Ranking the SEC's most interesting QB competitions
The demise of the SEC quarterback position probably is overstated. After an all-time year in ’13 and a major slump in ’14, quarterback play normalized last season.
There’s plenty of talent, including a potentially-memorable 2016 class looking to make its mark.
But there is a ton of uncertainty at the position this spring. Depending on your definition of “competition,” there’s as many as 11 quarterback competitions taking place more or less simultaneously in the SEC right now (Arkansas doesn’t start practice until Tuesday).
Monitoring Kirby Smart’s first year as a head coach, as Mark Richt’s replacement, is intriguing. There are other storylines happening this spring. But you’d be hard-pressed to find anything more interesting in the SEC between now and September than monitoring the quarterback position across the board.
Here’s a glance at where each competition currently stands, as well as the most compelling battles.
LOCKS TO START
- Missouri: Drew Lock
- Ole Miss: Chad Kelly
- Tennessee: Joshua Dobbs
The first lock is, in fact, a Lock. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
Mizzou hopes that a more settled Lock can make the kind of progress that his predecessor Maty Mauk never did after playing well as an unexpected true freshman starter. Former Oklahoma quarterback and coordinator Josh Heupel is tasked with developing Lock, though he’ll need help from a group of pass-catchers that played uninspiring football in 2015.
Kelly and Dobbs are the unquestioned best at the position in terms of returnees in the entire SEC. Both are getting some preseason Heisman Trophy talk, and if they perform well and their teams win division titles, that could come into fruition. But even among those two, Kelly is the player with the more electric arm and NFL skill set.
LIKELY TO START
- Kentucky: Drew Barker
- LSU: Brandon Harris
- Texas A&M: Trevor Knight
- Vanderbilt: Kyle Shurmur
It would be considered a surprise if any of these four players didn’t start in early September. But each of these teams have branded this spring as a “competition.”
Purdue transfer Danny Etling may be the most intriguing of the four contenders. He’s drawn plenty of praise from coach Les Miles and company. But it’s hardly a well-kept secret that the team mostly hopes Etling is good enough to push Brandon Harris to keep working in hopes that the more athletic returning starter can play a little better in 2016.
Jake Hubenak (Texas A&M) sat behind two five-star quarterbacks last year until both transferred, and now he may be stuck behind a transfer from Oklahoma.
JUCO transfer Stephen Johnson II (Kentucky) is no prep player, but he arrived at just 169 pounds. So he’s trying to eat his way to 200 pounds while also playing catch-up behind Drew Barker, essentially a war on two fronts.
You probably haven’t paid any attention to Vanderbilt this spring. Their spring game actually took place Friday night. Everyone assumes Shurmur, a true sophomore, will keep the job moving forward and provide some long-awaited stability at the position. But coach Derek Mason has insisted the job is open, and Wade Freebeck has competed hard. It will be interesting to see if Vandy enters the fall banking on Shurmur or changing mindsets and really opening up a full-blown competition.
TRUE COMPETITIONS
7. South Carolina: Perry Orth vs. Brandon McIlwain vs. Lorenzo Nuñez
There’s already been a ton of movement in Columbia, as coach Will Muschamp is one of the most forthcoming in the SEC.
This started as a five-person race, but that’s not sustainable moving forward if the team wants to get real practice reps for its eventual starter and backup. So while South Carolina hasn’t declared it yet, it appears that Connor Mitch and Michael Scarnecchia already have fallen off the pace. Neither took a snap during the 20 minutes of practice open to the media on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Nuñez injured his knee in practice and has been using crutches. The Gamecocks hope he returns before the spring game, but it’s unclear when he’ll return.
So for now, it’s senior vs. true freshman. If Muschamp is to be believed, he’s going to let coordinator Kurt Roper institute more of an Auburn type offense, which would seem to give McIlwain and even Nuñez a bit of an advantage. If that’s true, we may not find out until the week of the season opener against Vanderbilt.
6. Arkansas: Austin Allen vs. Ricky Town
It may be presumptive to count out Rafe Peavey, a touted recruit in 2014. But this one sure feels like a two-man race entering spring practice.
Speaking of which, the Razorbacks are the last team to take the field and will finally do so next week. A big focus will be replacing Brandon Allen, a three-year starter.
His little brother Austin Allen enters as the favorite. Coach Bret Bielema seemed to indicate that Town, a USC transfer, didn’t pick up the offense as well as the staff hoped while sitting out the ’15 season.
Whomever wins the job, it will be intriguing to watch coordinator Dan Enos as he attempts to sustain what was a drastic turnaround for the team’s passing game in ’15. Most of the team’s leading wideouts return, so there will be plenty of live targets.
5. Mississippi State: Nick Fitzgerald vs. Elijah Staley
The suspicion is that Fitzgerald will get the first opportunity to replace Dak Prescott. He played well last spring and got some spot playing time in 2015.
But coach Dan Mullen has been as judicious with and protective of his quarterback thoughts as anyone in the SEC this spring. Damian Williams and Nick Tiano have gotten plenty of looks. But the feeling here is that Fitzgerald and Staley ultimately will compete as starter and backup.
Staley has been slowed by a hamstring injury this spring, so we may have to wait until the fall to really dig into this one.
4. Florida: Luke Del Rio vs. Austin Appleby vs. Feleipe Franks vs. Kyle Trask
The consensus opinion is that coach Jim McElwain would love to ride one of the veteran transfer quarterbacks for 2016 and incubate (redshirt?) the two freshmen.
Long term, Franks is the headliner here, and Florida did well to flip the dual-threat from LSU. But Trask has impressed early with a big arm, and he seems like he’ll be a legitimate factor at least in 2017.
The contrast between Will Grier and Treon Harris in ’15 stood out, and the surprise SEC East title was exciting. But McElwain’s offensive rebuilding project may take a less-than-linear path.
Thus far, Del Rio has impressed onlookers more than Appleby and is the favorite to win the job. A walk-on now playing for his third team, he’s more of a steady hand than a “wow” player. That’s OK as long as the offensive line improves and the receivers start to form a more cohesive unit. But it’ll be even more exciting once McElwain develops Franks and Trask.
3. Georgia: Greyson Lambert vs. Brice Ramsey vs. Jacob Eason
Eason enrolled in January with the intention of following Matthew Stafford and Aaron Murray as freshmen starters.
Brian Schottenheimer, the stereotype of a risk-averse, veteran-trusting NFL coordinator masquerading as a college coordinator in 2015, has given way to Jim Chaney, who started coaching in the ’80s. That may be a slight advantage for Eason, but it seems clear that Chaney intends to give Lambert and Ramsey every opportunity.
It’s a very interesting decision for first-year coach Kirby Smart and his staff. With Nick Chubb’s rehab apparently going very well and Sony Michel potentially the best No. 2 back in the SEC, UGA has to believe it can trust its running game.
Lambert threw just two interceptions in 256 passes last season. Will the Bulldogs remain ultraconservative in the passing game and let the veteran be a game manager? Or will the team turn it loose with the strong-armed freshman and let him learn on the job?
2. Alabama: Cooper Bateman vs. Blake Barnett vs. David Cornwell
As the defending national champion and the de facto SEC favorites, this one is automatically intriguing. Alabama has shown it will not rush the process of determining a starter and that has worked out well the last two seasons. The Tide may not have a sure-thing No. 1, but the team has as much collective talent here as any other SEC program.
A faction of the fans is clamoring to see what coordinator Lane Kiffin can do with redshirt freshman Blake Barnett, who came to Tuscaloosa as a rail-thin five-star quarterback. Bateman actually started last year — in the team’s only loss of the season vs. Ole Miss — and Cornwell got real buzz during the fall competition.
All three possess a different skill set. Bateman is the most athletic and should get a lot of early attention in this competition. The real question may be how quickly Barnett matures. Will he be ready to handle the leadership responsibilities and pressures of the position by the time the season starts?
1. Auburn: Jeremy Johnson vs. John Franklin III vs. Sean White
Read into this what you will, but it sure seems like the Tigers are pumping up Franklin this spring. Both the coaching staff and the players. It’s hard not to harken back to the days when Nick Marshall was running the offense and picture Franklin, similar in stature and running ability, running coach Gus Malzahn’s offense.
Johnson and White both were inconsistent in ’15. But Johnson did settle way down after a horrendous first three games, and he’s spent years in Malzahn’s offense. If he can regain the confidence with which he played last spring, it’s not inconceivable that he could regroup and make a real push for the job.
Malzahn had better pick the right player, because another mediocre season may put his job status in question.
This one feels like the range of possibilities is the widest in the conference. It could become a firestorm, or the entire unit could regroup behind All-SEC type play from one of these quarterbacks.