Maroon and White Nation contributor Cooper Ashcraft takes a shot at ranking the SEC quarterbacks heading into the 2017 season. Who is number one?
For years the SEC has been known for its ground and pound offenses and elite defenses. But this year is set up to be the year of the quarterback in the SEC.
This year the league will see twelve teams with returning quarterbacks. These include names such as, Austin Allen, Nick Fitzgerald, Jalen Hurts, and Jacob Eason. Over the last week, a lot has been made of analysts naming Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald as the top signal caller in the league this year. Well, today I’m here to rank all fourteen signal callers from the SEC from worst to first.
14. Kyle Shurmer, Vanderbilt
Shurmer started all thirteen games last year for Vanderbilt as a sophomore where he lead the Commodores. Shurmer struggled with consistency at times last season, completing just 54% of his passes for 2,409 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Shurmer needs to improve on his accuracy and decision making to take the next step as a quarterback. Fortunately for Vanderbilt, they have a running back in Ralph Webb they can lean on to lead the offense.
13. Jake Hubenak, Texas A&M
Hubenak played in only six games as a junior last year for the Aggies. Hubenak got three starts following an injury to Trevor Knight against Mississippi State. He would go on to complete 59% of his passes and throwing for 884 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Hubenak will get a chance to shine in 2017 in Kevin Sumlin’s air raid offense.
12. Quinten Dormady, Tennessee
Tennessee will be tasked with replacing Josh Dobbs this off-season, who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers. That replacement will likely come in the form of Quinten Dormady. Dormady, a junior, hasn’t seen much action in his two years as a Vol, throwing only seventeen passes last season. If Dormady struggles early in the season, don’t be surprised to see Butch Jones turn to redshirt freshman Jarrett Guarantano — who was the number one rated dual threat quarterback in the 2016 class.
11. Luke Del Rio, Florida
Luke Del Rio struggled through injuries throughout 2016, and was less than impressive when he was on the field. Del Rio completed just 57% of his passes for 1,358 yards, 8 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions. There is also a possibility that redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks could start at some point during the season. Either way, Jim McElwain will have some options to play with in 2017.
10. Danny Etling, LSU
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The Purdue transfer completed just under 60% of his throws for 2,123 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. Etling struggeled at times during the season, but seemed to find his stride late into the season when Ed Orgeron took over the head coaching position. If Etling can improve on his accuracy in 2017, you can expect a solid season out of him this year.
9. Stephen Johnson, Kentucky
Johnson added some stability to Kentucky at the quarterback position in 2016. Johnson played in twelve games where he completed 55% of his passes for 2,037 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. Improvements in his accuracy could make Kentucky a very dangerous team in 2017.
8. Jake Bentley, South Carolina
Jake Bentley was certainly the surprise story of the SEC last season. Bentley, who gave up his final year of high school eligibility to come to South Carolina, took over signal calling duties after Perry Orth and Brandon McIlwain struggled early in the year. Bentley completed 66% of his passes for 1,420 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. If he can continue to build on his stellar freshman campaign, Bentley could become the leagues best quarterback over the next few years.
7. Drew Lock, Missouri
Lock is your prototypical gunslinger at the quarterback position. As a sophomore Lock completed 55% of his passes for 3,339 yards, 23 passes, and 10 interceptions. Although Missouri struggled in 2016, it wasn’t due to Lock’s shortcomings. If he can improve on his accuracy, he very well could lead the league in passing yards this season.
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6. Shea Patterson, Ole Miss
Patterson was rated as the number one quarterback in the 2016 class, and he showed why once starter Chad Kelly went down for the season. Patterson played in three games last season where he completed 54% of his passes for 880 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. Patterson drew a lot of comparisons to Texas A&M great Johnny Manziel after putting on a show in College Station in his first game at Ole Miss.
5. Jarrett Stidham, Auburn
Stidham, a transfer from Baylor, was the number one rated JUCO prospect by ESPN coming out of McLennan Community College. As a freshman at Baylor, Stidham completed 69% of his passes for 1,265 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. If his spring game is any indication, Malzahn should be able to have a field day with Stidham’s abilities on the field.
4. Jalen Hurts, Alabama
If any Alabama fan is reading this, I’m probably going to get crucified for this one, but hear me out. I know Hurts won offensive player of the year in the SEC and made the Alabama offense the most dynamic its ever been under Nick Saban. But he has a lot of room to improve, and just because he is on the best team, doesn’t mean he is the best quarterback. Hurts completed 63% of his passes for 2,780 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. He also added 954 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground.
Hurts needs to improve on his down the field accuracy and going deeper into his reads if he wants to take the next step. With that said, Hurts could certainly end up at number one on this list by the end of the year if he continues to improve.
3. Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State
Mississippi State fans probably won’t be happy with this placement, but Fitzgerald has a lot of room to improve to be the best in this league. Fitzgerald was widely inconsistent during his 2016 capaign, showing flashes of greatness at times and struggling to complete simple passes at others. As a sophomore, Fitzgerald completed 54% of his passes for 2,433 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.
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In addition, he added 1,375 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground. We all know what Fitzgerald can do with his legs, but if he wants to be the best quarterback in the league, he has to improve his accuracy and his ability to go through his reads. Until I see that happen, I can’t put him at number one on this list.
2. Jacob Eason, Georgia
I struggled with whether to put Eason or Fitzgerald here, but ultimately settled with Eason due to his pure arm talent. Eason completed 55% of his passes for 2,430 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions in his freshman season. Eason was very inconsistent throughout the season with his accuracy and decision making, but I expect drastic improvements in both areas in year two.
1. Austin Allen, Arkansas
Austin Allen comes in at number one in my SEC quarterback rankings. Allen is the complete package at the quarterback position. Allen possesses the composure and accuracy needed to excel in this league. Allen led the league in passing yards last season with 3,430 yards while completing 61% of his passes.
He was also second in the league in touchdowns with 25 while throwing 15 interceptions. One area he can improve is in his decision making and cutting down on interceptions. Regardless, I expect Allen to lead the league in passing for the second consecutive season.