Depending on your perspective, the SEC’s collection of quarterbacks in 2015 is either unheralded, an unremarkable stop-gap for the tremendous ’16 class or downright embarrassing.

I tend to disagree with the latter, especially with Dak Prescott and Jeremy Johnson among them. But there’s little reason to believe this group of quarterbacks can come close to approximating the historic group that departed after the 2013 season.

So who will start for all 14 teams, anyway?

Alabama: Jacob Coker

For all the hype created by Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher’s flattering comments, Coker actually was the least-touted recruit among Alabama’s quarterbacks out of high school. But Blake Barnett very likely will redshirt in 2015. Alec Morris and Cooper Bateman are backups.

So that leaves David Cornwell to challenge Coker. Though he’s got some ability, Cornwell doesn’t have a discernible physical edge above Coker and doesn’t have the years of experience that Blake Sims did last year. Coker may win the job by default.

Arkansas: Brandon Allen

The Razorbacks never seemed to consider opening up Allen’s job to competition. I don’t think Allen is anything close to an upper-echelon SEC quarterback, and I haven’t tried to hide that fact.

He’s presented with a lot of short, easy play-action passes to running backs and tight ends in 1-on-1 mismatches behind a very good offensive line. Those are high-percentage throws, the kind that could help a timing quarterback like Kyle Allen complete 70 percent. Brandon Allen completed 56 percent last year, and couldn’t dig out any of Arkansas’ one-possession games.

But he does take pretty good care of the football. He’s an experienced, solid caretaker, and that’s about all the Razorbacks ask of their quarterback.

Auburn: Jeremy Johnson

The Gus Malzahn-Johnson combination has a chance to be special. Johnson is big and fast. He’s not as elusive running the ball as Cam Newton or Nick Marshall. But he’s got the physical potential to become a coveted NFL pocket passer.

At times it’s seemed like Johnson has spent too much of his days dreaming up lofty goals for himself — he wants to have a Newton-like season — rather than looking down at his feet and making the next few baby steps toward greatness. If he can shed some inconsistencies and maximize his ability, Johnson has the personnel and the coaching staff around him to legitimately challenge for an All-SEC spot.

Florida: Will Grier

Grier is a much better fit for Jim McElwain and Doug Nussmeier’s offensive system. He flashed some impressive timing and accuracy in a few stretches during the spring game. McElwain may see Grier as his next Garrett Grayson, who threw for more than 4,000 yards and completed better than 64 percent of his passes for Colorado State in ’14.

The X factor here is Florida’s offensive line, which ranks 126th of 128 in the FBS in terms of returning experience. It’s possible that the coaching staff could elect to carry over Treon Harris from the end of the Will Muschamp era to counteract the potential weakness in pass protection. But McElwain has made it clear this isn’t a one-year turnaround project, and I expect him to build for the future with Grier.

Georgia: Brice Ramsey

The UGA competition got even more intriguing when the Bulldogs added former Virginia starter and team captain Greyson Lambert as a graduate transfer this week. But Lambert’s high school offense didn’t require him to read defenses all that much, and despite being 6-foot-5 with a plus arm, he’s struggled with poor decision-making and untimely interceptions in college.

Needless to say, that’s nothing like Hutson Mason in ’14 and nothing like the kind of quarterback that new coordinator Brian Schottenheimer has favored during his career. I still maintain we’re overthinking this. Expect Ramsey to start Sept. 5 against Louisiana-Monroe. I believe Lambert will compete with Faton Bauta as the team’s backup in 2015.

Kentucky: Patrick Towles

Outside of the debacle at Vanderbilt, this was my most difficult prediction. I really wanted to predict the upset with Drew Barker, whom I think has more upside than Towles.

The coaching staff has insisted the competition is wide open despite Towles’ edge in experience and a few off-field missteps by Barker. Still, the incumbent starter showed steady improvement during spring practice. If that continues through fall camp, it’s difficult to imagine Barker supplanting Towles, even if that may be a risk worth taking.

I’ll hedge and say Towles will start the season, but Baker will own the job by year’s end.

LSU: Brandon Harris

Les Miles and Cam Cameron need this one.

Anthony Jennings is steady and reliable, but that’s not good enough in the SEC West right now, even with a strong defense and powerful running game. The problem is, Harris looked about as prepared to lead LSU to victory in tight SEC games last season as the biggest school nerd is to dance at prom.

It didn’t help that Cameron, so used to coaching up NFL quarterbacks, couldn’t figure out how to dumb it down and develop essentially an overgrown high school kid. Starting Harris may or may not lead to better offensive results. But it’s a risk worth taking when we already know the status quo just isn’t good enough for the team’s solid talent elsewhere.

Mississippi State: Dak Prescott

The consensus preseason No. 1 SEC quarterback, Prescott looked even better as a passer during spring practice. The Bulldogs better be thankful he returned, because the team could’ve been facing a long plunge in ’15 without him. The only question is whether the retooled offensive line and a defense contending with a major talent drain can offer him enough support to compete in the SEC West and make a run at the Heisman Trophy.

Much like Johnny Manziel in 2013, he may not be quite as exciting this season because he should be more judicious about running the ball and more effective scanning the field from the pocket. Which should be fun to watch as well as of great interest to NFL scouts.

Missouri: Maty Mauk

Gary Pinkel is more loyal to his starting quarterbacks than most SEC head coaches. He’s got an impressive true freshmen headed to Columbia, Mo., in Drew Lock. But since James Franklin exhausted his eligibility, there’s been no question about Mizzou’s starter at the position.

The bigger intrigue is whether the free-wheeling Mauk can shake the happy feet and occasionally avoid negative risks downfield. The team needs him to get better, especially with the lack of experience at receiver.

Ole Miss: Chad Kelly

Ryan Buchanan has a legitimate chance to beat out Kelly, but missed a prime opportunity to create some distance for himself during the spring game when he’d started to gain an edge.

Hugh Freeze has been forced to defend the decision to take on Kelly, a known troublemaker off the field, when he continued his shenanigans in Oxford. Freeze has continued to pour into Kelly, chaperoning a spring break mission trip.

As well as Freeze and the Rebels are recruiting, 2015 probably represents their best shot at an SEC West crown. I’d expect Ole Miss to swing for the fences, which is what the team signaled of its intentions by bringing in Kelly at all.

South Carolina: Connor Mitch

With the limited information that’s available to us, Lorenzo Nunez very well could be the most talented quarterback on the Gamecocks’ roster this season.

Mitch probably isn’t as good as Dylan Thompson, who wasn’t as good as Connor Shaw. But if the team wanted to go with an unpolished running quarterback, wouldn’t coach Steve Spurrier just stick receiver Pharoh Cooper behind center?

This offense will lean on Cooper, Brandon Wilds and David Williams. Last year’s awful defense forced the Gamecocks to air it out and take risks in the passing game, but if that unit improves like it should, expect a more conservative offense in 2015 that should favor Mitch.

Nunez will get some snaps early in the season — probably even in the first game — but won’t start the opener.

Tennessee: Joshua Dobbs

The Vols own, on paper, one of the most talented collections of quarterbacks in the SEC. But three of them are true freshmen, vying to become Dobbs’ backup while the coaching staff has to hope it never comes to that in ’15.

From the outside, Dobbs seems like the epitome of “coachable.” He’s smart, may know his playbook as well as any quarterback in the SEC, understands how much he needs to improve, embraces the leadership role and seems to want success badly.

But there are no quarterback whisperers on the Tennessee coaching staff. The Vols running game should be strong this fall, and there’s talent at receiver. Can Dobbs improve enough as a passer to make UT’s offense threatening?

Texas A&M: Kyle Allen

Kyler Murray is one of the greatest high school quarterbacks to emerge from Texas in the last decade, and that’s a huge compliment. But he was still finishing up high school this week, while Allen spent all of last season in a grind of a competition and half of it as an SEC starter. He finished the 2014 season strong and has earned the right to start the opener against Arizona State.

Vanderbilt: Johnny McCrary

The Commodores, at least from the outside, wanted Patton Robinette to start. Now that he’s retired and off to medical school, veteran coordinator Andy Ludwig is forced to choose between undesirable and less desirable.

McCrary, Wade Freebeck, Shawn Stankavage all are not accurate enough to help Vandy make major offensive improvement, at least at this point. But conventional wisdom says true freshman Kyle Shurmur won’t start the opener, especially with coach Derek Mason’s job status already in question.

McCrary helped the Commodores’ offense at least show a pulse at times during the second half of last season, and he’s the team’s best option entering fall practice.