For now, it looks like the waters have calmed.

The big waves in the transfer quarterback market have smoothed out, and it appears that we have a good idea of what some SEC QB battles will look like this offseason.

Can things change? Absolutely. Let’s not forget about LSU’s post-spring addition of Joe Burrow last year. Certainly Tigers fans haven’t forgotten about that.

But for now, it looks like most of the battles are pretty much set. While places like Florida and Mizzou might not name an outright starter, I didn’t include them here because these are the battles that actually feel like battles.

Here are the top 3 quarterback battles in the SEC:

3. Arkansas

The candidates — Connor Noland, Ben Hicks (grad transfer), KJ Jefferson, John Stephen Jones, Daulton Hyatt

The early favorite — Hicks

If you had asked me a week ago, I would have said Noland. Many expect the homegrown redshirt freshman to be the future of the position. He very well could be. Noland kept his redshirt playing in 4 games, which we knew was a likely possibility with both Ty Storey and Cole Kelley around.

Both Kelley and Storey transferred, but Noland will likely give way to Hicks in 2019. Hicks, of course, started for Chad Morris at SMU in 2016 and 2017, where he eventually helped lead one of the nation’s more prolific offenses. With 1 year of eligibility left, it seems likely that Morris will turn to the guy he hand-picked twice.

Hicks is someone with over 9,000 career passing yards and 71 touchdown passes, most of which came playing in Morris’ system. He has a major advantage on the competition for that fact alone.

Will Morris treat this as an open competition? Probably, but it seems like Hicks will start if healthy while the rest of the young quarterback room jockeys for position.

2. Mississippi State

The candidates — Keytaon Thompson, Garrett Shrader, Jalen Mayden

The early favorite — Thompson

Thompson was in the mix to replace Nick Fitzgerald when the senior quarterback hit a major rough stretch in the middle of the season. Even though Thompson was the only one of those 3 who didn’t sign with with Moorhead, he figures to have the upper hand on the first quarterback battle in Starkville in roughly a decade.

Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Keep in mind that while redshirt freshman Mayden is promising, Moorhead’s system is predicated on someone who can stretch the defense vertically. That’s why Fitzgerald’s transition was such a struggle throughout 2018. Thompson gives MSU the best chance to do that. In very limited action, Thompson averaged 11.7 yards per attempt. Like with Fitzgerald, the accuracy is still an issue.

But the good news is that Thompson has now had a full year to develop in Moorhead’s system. We’ve seen the potential, like what he did as Fitzgerald’s replacement in the 2017 TaxSlayer Bowl when he beat Lamar Jackson and in the 2018 opener against Stephen F. Austin when he threw 7 touchdown passes.

Moorhead will treat this as a true competition. For all we know, he’s extremely high on Mayden already and this really will come down to who develops most as a passer.

But Thompson is still the natural successor to Fitzgerald until proven otherwise.

1. Auburn

The candidates — Bo Nix, Malik Willis, Cord Sandberg, Joey Gatewood

The early favorite — Willis

This, for my money, is easily the most intriguing quarterback battle in the SEC this offseason. Not only are there some interesting dynamics within that room, but this is also a move that could determine Gus Malzahn’s future at Auburn.

That’s why I think he’ll go with Willis. Malzahn, as we saw in the Music City Bowl demolition of Purdue, is trying to get back to his roots as a play-caller. That means someone with Willis’ mobility and experience makes the most sense. Willis can allow Malzahn to get back to the run-heavy system his offense is predicated on with a true dual-threat quarterback like Nick Marshall.

Gatewood is still in too much of the development stage to start for a team needing to have a bounce-back season, and Sandberg seems more like a veteran to add depth than a starter right now. As for Nix, he was the No. 1-ranked dual-threat QB in the country. It wouldn’t surprise me if Malzahn turned to him if he shows some early promise. I fully expect Malzahn to use the new redshirt rule to see what he has in Nix because if he’s special, he could wind up filling in for Willis if he struggles or gets injured.

But despite the plethora of options for Malzahn, it is interesting that he made a major push in the grad transfer market. AL.com reported that Malzahn made a last-minute pitch to get Jalen Hurts, and Oklahoma transfer Austin Kendall took an official visit to Auburn before committing to West Virginia.

Perhaps Malzahn isn’t done looking for his 2019 quarterback. Or perhaps Malzahn just tried to light a fire under his group for what should be an extremely competitive battle this offseason.