough son of a gun and the perfect quarterback for Florida‘s offense under Buster Faulkner. Something that often goes hand-in-hand with being tough, what really stands out about Philo is his confidence and smart decision-making — usually a pretty good pairing of skills for a quarterback.
Neither of Philo’s interceptions so far this season can actually be put on him, either. He had a 25-yard gain erased against FAU because his receiver couldn’t come down with the ball, followed by an even more egregious drop that landed in an Auburn defender’s hands on Saturday.
Last Week: 7 (+3)
3. Gunner Stockton, Georgia
Gunner Stockton didn’t do anything to warrant a drop this week. The guy who replaced him at No. 2 is simply a freak of nature.
Stockton and the remaining quarterbacks on this list are a tier above the previous 5. The Georgia quarterback has thrown 2 more touchdown passes than he has incompletions, sitting at 583 passing yards on 45 attempts for 9 touchdowns with 0 interceptions or fumbles through 3 weeks. Stockton has been surgical.
Will he finally break 20 passing attempts in a single game against the Sooners?
Last Week: 2 (-1)
2. Kamario Taylor, Mississippi State
Kamario Taylor is the freak of nature I mentioned earlier.
The Mississippi State star might just be the most exciting quarterback in college football after Week 3’s comeback win over South Carolina. Taylor started 0-for-3 with an interception, then finished 18-for-23 for 251 yards, 4 touchdowns. I quoted it in Week 1 regarding Chambliss: “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” Wiping the slate clean and delivering to lift your team to 3-0 will always be impressive.
On top of that, Taylor is a highlight factory. Look at how long this ball stays in the air:
Best arm in college football?
Last Week: 3 (+1)
1. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
I’ll keep this short since I’m not really conveying any new information here: Trinidad Chambliss is the best quarterback in college football and an obvious Heisman frontrunner with his next-level creativity and consistency. Chambliss has proved himself in the clutch twice already and we aren’t even at the bulk of conference play.
The former Ferris State quarterback is special, and Ole Miss is dangerous because of it.
Last Week: 1 (-)
Subscribe to the Saturday Football Newsletter — Get the latest news and updates on your team, your conference, and the college football nation straight to your inbox.
Having trouble seeing the signup form? Some privacy or ad-blocking tools can prevent it from loading. You can subscribe directly here.
Ethan Stone is a Saturday Down South News Editor and an advocate for the return of the Seattle Supersonics.
