At this time last year, there were more questions than answers regarding SEC quarterbacks.

However, as the year wore on, the elite separated themselves from the rest of the pack, with Mizzou’s Drew Lock, Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham, Alabama’s Jalen Hurts, Mississippi State’s Nick Fitzgerald, Vanderbilt’s Kyle Shurmur and Georgia’s Jake Fromm all having excellent seasons.

This year, though, there could be even more talented quarterbacks in the conference, leading to more competition among the statistical leaderboards.

But what if we could take certain attributes from some of the top quarterbacks and mold a perfect SEC quarterback from those qualities? Well, here’s what we imagine that perfect quarterback would look like:

Arm strength: Drew Lock, Mizzou

There’s not a throw on the field that Lock can’t make. Yes, that sometimes gets him into trouble, as he throws his fair share of questionable interceptions, but his cannon arm also creates some huge plays for the Mizzou offense.

Lock led the country in touchdown passes, tossing an SEC-record 44 in 2017. To put in perspective, that’s 18 more than Vanderbilt’s Kyle Shurmur, who finished second in the SEC with 26 touchdown passes. To put that in even more perspective, Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham and South Carolina’s Jake Bentley each threw 18 touchdown passes.

Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

No, Mizzou still isn’t a national powerhouse, but Lock led the Tigers to their best season in a few years, putting up a 7-5 regular-season record before losing in the Texas Bowl. Lock hit a nation-leading 19 passes of 50 or more yards last year, and if he can do more of that again in 2018, the Tigers should go to yet another bowl game.

Accuracy: Jarrett Stidham, Auburn

Stidham completed 66.5 percent of his 370 pass attempts last year. Though he had a great possession receiver in Ryan Davis and didn’t throw it deep all that often (the exception being a few bombs to Darius Slayton), he showed he can play in the SEC and thrive.

It remains to be seen how he performs coming back from an offseason shoulder surgery, but the Tigers will need him to be great after losing star RBs Kerryon Johnson and Kamryn Pettway to the NFL Draft.

He’ll likely be asked to throw more often, so his accuracy will be even more important in 2018 as he looks to take the next step into the elite ranks of college quarterbacks.

Clutchness: Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama

It’s hard to argue with having Tagovailoa here based on what the true freshman did in the National Championship Game in January. Entering the game at halftime with Alabama down 13-0, Tagovailoa led the Crimson Tide to a thrilling 26-23 overtime victory.

Yes, it was only one half of one game, but it was the sort of performance that has many calling for him to become the starter over Jalen Hurts in 2018.

Based on how calm, cool and collected Tagovailoa was under pressure against Georgia, it’s likely there are more big moments ahead of him in the near future. Therefore, he earns a spot on this list for the poise he’s already displayed on the game’s biggest stage.

Running ability: Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State

Career rushing yards by an SEC QB
1. Tim Tebow: 2,947
2. Matt Jones: 2,535
3. Dak Prescott: 2,521
4. Nick Fitzgerald: 2,486

If Fitzgerald stays healthy this year, he should easily set the SEC’s all-time rushing record for a quarterback. He ranks fourth with 2,486 rushing yards, and by the end of Week 1, he could be in second place.

That’s because he has less than 100 yards to go to pass Dak Prescott and Matt Jones. He needs fewer than 500 yards to pass Tim Tebow for the No. 1 spot on the list.

Combining Fitzgerald’s vision with his athleticism and strength makes him nearly unstoppable. He’s one of the SEC’s best rushers regardless of position, and for that, he earns his spot among the conference’s elite.

Intelligence: Kyle Shurmur, Vanderbilt

A Vanderbilt guy being applauded for his intelligence? Seems pretty cliche, no?

Regardless, Shurmur deserves this spot. Even as RB Ralph Webb had a disappointing senior season (by the ridiculous standard he set in his other years), Shurmur took a huge step forward as a quarterback. He set career highs with 2,823 passing yards and 26 touchdowns, good for third and second in the conference, respectively.

It also helps that his dad is Pat Shurmur, who recently landed the New York Giants’ head coaching job after spending the 2017 season as the Minnesota Vikings’ offensive coordinator. That’s a great resource to have at your disposal, but Kyle deserves all the credit in the world for turning himself into one of the SEC’s best quarterbacks entering the 2018 season.

Strength: Jalen Hurts, Alabama

Hurts showed great mental strength with the way he handled being benched for Tagovailoa in the title game, but that’s not what we’re here for.

No, Hurts is also the most physically gifted SEC quarterback, and has the squat numbers to prove it. As you can see in the video below, Hurts can squat 600 pounds — an incredible amount for a quarterback:

Hurts’ rushing stats speak for themselves, as he proves to be tough to tackle time and time again. For that reason, even if he starts this season on the bench, he deserves a spot on this list.