SEC Football: Grading each SEC West school’s QB situation

Alabama C-

I’m certainly not trying to pick on the Crimson Tide here. However, does anyone expect them to do too much offensively with a quarterback room in despair like this one? Don’t get me wrong these guys are talented in their own right and bring plenty of unique tendencies to the table. But, will that be enough to get Alabama another national title?

Tyler Buchner likely has the best arm of the bunch but in limited reps in his career he’s been suspect at best. The former Notre Dame QB holds a sub 60-percent completion percentage and has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns in two college seasons.

Jalen Milroe adds the extra dimension of athleticism to the quarterback room. With SEC experience will Saban turn to him instead? His ability to scramble out of the pocket and make plays on the run will help the Crimson Tide offense stay at a high level. It’s yet to be seen consistently in Tuscaloosa though.

Mississippi State A

It’s transition time for the Bulldogs as they convert to a pro-style offense and away from the Air Raid. It could be an easier one aided by the returning ‘Cowboy’ Will Rogers. He has rewrote the passing records in Starkville and is a dream player to have running the offense during this time. He’s passed for 10689 yards in his college career. Limiting mistakes will be key this year and Rogers doesn’t put them in danger with 82 touchdowns and only 24 interceptions in three seasons.

His durability shall be noted with 34 straight starts. Keeping him healthy will be key for a successful season for the ‘Dogs.

LSU A

There’s a reason LSU gets an ‘A’ here and that’s due to their returning stable of quarterbacks returning. It wasn’t always pretty last season when it came to offensvie fluidity. The Tigers didn’t always make it the most beautiful brand of football but they still won games by grinding them out. They must improve their run game from middle of the pack as an SEC team, maybe to 200+ yards per game to create a true rushing threat.

Jayden Daniels returning was a huge win for LSU and what they want to do at quarterback this fall. The name of the game these days is having a dual threat quarterback that’s an absolute athlete but can adequately throw the ball. That was questioned in a few games last season but the more comfortable Daniels’ became the better he was as a starter.

Garrett Nussmeier is a threat at the position and is more of a throwback pro-style type of quarterback. The rising junior was pretty good in relief during seven games in 2022 passing for 800 yards, 5 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. LSU’s quarterback room is as talented as they’ve been in a long time when it comes to depth.

Texas A&M C+

Look, if Bobby Petrino can pick out a starting quarterback which will likely be Conner Weigman. That could spell danger to the SEC because he’s a dang good QB and Petrino can coach offensive football with an above average player running it.

Max Johnson has the SEC experience but his arm talent isn’t quite what Weigman’s is. The ultimate question will be if Fisher and Petrino can co-exist long enough to make a run as dark horse conference contenders?

Weigman passed for 896 yards and 8 touchdowns with no interceptions in his freshman year. His best game came against Ole Miss when he threw for 338 yards and 4 touchdowns. The upside for the Petrino offense is there for the taking if he receives the thumbs up to run it how he wants to.

Arkansas A

The 2022 version of the Razorback quarterback room was one of the weakest in the conference. Malik Hornsby was a liability at best from the position but displayed a unique package of speed and arm strength. However, he just couldn’t spin it enough to compete at the SEC level. That left USF transfer Cade Fortin to clean up messes and nearly helped lead Arkansas to an upset win over eventual Western Division Champion, LSU.

KJ Jefferson won’t have to do it alone now at the quarterback position with Arkansas adding elite transfer and Arkansas native Jacolby Criswell. Plus, Malachi Singleton comes in as a true freshman with the opportunity to redshirt and develop. Coaches raved this spring about Singleton’s poise as a passer but can also move the offense with his legs, too.

Arkansas will go as far as their starting quarterback can take them if he stays healthy. As we saw in 2021 a healthy quarterback could equal a promising season this fall.

Ole Miss A-

Head coach Lane Kiffin raided the transfer portal adding two top notch quarterbacks in Spencer Sanders (Oklahoma State) and Walker Howard (LSU) in addition to Jaxon Dart already on campus. It’ll certainly be interesting to see which player emerges as the starter this fall. The offense never seemed to have the next gear similar to how Matt Corral operated it in 2022.

Sanders comes to Oxford as a true dual threat option for the Rebels. He finished his Cowboy career with 9500 career passing yards, 67 touchdowns and 40 interceptions. His elusiveness will make the Ole Miss offense a dangerous one. The dual threat rushed for over 1900 yards and 18 touchdowns in his career.

Auburn C

If there’s a coach in this league that can make an offense run no matter the quarterback he starts it’s Hugh Freeze. Anyone that can beat Alabama with a guy named Bo Wallace deserves to be praised with how he coaches offensive football. Will he win big in year one? That depends on the development of Robbie Ashford.

The Tigers ranked dead last in the SEC last season at 172 yards per game through the air. That is 15 yards less per game than Vanderbilt. All other SEC teams averaged 208 passing yards per game or more in 2022. With a quarterback whisperer at head coach there’s plenty of folks willing to bet the Auburn is leaps and bounds ahead of where they were last season.

Payton Thorne will be a guy to watch during fall camp to see if he takes the reins as starting quarterback. The former Michigan State signal caller didn’t set the world at his last stop. However, Thorne was consistent and didn’t put his team in trouble much.