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SEC Football

Which QBs will exceed expectations or fall short in Year 2? SEC Network analyst makes his picks

Andrew Olson

By Andrew Olson

Published:

SEC Network analyst Chris Doering looked at which returning quarterbacks will exceed expectations or fall short in 2017.

He started with South Carolina QB Jake Bentley, who Doering thinks will fall short of expectations.

“I think the defenses now have some video on him and he’s not going to catch them by surprise,” Doering said.

Doering put Georgia QB Jacob Eason on his “exceed expectations” list, albeit with a backhanded compliment. After some speculated freshman QB Jake Fromm might come in and win the starting job, Eason’s expectations are significantly lowered.

“He’s going to exceed expectations, partially because of his inconsistent play last year, people may not have as high of expectations, ” Doering said.

UK QB Stephen Johnson also made the “fall short” list.

“This spring, (Johnson) really had a hard time throwing the ball, making a decision,” Doering said. “He was very hesitant in the pocket. I think he’s thinking too much right now.”

After guiding Alabama to the national championship game last season, Doering doesn’t see Alabama QB Jalen Hurts meeting expectations in 2017.

“When you look at his production last year, he played against four top-15 defenses and only threw for 108 yards per game.

“The expectation level is so high, plus he has to learn a new offense,” Doering added. “How comfortable is he going to be with new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll?”

Ole Miss QB Shea Patterson impressed last season when he had to fill in for an injured Chad Kelly, but Doering doesn’t think the Rebel signal-caller will live up to the hype this fall.

“He’s supposed to be the savior of the program. He’s had a miserable offseason,” Doering said. “He’s going to fall short because the expectation levels are way too high. And not to mention the fact this offensive line gave up 26 sacks last year, they haven’t been able to run the football. Where does the support come from? I think he just shoulders too much weight this season.”

Doering is high on Patterson’s Egg Bowl rival, Mississippi State QB Nick Fitzgerald.

“He could end up in New York for the Heisman this year,” Doering said, pointing to more rushing yards for Fitzgerald and believing the dual-threat quarterback has improved as a passer.

The full segment can be viewed here.

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.

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