Backup plans: 5 SEC teams with best QB depth
Not all quarterback competitions are created the same.
Just because you have four vying for the job doesn’t guarantee you have one — let alone two — capable of getting the job done. See: Auburn, with the jury still out on Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri and Vanderbilt.
These five SEC teams, however, are in good shape heading into 2016. Not only can their starter play, but so can the guy(s) behind him on the depth chart.
Ole Miss
QB1: Chad Kelly
QB2: Shea Patterson
Skinny: Nobody has a better succession plan in place than Hugh Freeze, who pulled in the top quarterback in the 2016 class — Patterson — to eventually replace the record-setting Kelly.
Kelly missed much of spring, which gave early-enrollee Patterson even more of a head start toward learning and mastering the offense. It doesn’t make sense to redshirt Patterson because if he progresses the way most anticipate, he’ll be gone in three or four years, anyway.
https://twitter.com/densilva2/status/686093849085644800
So look for Patterson to get his feet wet against non-conference opponents not named Florida State and an occasional series or two perhaps in select SEC games.
Enough snaps, in other words, that the Rebels aren’t starting from scratch in 2017.
Alabama
QB1: Cooper Bateman/Blake Barnett/Jalen Hurts
QB2: Blake Barnett/Cooper Bateman/Jalen Hurts
QB3: Jalen Hurts
Skinny: We’re three years past the point of worrying about Alabama quarterbacks. The system will enhance the strengths and mask the weaknesses, and the defense will mostly mitigate the possibility of engaging in a shootout.
So it doesn’t really matter who wins the job, but Alabama certainly would be more fun to watch if Hurts (below) earned the nod.
Texas A&M
QB1: Trevor Knight
QB2: Jake Hubenak
Skinny: Knight is an ideal fit for Noel Mazzone’s N-Zone attack, but Hubenak (below) showed he could get it done as well, throwing for 300 yards in the bowl game.
It’s comforting knowing you have two capable, veteran leaders who have demonstrated the willingness to put team before self. It’s especially comforting at Texas A&M, where that hasn’t been the case at quarterback recently.
Georgia
QB1: Greyson Lambert/Jacob Eason
QB2: Jacob Eason/Greyson Lambert
Skinny: It doesn’t matter how you stack them. Both figure to play in the opener against North Carolina and so forth until Eason (below) eventually takes the job. Even then, Lambert is a quality, veteran safety valve in case something goes awry.
South Carolina
QB1: Brandon McIlwain/Perry Orth
QB2: Perry Orth/Brandon McIlwain/Lorenzo Nunez/Jake Bentley
Skinny: This fifth spot could have gone to any one of four teams, starting with Tennessee, where backup Quinten Dormady reportedly had a strong spring and is in line to replace senior Joshua Dobbs. Florida seems to be in better shape this summer than six months ago in Atlanta. Arkansas had a multi-player QB race, but even Bret Bielema said the competition wasn’t close. Maybe that was just pure praise for Austin Allen, who won the job. But it’s probably not what the backups wanted to hear.
South Carolina gets the nod because of excitement and experience.
McIlwain arrived early and wowed everybody in Columbia with his poise and precise throws. It will be an upset if he doesn’t start the opener.
Brandon McIlwain, South Carolina's spring and Will Muschamp trying to show he's changed: https://t.co/RqCrmbz0Ns pic.twitter.com/d5IZU5aqnR
— Matt Brown (@MattBrownCFB) April 12, 2016
South Carolina has a steady hand in Orth, who threw 3 TD passes against Tennessee and Clemson last season. Nunez is even more of a running threat than McIwain. Bentley will battle McIlwain for the next two years or more.
Last season, South Carolina had a lot of options, but not always a lot of good ones.
That won’t be the case in 2016 and beyond.
Chris Wright is Executive Editor at SaturdayDownSouth.com. Email him at cwright@saturdaydownsouth.com.