The SEC enjoyed a quarterback renaissance only a few years ago — a period of quarterback play so far above the mean that in the time since that renaissance ended the SEC has been unable to recover.

The conference lost its five best quarterbacks to the NFL following the 2013 season, four of which were drafted and three of which started a game as rookies in the league. To clarify, those quarterbacks were Alabama’s A.J. McCarron, Georgia’s Aaron Murray, LSU’s Zach Mettenberger, South Carolina’s Connor Shaw and Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel.

All five remain on NFL rosters as they prepare for a second season as professionals, but it’s the programs and the conference they left behind that are still struggling to move on.

Last year, quarterback play in the SEC was at an all-time low, at least as far as the modern era of the sport is concerned. Don’t get me wrong, Dak Prescott’s 2014 season was sensational, and Blake Sims’ emergence from nowhere to lead Alabama to an SEC title was an unforgettable storyline.

But beyond those two, one of which is a former tailback who’ll likely have to move back to that position to last in the NFL, the quarterback play was average at best.

The SEC’s veteran leaders — Bo Wallace and Brandon Allen — threw costly interceptions all season long, both losing games multiple games in the final minutes with brutal turnovers. Heck, the SEC’s leading passer was a fifth-year senior starting for the first time for a team that only went on to win seven games (South Carolina’s Dylan Thompson). If that’s not indicative of the SEC’s quarterback mediocrity in 2014 I’m not sure what is.

What’s discouraging is the SEC may be even worse at quarterback in 2015, with more than half the conference’s teams still searching for an opening-day starter on the other side of spring ball. Beyond Prescott, a small sample of Joshua Dobbs and an even smaller sample of Jeremy Johnson, there’s not one quarterback the SEC can hang its hat on for the coming year.

That makes for two years of struggling passing offenses in a conference that hates to show any weaknesses. And if the SEC is to return to its place as the definitive dominant conference in college football, it’ll need more proven signal callers than just Prescott.

Thankfully, while the SEC may not have the best collection of quarterbacks as it stands today, it hasn’t lost its magic touch on the recruiting trail. The conference is slated to bring in three of the best quarterbacks in the nation in the next recruiting cycle, and beyond that there are even more touted quarterback prospects giving the SEC a look.

So while the quarterbacks may be down for now, there’s reason to believe the pendulum will swing back up in a matter of only a year or two. With this in mind, here’s a look at what could be the SEC’s future at the most important position on the field.

(NOTE: Recruiting ratings/rankings courtesy of 247Sports.)

JACOB EASON

5-star rating; No. 1 pocket passer; No. 3 overall prospect 2016.

Eason isn’t just the best quarterback in the 2016 class, he’s one of the three most talented players at any position in the class, so it shouldn’t be hard to justify why he’s such a hot commodity in the upcoming recruiting cycle.

At 6-foot-5 with wide shoulders, he has the frame to stand tall in the pocket and pick defenses apart with his cannon for an arm. But you don’t just become the top quarterback in the class by throwing the ball hard or fast, and Eason knows this. He’s also one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the class, and his combination of strength and accuracy equates him to a five-tool talent in baseball, which is to say he can do virtually anything ever asked of a quarterback.

Of course, the 17-year-old prospect is far from perfect. He’s still working on growing more comfortable in the pocket with the rush coming his way, and while his footwork is solid for a prospect his age he’s not someone who can take off and run as well as some other modern quarterbacks.

Nevertheless, Eason has the kind of talent that will allow him to compete for a starting job in college as a true freshman. He’s been committed to Georgia for more than 10 months, and although he still has his senior season in front of him it seems unlikely he’ll flip his commitment, even though the Washington native would be traveling cross-country to arrive in Athens, located more than 3,000 miles from home.

Georgia will be introducing a new starting quarterback this fall, and both quarterbacks in the running will be back for 2016. So while there’s no guarantee Eason will start right away (he might, just no guarantee), it seems almost certain he’ll serve as the face of the Bulldogs before his time in college comes to an end. After all, this may be Mark Richt’s next David Greene or Matt Stafford or Aaron Murray. If Eason turns out anything like those signal callers, he’ll be just fine.

SHEA PATTERSON

5-star rating; No. 2 pocket passer; No. 15 overall prospect.

In any other conference, Patterson would arrive as the top quarterback signee of the class, and perhaps of the last handful of years. But if you just read about Eason above, you already know he’s the only pocket passer in the 2016 class rated higher than Patterson.

However, Patterson, a Louisiana native, is committed to Ole Miss, which would take him to the SEC West and thus the opposite side of the conference from Eason.

Ole Miss is in desperate need of a new quarterback after three-year starter Bo Wallace graduated, and none of the three players in the running for the job this offseason have done enough to claim the gig for themselves. He’s another player with the natural ability to win the starting job right away in 2016 if this year’s starter doesn’t work out, and he fits the mold of what Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze is looking for.

Like Wallace, who Freeze hand-picked from the junior college ranks three years ago, Patterson is a well-tuned pocket passer who can command a spread offense despite lacking the stature of a traditional pocket passer.

He’s only 6-foot-2 (which isn’t short but isn’t exactly tall either given the size of the linemen Patterson will play behind) and he still weighs under 200 pounds, although that may not last much longer. Regardless of his size, Patterson is lethally accurate with the football with fantastic footwork in the pocket and mature decision-making abilities. Like Eason and every other freshman quarterback he’ll need to acclimate himself with the speed of the SEC if and when he arrives, but once he’s caught up it won’t take long before he’s torching the SEC West.

Patterson’s pocket presence is perhaps his best attribute (other than his accuracy), which will benefit him in a conference becoming known for its dangerous pass rushers. And considering Ole Miss will debut two four-star freshman wideouts this fall, there should be plenty of weapons in place for Patterson whenever it is his time to lead Freeze’s offense.

FELEIPE FRANKS

4-star rating; No. 1 dual-threat quarterback; No. 45 overall prospect.

Franks is not as comparable to Eason and Patterson in that he’s a dual-threat quarterback with phenomenal athleticism to complement his arm.

He’s already won the quarterback MVP award at the Orlando Nike Opening Regional, and he’s already been invited to Nike’s The Opening and Elite 11 this summer. In fact, he was the first finalist invited to Elite 11, if that’s any indication of his dynamic abilities.

Franks is much larger than you’d picture a dual-threat quarterback, standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 220 pounds with another year in high school remaining. He’s not a tactician at quarterback who is capable of picking defenses apart with his accuracy as a thrower. Instead, he has a cannon for an arm and two jetpacks for legs, enabling him to throw the ball a country mile or take off and run a country mile should he need to.

So much of his game is predicated on athletic abilities: Speed, strength, elusiveness, etc. But he has all the natural tools to star in the SEC, and if developed correctly he can absolutely round out his game to become an even more unstoppable force.

He’s currently committed to LSU, a team in desperate need of a quarterback. The Tigers boasted the SEC’s worst passing offense last season due to severe lack of quarterback talent, and what’s worse is the team’s top two quarterbacks from last year are once again its top two signal callers this year.

But because LSU runs the ball so well and often plays such solid defense, the quarterback will merely need to make the plays given to him, something the current LSU quarterbacks cannot do. The Tigers have a boatload of talent at receiver and more four-star tailbacks than you can shake a stick at (and we don’t just mean Leonard Fournette), so Franks would merely have to fill his role and play to his strengths to succeed.

And considering his strengths are unlike any other quarterback in the class, that is a formula that should lead to success.

Franks is coming up on the one-year anniversary of his commitment to LSU, and should he follow through, he, Eason and Patterson could lead to a quarterback revival in a traditionally dominant conference in desperate need of one.